Saturday movie review: Wild Canaries (update!)

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Last fall I published a movie review on a screwball comedy called WILD CANARIES. I screened it as part of the 2015 Starz Denver Film Festival and at the time, there was no trailer for the film, no rating for the film, no release date for the film. Still, I was compelled to share with you then the wildly entertaining film.

Well, good things come to those who wait!

Wild Canaries film poster

I'm now compelled to tell you there is not only a...

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Saturday movie review: Wild Canaries

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Unfortunately I cannot tell you when this movie will be released theatrically. I can tell you, though, that the minute you get the chance to see WILD CANARIES, you absolutely must. This funky, romantic, comedic, screwball murder mystery is in a class of its own and not to be missed.

WILD CANARIES directed by Lawrence Michael Levine stars Levine as Noah and his...

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Saturday movie review: 'Wild'

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Let me first say, I have not read Cheryl Strayed's book, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, upon which the movie WILD is based. So you won't find here any comparisons of the book to the movie WILD. 

Wild movie poster

For those who, like me, somehow failed to read Strayed's best-selling book, WILD is the true story...

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'Gene Kelly: The Legacy' — Patricia Kelly on her late husband, plus exclusive Q&A

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In one of the highlights of last month's Starz Denver Film Festival experience, Jim and I had the fabulous opportunity to attend Gene Kelly: The Legacy — An evening with Patricia Ward Kelly. As guests of Mrs. Kelly. What a fabulous treat it was.

Patricia Kelly on Gene Kelly

Patricia Kelly's two-hour, behind-the-scenes presentation highlighted her late husband's life and legacy in a sentimental, intimate manner no other biographer might be able to do. "Since I had the privilege of recording his words nearly every day for over ten years," Mrs. Kelly told me...

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Photo finish: People of the red carpet

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The Starz Denver Film Festival wrapped up this past weekend, with the last red carpet event being the screening of AT MIDDLETON, directed by Adam Rodgers and starring Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga.

Here, my view of the people of the red carpet:

THE EVERYDAY PEOPLE

red carpet eventThe AT MIDDLETON red carpet experience with my favorite co-star, aka Jim.

THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

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Saturday movie review: 'The Truth About Emanuel'

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THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL is a wholly original and unpredictable film on grief and the stories that keep us afloat. Emanuel's story is that she killed her mother. Or that's how Emanuel (Kaya Scodelario) puts it in the voice-over in the movie's first scene.

As the dark film begins, it's days before Emanuel's eighteenth birthday. Emanuel detests birthday celebrations, though, because her mother died giving birth to her. Her combative attitude through much of the film makes it seem she detests far more than just her birthdays, including herself.

The Truth About Emanuel
(from left) Kaya Scodelario and Jessica Biel in THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL.

Emanuel lives with her father (Alfred Molina) and a stepmother she treats horribly. She seems fragile and ready to come undone any moment. The situation — and Emanuel's psychological state — take a complex turn for the worse when a young mother (played by Jessica Biel) moves in next door.

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