Being Elmo is the critically acclaimed documentary that tells the story of Muppets puppeteer—and Elmo creator—Kevin Clash. The film details the rise of Clash from a childhood of adversity in suburban Baltimore, to hobnobbing with Jim Henson and co. in New York City, to becoming one of the most respected puppeteers of his time. Even […]
Film + TV
Posted inArts + Music
Pariah
A quiet triumph of 2011’s festival circuit—landing Independent Spirit, Gotham, Sundance and GLAAD Media awards—Dee Rees’ Pariah is part coming-out story, part family portrait. Alike (Adepero Oduye, 30 passing for 18) is leading a double life—straight at home, gay everywhere else, including school and New York’s lesbian clubs. In a bit of a switch, it’s […]
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Brainy, stylish Footnote
This 2011 film from Israeli auteur Joseph Cedar was in contention for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars this year and won an award at Cannes for its screenplay. A story of father and son academics, Eliezer (Shlomo Bar Aba) and Uriel Shkolnik (Lior Ashkenazi), both authorities on Talmudic studies at the Hebrew University […]
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OUTeast Film Fest gets popping
Krista Davis‘ stop motion animated OUTeast Film Festival‘s save the date promo video has a pleasantly Marcel the Shell With Shoes On feel, with added snack appeal. Davis (with help from Margot Durling, Ria Mae, Tanya Davis, Stewart Legere, Tara Thorne, Don Brownrigg and Andria Wilson) put all this impressive effort into the short, the […]
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No need to S.H.I.E.L.D. your eyes, The Avengers rules
Joss Whedon didn’t have an official hand in any of the individual Marvel superhero movies that laid the foundation for The Avengers, but his signature is all over this one. That’s a good thing. The nerd-god auteur handles several films’ worth of characters, and the big name actors who play them, as adroitly as could […]
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Stillman’s back with Damsels in Distress
Whit Stillman hasn’t made a movie since 1998—The Last Days of Disco, with Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny. He’s back now with Damsels in Distress, a mannered, high-falutin cupcake comedy about a quartet of girls (led by indie It girl Greta Gerwig, The Future of American Acting TM) who have decided that they would live […]
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Greta Gerwig’s Method-free mumblecore
The future of American acting yawns. “Sorry,” she says, embarrassed. “I have film festival rundown.” Greta Gerwig is 28 and has almost as many acting credits. You may have seen her in studio fare like No Strings Attached or Arthur, or Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, stealing the movie from Ben Stiller. But she emerged from a […]
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Full Court Press is back
Oh hey! Carsten abandoned us all here for $greener$ pastures so I’ll be taking care of all your film and on screen needs from now on. I hate wasting time, so here we go with some stuff. Full Court Press is back! Filling the void left from Flag on the Play‘s seasonal absence, Hugh Stewart […]
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Ch-ch-ch-changes at Haliwood Insider
I am leaving The Coast this week. I’ve had a great time keeping tabs on the local film and media business on this blog. Though I’m moving on to a new editorial position elsewhere in Halifax, you may see my name show up again at The Coast in the future, likely writing about film as […]
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Revenge of the Electric Car
As the old proverb goes, success is the best revenge. In the follow up to his critically acclaimed 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, Chris Paine’s Revenge of the Electric Car details the insurgence of electric vehicles on the commercial car world, following Nissan and GM as they attempt to make the world’s first […]
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Fun in pages, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
Perhaps documentarian Morgan Spurlock’s greatest gift to his new film is that he resists appearing in it. And in getting out of the way of his subject matter, he produces the best work of his career. It’s a story that will be familiar to any artist trying to make a living doing what they love: […]
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A bruising Bully
Earnest and stubbornly real, Bully doesn’t flinch from showing the torture faced by children every day. Director Lee Hirsch follows five American families and shows the bullying their children experience. Young Alex is punched, stabbed with pencils, threatened with death, and takes it all with a haunting, hollow look in his eyes. It’s hard to […]
