Film + TV

A Bug and a Bag of Weed, a good-hearted, raucous drugs-and-dudes movie, played to a sold-out audience at the 2006 Atlantic Film Festival. It represented a dream-pursuit move cross-country, five years of form-filling, fundraising and industry navigation, a 15-day shoot and almost $500,000. It was the rarest of rarities—not just a Canadian feature film, but […]

Killing Joke, XXV: The Band That Stays Together Preys Together RedIt seems like ’80s band reunion tours are a dime a dozen nowadays — from the supremely relevant (Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.) to the ‘who gives a rat’s ass’ tours by the likes of Concrete Blonde. So in terms of relevance, Killing Joke’s decision to re-ignite […]

Junebug Directed by: Phil Morrison (Epoch Films)Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) is an art dealer in Chicago, recently married to southerner George (Alessandro Nivola), who is some years her junior. Her pursuit of work by a North Carolina outsider artist allows the new couple to visit the rural in-laws from whom George has been emotionally and geographically […]

Imaginary HeroesDirected by: Dan Harris(Signature Films)At 25, Dan Harris has already carved out a niche for himself in Hollywood as a writer of fantasy movies, with X2 behind him and Superman Returns, Ender’s Game and Logan’s Run ahead. Imaginary Heroes is a very different sort of film and, one suspects, a more personal one. The […]

Nardwuar the Human Serviette(Mint Records)Nardwuar is more than a goofy guy in a plaid tam-o’-shanter asking Corey Feldman about cocaine or flashing his chest hair at Marilyn Manson. He’s a walking, talking pop culture encyclopedia. He’s a hyperkinetic, loud-mouthed, lovable vault of underground music history. He’s the guy who elicited the famous pepper quote from […]

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is MagicDirected by: Liam Lynch (IDP Films)Warning: if you find jokes about rape, AIDS and the Holocaust offensive, you might want to pass on the lovely Sarah Silverman. With her disproportionately long limbs, twinkling eyes and shiny hair that you’re just dying to brush, Silverman looks like she should be slotted into […]

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four ActsDirected by: Spike Lee(HBO Home Video)Spike Lee is primarily known for his groundbreaking work dealing with racial and social issues in the US. With a great deal of visionary films to his credit, his work as a documentary filmmaker is often overlooked. Like the haunting and disturbing […]

Waiting…Directed by: Rob McKittrick(Lions Gate)Character-driven comedies rarely attract big audiences in theatres. In Waiting…’s case, it didn’t get critical support either. Audiences young enough to know better should have no trouble identifying with Rob McKittrick’s debut about a very long work day for low-paid restaurant employees. Loaded with more extras than anyone who didn’t work […]

Pandora’s BoxDirected by: Georg Wilhelm Pabst(Criterion)Louise Brooks became a star with her role as a showgirl whose promiscuity shatters the world around her. A dated concept? Perhaps. But Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s silent classic (restored in a comprehensive DVD package) finds desire competing with the threat of modernity.Mark PalermoCategories: Best of the year (2006)

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada(Columbia TriStar)In this modern-day western, actor-director Tommy Lee Jones delivers one of the year’s most unexpected and moving dramas. The fragmented first reel introduces a large ensemble cast that quickly closes in to just a few: Texas ranch worker (Jones) brings the body of his friend into Mexico while kidnapping […]