Good acting, good drama / “The interrogation scenes, between Alice and a detective played by Elizabeth Banks, explore the social disadvantages of a fat woman with a stark bluntness that’s unheard of in a popular cinema” writes Chuck Bowen.
Cast: Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks, Dakota Fanning, Danielle Macdonald
Director: Amy Berg
Screenplay: Nicole Holofcener
Novel: Laura Lippman
Director of Photography: Rob Hardy
Editor: Ron Patane, Billy McMillin
Some good moments, but at times clumsy script and direction / Jenny Slate sounds often fake, and the dialogues do not fit the period.
Cast: Jenny Slate, Edie Falco, Abby Quinn, Jay Duplass, John Turturro, Finn Wittrock, Amy Carlson
Director: Gillian Robespierre
Writer (story): Elisabeth Holm, Gillian Robespierre, Tom Bean
Writer: Gillian Robespierre, Elisabeth Holm
Cinematographer: Chris Teague
Editor: Casey Brooks
Composer: Chris Bordeaux, Jordan Cohen, Clyde Lawrence
Excellent acting, fantastic camera, great dynamics in dialogues and music…
Cast: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis C.K., Jack Huston, Michael Pena, Elisabeth Röhm
Director: David O. Russell
Screenplay by Eric Singer
Music by Danny Elfman
Cinematography by Linus Sandgren
Film Editing by Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
Cast: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by Scott Z. Burns
Music by Thomas Newman
Cinematography by Steven Soderbergh
Film Editing by Steven Soderbergh
First feature / Excellent performance, fine soundtrack, strong message on the consequences of child abuse among others
Cast: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Bottoms, Giancarlo Esposito
Director: Laurie Collyer
Writer: Laurie Collyer
Music by Jack Livesey
Cinematography by Russell Lee Fine
Film Editing by Curtiss Clayton, Joe Landauer
A world of dysfunctional families in which men are assholes and woman have to fight to survive / A critical non-judgmental view on American society and those left behind by the American Dream
See also “The Florida Project” by Sean Baker
Cast: Naomi Watts, Matt Dillon, Norman Reedus, Tess Harper, Antoni Corone
Director by Laurie Collyer
Screenplay by Laurie Collyer
Music by J. Mascis
Cinematography by Igor Martinovic
Film Editing by Curtiss Clayton
Variation on a theme already found in Shana Feste’s The Greatest: a family mourns their deceased son / love introduced by a new personage brings the mourning process to a conclusion
Some good moments in an otherwise syrupy and predictable movie
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Gabriella Wilde, Bruce Greenwood, Joely Richardson, Rhys Wakefield, Robert Patrick, Dayo Okeniyi, Emma Rigby, Anna Enger
Director: Shana Feste
Writer: Shana Feste, Joshua Safran
Music by Christophe Beck
Cinematography by Andrew Dunn
Film Editing by Maryann Brandon
Great performance by Gwyneth Paltrow / Intelligently directed
This movie deserves more recognition
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester
Written and directed by Shana Feste
Music by Michael Brook
Cinematography by John Bailey
Film Editing by Carol Littleton, Conor O’Neill
First feature / A family mourns their son. The arrival of the girl he loved accelerates the mourning process. See also Endless Love.
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Carey Mulligan, Johnny Simmons, Aaron Johnson, Zoe Kravitz, Jennifer Ehle, Amy Morton, Michael Shannon
Written and directed by Shana Feste
Music by Christophe Beck
Cinematography by John Bailey
Film Editing by Cara Silverman
Some beautiful scenes, a somewhat obscure ending
Cast: Lauren Ashley Carter, Neimah Djourabchi, Adam David Thompson
Director: Natasha Kermani
Writer: Natasha Kermani
Music by Kevin Hufnagel, Natasha Kermani
Cinematography by Travis Tips
Film Editing by Gabriel de Urioste