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The big shocker for me in the Q&A following The Freebie was when writer/director/co-star Katie Aselton revealed that the script (about a couple who decide that both of them having a one-night-stand will renew the erotic spark of their marriage) was almost completely improvised from a 6-page outline. I’m very impressed by Aselton and her […]

Carter Gunn and Ross McDonnell’s documentary about the modern bee industry has an unusual structure: there’s some get-you-up-to-speed background info (the money is not in honey, in but in trucking hives around the country to pollinate seasonal crops), and then the picture is roughly split between the struggles of the Seppi family — who describe […]

Lemmy delivers almost exactly what’d you expect from a documentary about Motörhead’s legendary bassist, vocalist, and all-round heavy metal icon Lemmy Kilmister: there are interviews with a score or so of the many musicians inspired by him, interview footage with Lemmy himself (including a protracted tour of his somewhat scary crib), a bit of background […]

At IFF Boston you get these ballots that ask you to rate each film from one to five, with five being best. These get counted up for the audience choice awards, and presumably factor into what is considered for next year’s lineup.
I am really bad at rating things from one to five. The numbers fill […]

Everyone once in a while I want to urge people to avoid previews, ads, and reviews and just go see a movie with no expectations. I feel that way about Cyrus, not because I don’t think it can stand up to repeat viewings — in fact I’m eager to see it again so I can […]

Fans of indie-rock act Bishop Allen, whose lead singer Justin Rice stars as Harmony*, or anyone who likes to watch off-the-cuff footage of songwriters working on material should run, not walk to any chance to catch Harmony and Me. I would have gone home happy if hearing Rice run through Jonathan Richman’s “Government Center” was […]

Once again, I’m going to try to do capsule reviews of all the films I see as part of Independent Film Festival Boston. Here’s the first.
A remark in the entertaining and informative post-screening Q&A by co-writer/co-director Robert Pulcini (along with Shari Springer Berman, half of the husband-and-wife writer/director team behind the terrific Harvey Pekar flick […]

There’s a time-honored tradition of sitcom stars (Mystery Team features Community’s Donald Glover, Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza, and 30 Rock’s John Lutz and Kevin Brown) making feature films to emphasize the stuff they can’t do on TV. Mystery Team delivers on that score: it’s not for anyone too squeamish about assorted bodily functions, or […]