If there’s a theme to 2011’s crop of films featuring lesbian/bi women, it’s that this was a very good year for emerging voices. First time and younger filmmakers made a mark in huge ways this year, providing everything from spellbinding documentaries (No Look Pass), heart-wrenching drama (Pariah, Break My Fall, Circumstance), and fresh comedy (Jamie and Jessie are Not Together, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same). Pair that with the quality coming from established filmmakers like Celine Sciamma (Tomboy), and you have a year marked by the presence of strong, unique voices.
Hard Hitters
Nowhere is that strength of vision more prominent than in the year’s dramas. Well-meaning (but tired) melodramas were drowned out by clear-eyed, nuanced filmmaking, most evident in Pariah, the story of a young African-American woman struggling with her identity, and Circumstance, which features the romance between two teenaged girls in Iran.
As AfterEllen.
Hard Hitters
Nowhere is that strength of vision more prominent than in the year’s dramas. Well-meaning (but tired) melodramas were drowned out by clear-eyed, nuanced filmmaking, most evident in Pariah, the story of a young African-American woman struggling with her identity, and Circumstance, which features the romance between two teenaged girls in Iran.
As AfterEllen.
- 12/27/2011
- by Danielle Riendeau
- AfterEllen.com
It's hard to know where to begin with The Family Tree; to adequately describe one its failures is to ignore another, equal if not greater failure. Tree is so miscalculated on such an atomic level that it nearly defies assessment, but if you were to identify its greatest offenses, you would have to separate what was inept from what was just plain insidious. The look and tone of The Family Tree are so completely off as to make it nearly unwatchable, but it is the film's insulated perspective on the world that makes it truly embarrassing.
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- 12/3/2011
- by Anders Nelson
- JustPressPlay.net
There’s something particularly grating about a quirky indie comedy that doesn’t work, because the line between a failure and a success can be difficult to see. From a couple of brief précis it’s difficult to spell out the difference between The Family Tree and The Royal Tenenbaums, for instance. Many of the key elements are the same, whether it’s disconnected children, an emasculated father figure or overly-stylized camera angles. But something key is missing from The Family Tree that all of its clever plotting and easy jokes about religion and middle-class values can’t hide: real affection for its characters....
- 8/28/2011
- Pastemagazine.com
"The Family Tree"--a movie that seems destined for home video obscurity even as it hits a handful of cinema screens this week--sets out to answer the question: just how many cloyingly idiosyncratic "quirks," the kind that aim for "American Beauty" profundity but mostly come across as "Desperate Housewives" contrivances, can be stuffed, Thanksgiving-turkey-style, into one independent suburban family comedy? The answer, as given by "The Family Tree?" A whole fucking bunch. After some clunky narration about how this movie's suburb is just like the suburb you live in – with its share of freaks, weirdos, and hidden perverts – we…...
- 8/24/2011
- The Playlist
Often important movies lean on great literary works to make an impact. Girish Karnad and B.V. Karanth’s Vamsha Vriksha, made in black and white on a shoestring budget, is one such example. Vamsha Vriksha was based on an Indian novel written in the Kannada language. Soon after the Kannada film was made, it went on to win the National Award for the Best Director, the Swarna Kamal (The Golden Lotus award). Forty years down the road, this important landmark in Indian cinema is forgotten. An entire new generation of film-goers in India can hardly recall the film.
Vamsha Vriksha is a tale of three generations of two Hindu families in Karnataka. It deals with Indian society’s perceptions of widowhood, motherhood, women’s emancipation, family secrets, intrigue to secure family’s assets after the death of a parent, renunciation of the family, and marital infidelity. Indian culture and societal...
Vamsha Vriksha is a tale of three generations of two Hindu families in Karnataka. It deals with Indian society’s perceptions of widowhood, motherhood, women’s emancipation, family secrets, intrigue to secure family’s assets after the death of a parent, renunciation of the family, and marital infidelity. Indian culture and societal...
