Greg Ptacek The story behind the new documentary series for Showtime, The Fourth Estate, begins in January 2017 with the staff of The New York Times in crisis. Not only is the nation in turmoil under its new President, but the venerable newspaper itself – an American institution – must deal with the aftermath of having flubbed
Blue Night and Tully — two of the highest profile films at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival — share the same formula: stories revolving around vulnerable, middle-aged female characters written by women and starring high-profile actresses…but directed by men. Blue Night, written by Laura Eason and directed by Fabien Constant, stars Sarah Jessica Parker as
Actor Alex Pettyfer makes his directorial debut with a melodrama that was actually co-written (with Tawni O’Dell) by Fatal Attraction helmer Adrian Lyne. As you might guess, then, there is little nuance in the characters of this movie set against the backdrop of child abuse in small town Appalachia. Pettyfear is a youngish man (teens,
In her narrative feature debut, director Ondi Timoner delivers a picture-perfect portrayal of enfant terrible photographer-artist Robert Mapplethorpe. The film spans his arrival as a complete unknown in the rough-and-tumble days of New York City of the Seventies to his international acclaim in the Eighties before succumbing to AIDS. Early in the film we learn
Ansel Elgort is arguably the hottest young male Millennial actor, already known for his performances as the male lead in the melodrama The Fault in our Stars and his title role in the action-thriller Baby Driver, not to mention his supporting roles in the Divergent series. In the sci-fi drama Jonathan, he doubles down in
Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras’ riveting new feature, Risk, could not be more timely. Quite literally, on Friday when the film opened in Los Angeles, the French presidential election was thrown into jeopardy by a huge hacking campaign, perhaps by some of the same Dark Internet forces explored in her film. The film, as the director
By the time we get to the end of the long day’s journey in A Thousand Junkies, we’re as relieved as three main characters who finally find their fix. Not that we haven’t grown fond of the characters — we have — or, that we want the movie to end — we can’t wait for
In Flames, which also premiered at Tribeca, real-life artists and filmmakers Zeffrey Throwell and Josephine Decker created a docu-drama about their actual relationship. In My Art real-life artist and filmmaker Laurie Simmons takes a different approach, creating a feature that’s ostensibly narrative but seems intertwined closely with her identity. For one thing the lead character,
In this feature documentary the stranger-than-truth story of David Crowley – a young and mediagenic rising alt-right personality – is revealed in chilling detail. A veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, Crowley was on the cusp of stardom when he, his wife and their 5-year-old daughter were found brutally murdered in their suburban middle-class
Director-writer Sarah Adina Smith has tailored a film perfectly suited to its star Rami Malek (Mr. Robot). In fact, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the lead role of the Buster, except perhaps for a young Jack Nicholson. They both share a mesmerizing stare that the camera captures at once as playful and menacing.