Oxford Film Festival 2012
The Oxford Film Festival follows closely on the heels of the Sundance Film Festival, which, in my book, officially launched the 2012 independent film season.
A Pleasing Affair
The poster for "The Artist" reveals a raffishly handsome gentleman gazing into the soft, wide eyes of a beautiful ingénue. They are glamorous in the high-contrast, black-and-white photo.
‘The Matchmaker'
Avi Nesher's "The Matchmaker" is a gold-dusted fable of love, friendship and everlasting hope. The movie opens at the end of the story, in war-torn Haifa, Israel, where Lebanese missiles …
Jewish Film Fest: Best of the Best
Michael Steiner screened about three dozen films for the upcoming Jewish Cinema Mississippi 2012 film festival. As co-chairman of the January event, he and the other screening committee members narrowed …
Walking the Thin Purple Line
"Carnage," based on the Tony award-winning play "God of Carnage" ("Le Dieu du Carnage") by French dramatist Yasmina Rez, explores civility, savagery and vomiting on art books. The movie opens …
Tinker, Tailor, Texture
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," based on John Le Carré's classic espionage thriller of the same name, is a lyrical poem of intrigue told in bits and pieces of flashback from …
Silent Crusader
David Fincher's film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's international bestseller, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," scorches the screen with a new-millennium Joan of Arc on a social crusade against violence. …
Worst and Best Films of 2011
2011 was an incredibly fascinating year in cinema. America's two finest directors, Martin Scorsese and Stephen Spielberg, elevated children's cinema with efforts that far outshone Hollywood's apparent monopoly ruled by …
Poignant, Comic Gift
"The Descendants" bubbles to the top of critic lists and Golden Globe nominations. The film goes against the current of behemoth blockbusters; it defies the prevailing philosophy of franchising prior …
The Holiday Playlist
Defining when the holiday season begins gets more complicated every year. A growing number of retailers pull out the Christmas garlands and ornamentation around Halloween. Black Friday and cyberspace Monday …
Jesus the Radical
It's easy to imagine historical events in the context of our own time, place and worldview. It can be highly deceptive, however, to separate a person, his or her words …
Scarticia of Jackson
"Greetings, animals." A gaunt witch stared through the television screen at late-night viewers in Jackson, taunting them for several years in the early 1970s.
MIFF: A Cinematic Extravaganza
Edward Saint Pe and his team of organizers and volunteers commandeer the indie-film scene from Friday through Saturday with the 2011 Mississippi International Film Festival. "We're showing 50 films all …
Unmasked Letterer
Gloria's eyes grow bigger. Fear turns to defiance. Her face zooms in and out as Johnny Lowe's fingers deftly move across the screen of his iPad. His eyes shine.
How Brunson Green ‘Helped'
Much has been written lately about the friendship between Jackson natives Kathryn Stockett and Tate Taylor, the author and director, respectively, of "The Help." But a third Jackson native served …