- 7/18/2011
- by Jugu Abraham
- DearCinema.com
Here are the new MPAA ratings from Bulletin No: 2166.
Beneath Hill 60 Rated R For some war violence and language. Camp Hell Rated R For some teen sexuality and disturbing violent images. Casa De Mi Padre Rated R For bloody violence, language, some sexual content and drug use. Cave Of Forgotten Dreams Rated G Release Date: April 29, 2011 The Entitled Rated R For language, some violence and brief drug use. Extremely Used Cars: There Is No Hope Rated R For pervasive language and some sexual content. The Family Tree Rated R For sexual content, pervasive language, drug use and some violence. Fast Five Rated PG-13 For intense sequences of violence and action, sexual content and language. Release Date: April 29, 2011 Hard Breakers Rated R For sexual content and drug use. Hellraiser: Revelations Rated R For bloody horror violence, grisly images, sexual content and language. Legend Of The Fist: The Return Of Chen...
Beneath Hill 60 Rated R For some war violence and language. Camp Hell Rated R For some teen sexuality and disturbing violent images. Casa De Mi Padre Rated R For bloody violence, language, some sexual content and drug use. Cave Of Forgotten Dreams Rated G Release Date: April 29, 2011 The Entitled Rated R For language, some violence and brief drug use. Extremely Used Cars: There Is No Hope Rated R For pervasive language and some sexual content. The Family Tree Rated R For sexual content, pervasive language, drug use and some violence. Fast Five Rated PG-13 For intense sequences of violence and action, sexual content and language. Release Date: April 29, 2011 Hard Breakers Rated R For sexual content and drug use. Hellraiser: Revelations Rated R For bloody horror violence, grisly images, sexual content and language. Legend Of The Fist: The Return Of Chen...
- 4/6/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Usually when I sit down to write this column on a Sunday (yes, it is published Monday so heaven forbid I actually do something in advance) I’m sometimes left wondering exactly what to write about it. Thanks to an outstanding episode of Saturday Night Life this past Saturday night I am thankful to the TV spirits because after watching it from the DVR this Sunday morning I have a column that I’m pretty sure will write itself.
I was looking forward to this past week’s SNL because it was being hosted by Jesse Eisenberg. I admit I was looking forward to Eisenberg himself but I was also looking forward to the fact that an actor was hosting that wouldn’t get in the way of the writers and might bring some positive feedback to the writing process. Eisenberg seems to be the type of actor that comes off as a simple,...
I was looking forward to this past week’s SNL because it was being hosted by Jesse Eisenberg. I admit I was looking forward to Eisenberg himself but I was also looking forward to the fact that an actor was hosting that wouldn’t get in the way of the writers and might bring some positive feedback to the writing process. Eisenberg seems to be the type of actor that comes off as a simple,...
- 2/2/2011
- by willwilkins
Sometimes working on side projects can pull a band apart and lead to their break-up. But there are other instances where key members taking time off from a giant act can help everybody recharge their batteries. Though Foo Fighters is Dave Grohl's main squeeze, he hasn't been hurt by dalliances with Queens of the Stone Age, Probot or Them Crooked Vultures. The members of Linkin Park also haven't had any trouble keeping their core strong while branching out into other areas of the music world. Mike Shinoda has had a successful run as part of Fort Minor, and Chester Bennington is currently enjoying success as the frontman of Dead by Sunrise.
Dead by Sunrise combines Bennington with members of arena-goth act Orgy. Interestingly, the Orgy members also have an electronic side project called Julien-k. The family tree runs so deep, in fact, that Bennington joked that they could plan...
Dead by Sunrise combines Bennington with members of arena-goth act Orgy. Interestingly, the Orgy members also have an electronic side project called Julien-k. The family tree runs so deep, in fact, that Bennington joked that they could plan...
- 10/30/2009
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
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