NYC Film Critic

The indie rock doc Echotone offers an intriguing look at the Austin music scene as well as the larger changes taking place in the city itself.  While it doesn’t combine these twin narratives as effectively as it perhaps could, it’s still well worth seeing for anyone interesting in the subject or movies like Dig and Some Kind of Monster.  Read my full review at Film Journal.

I didn’t love Miranda July’s acclaimed debut Me and You and Everyone We Know, but I did like it — it’s got its own unique rhythm and vision of the world that’s alternately annoying and captivating.  I had the same experience watching her sophomore effort, The Future, which I reviewed over at Film Journal International.  Read my review here.

Project Nim, James Marsh’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire, is another well-told account of a lost slice of ’70s social history–this one about the chimpanzee Nim Chimpskee, who was at the center of a research project to determine whether a chimp could be raised to communicate like a human.  As the movie illustrates, neither the case study, nor Nim’s life, had a happy ending.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

This summer’s final comic book-inspired movie is Captain America: The First Avenger, arriving in theaters July 22nd from Marvel Studios.  It’s both a World War II-era period piece and the final piece of the puzzle in what will become next year’s big superhero extravaganza, The Avengers, an all-star team-up movie featuring Iron Man, Thor and The Hulk among others.  I spoke with Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, and Joe Johnston, the director of Captain America for the July issue of Film Journal.  Follow the links to read both pieces.

More Marvels: Kevin Feige Guides Resurgence of an Iconic Comic-Book Brand

Avenger Auteur: Joe Johnston Shapes a Muscular Captain America

Cameron Diaz plays a bad teacher in…uh, Bad Teacher, the new comedy from writer/director Jake Kasdan.  I spoke with Kasdan for a feature that went live today over at Film Journal.  Read the piece and see the movie on June 24th.

The Michael Bergmann-directed indie comedy Tied To a Chair offers an interesting set-up, but suffers mightily from a lack of follow through.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

The fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film On Stranger Tides is intended to launch a new series of high-seas adventures with Captain Jack Sparrow at its center.  But mostly this leaden blockbuster just shows why the franchise has run its course.  Read my review over at Film Journal and try to resist the lure of Johnny Depp’s pirate mascara if you can.  Your wallet will thank you.

The creator of Star Wars is placed on trial by the franchise’s many fans in the new documentary The People Vs. George Lucas.  Sadly, the film doesn’t make its case, but it does provide a fun look at the many faces of contemporary fandom.  Read my full review over at Film Journal International.

Kristen Wiig makes the leap from Saturday Night Live performer to leading lady with Bridesmaids, a new marital-themed comedy she co-wrote and stars in.  I interviewed the movie’s director Paul Feig, who does a nice job escalating the various comic hijinks the occur throughout.  Read the story over at Film Journal.

I filed a brief reaction to Kelly Reichardt’s terrific Western Meek’s Cutoff when I first saw the film at the New York Film Festival last October.  Now that the movie is finally opening in theaters for the rest of you to see (as well you should) I’ve expanded on those thoughts in a review for Film Journal.  Keep checking the film’s official website to learn when its opening in your area and make plans to see it as soon as it arrives.