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Wrapping up my coverage of this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival, I wanted to shine the spotlight on some of the short film programs I was able to see. Thanks to some hype created by my lovely girlfriend, I was particularly excited to see the animated and Irish short programs but was also able to […]
Closing out the 18th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival is The Exception, a World War II drama that may as well be called The Good Nazi. Adapted from the novel “The Kaiser’s Last Kiss” by Alan Judd, the film tells the story of a German Nazi Captain who falls in love with a Jewish Dutch […]
One of the advantages of seeing smaller films touring around festivals is having a chance to see character actors in lead roles. The Hero provides the great Sam Elliot this chance and it’s a joy to watch. No stranger to cinema, Elliot has been a stable presence in many films and TV shows for over […]
There is a lot to get out of films surrounding family secrets. Ideally, you are gradually drawn into learning about who a family is, establishing various personas, only to have things turn around on you thanks to sudden reveals. It’s not a cheat to make these sort of twists, as you’ve been effectively coerced into […]
The tagline for this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival is “Go Deeper” and that is certainly fitting for the Opening Night premiere film. Take Every Wave: The Life of Laid Hamilton is both an extreme sports film, featuring some breathtaking footage, and a solid biographical study of big-wave surfer and ocean pioneer Laird Hamilton. This […]
For everyone looking to head to SoCal and check out some films this April, the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival begins on the 20th. Additionally, the NBFF has announced TAKE EVERY WAVE: THE LIFE OF LAIRD HAMILTON as its opening night film. The screening will take place on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 7:30pm at Edwards […]
For this last post concerning my coverage of the 2016 Newport Beach Film Festival, I wanted to take the time to dig into some of the short films presented. Thanks to a lovely programmer, I was able to attend a couple shorts programs. A few in particular really stood out and while it is great […]
It can be fun to learn a neat fact from a film. Call of the Void is a solid neo-noir whose title is translated from the French psychoanalytical term l’appel du vide, which refers a person having a self-destructive impulse. Armed with a camera and a desire to make a film hearkening back to an […]
For closing night at the Newport Beach Film Festival, right after winning a Best Actor prize at the Tribeca Film Festival, The Fixer was screened. The film is a fish out of water mystery tale set in a small town, with a colorful cast of characters. Some interesting thematic angles are at play and while […]
Imagine the worst possible cab ride of your life and then take it to the next level by going weird with it. That’s what Fare is. This nifty 75-minute thriller from writer/director/star Thomas Torrey takes a single-location concept and allows for unexpected turns that build into a radical third act that pushes the nature of relationships to […]
Here’s an innocent enough romantic comedy that plays up a culture clash angle and mostly comes out on top. UNindian follows many of the tropes you’d expect, but brings in a Bollywood element that certainly helps to establish an identity for it. Familiar or not, the film is effective enough given the cast chemistry and features a […]
It is fun to see a connection that ties together actors from all over the world. For the case of Being George Clooney, the connection is international voice dubbing. The process may be understood at surface level, but there are a lot of interesting things that go into being the voice of another actor. This […]
A film like Remember Me makes me wonder why EGOT-winner Rita Moreno is not appearing more frequently in feature films. The veteran actor may be in the role of wise-cracking grandmother, but she plays it quite well and many should know she is capable of more. For now though, here’s an enjoyable film that gets […]
If you are going to pay homage to Woody Allen, you better be sure everyone is on board to do the same thing. Writer/director/composer/star Alexander Tovar wears many hats for his film Show Business, but it felt as if he had a little bit of a tough time managing all of them to completely nail […]
This year After the Reality opened the 17th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival. Since Jewtopia served as the opening night feature a few years back, I have been doing my best to manage my excitement level for these premieres, but the film was certainly no dud. While a bit familiar, the comedy-drama took on some […]
Here we are with another year for NBFF. The 17th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival is arriving this week (April 21-28th) and they have hundreds of films to present. This year, NBFF is proud to announce its Opening Night Film, the world- premiere of After The Reality starring Matthew Morrison and Sarah Chalke and Closing Night Film, The Fixer starring Dominic […]
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