Spout

So Long, and Thanks for All the Films!

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:47:42 GMT

I'm not sure if the headline works, but I always love a good Douglas Adams reference when appropriate, even if changing the word "fish" to "film" makes it just look like a...

Interview: Don Argott and Demian Fenton on "Last Days Here"

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:10:38 GMT

It’s always a treat when great documentary filmmakers are as prolific as Don Argott and Demian Fenton are. Since their first feature, 2005’s "Rock School," they’ve...

The Doc Option: Instead of "The Lorax" Watch Dr. Seuss' "Your Job in Germany" and "Our Job in Japan"

Christopher Campbell — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:29:10 GMT

Do you think the new animated feature, "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" is liberal propaganda? Lou Dobbs does, and I'm so sure it has nothing to do with this latest animated Seuss adaptation...

Short Starts: Watch "Lorax" Director Chris Renaud's Oscar-Nominated "No Time for Nuts"

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:27:24 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at the directorial debut of Chris Renaud, who co-directed "Dr....

"Act of Valor" is Actually TOO Authentic, Yet Not Real Enough

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:26:45 GMT

After "Act of Valor," we can no longer complain about inaccuracies and inauthentic material in action movies. This relatively fictional and dramatized look at the work of a U.S. Navy SEAL...

Do the Oscars Still Matter - Even for Documentaries?

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:19:02 GMT

Once again, as we near closer to another Academy Awards ceremony, people are asking the same old question: do the Oscars still matter? It’s a silly question by itself, because we must consider...

Review and Interview: Joshua Marston's Very Impressive "The Forgiveness of Blood"

Spout — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:24:03 GMT

One of our favorite films we saw at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival is "The Forgiveness of Blood," the second feature by "Maria Full of Grace" director Joshua...

Short Starts: Watch "Wanderlust" Director David Wain's 1991 Film "Aisle Six"

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:12:37 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look the first film by David Wain, who directed and co-wrote...

The Doc Option: Instead of "Bullhead" Watch "Bigger Stronger Faster"

Christopher Campbell — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:05:56 GMT

Usually I aim this column at a mainstream studio release, but sadly there are no documentaries about antihero motorcyclists with flaming skull heads or tiny people who live under the floorboards or...

"Undefeated" is a Good But Not Great Underdog Sports Film

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:57:09 GMT

It’s very hard not to like “Undefeated,” the underdog sports film that is currently also considered the underdog among the 2012 Oscar nominees in the feature documentary category....

Amir Bar-Lev on His Latest Documentary, "Re:Generation Music Project"

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:42:05 GMT

After directing the very significant and highly successful feature documentaries "My Kid Could Paint That" and "The Tillman Story," as well as serving as a co-producer on the...

The Only Live-Action Remake of "Lady and the Tramp" We'll Ever Need

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:46:42 GMT

While Disney's animated classics continue to get live action remakes, whether of the studio's own doing or via some other production company digging into the same fairytale source materials,...

Short Starts: Watch the Hayao Miyazaki-Scripted "Panda! Go Panda!" and "On Your Mark"

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:55:37 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at three shorts from the mind of Japanese animation master Hayao...

Review and Ranking of the 2012 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:59:56 GMT

I wasn’t too thrilled with last year’s Oscar nominees in the live action short category. It was my first time seeing and reviewing all the films, though, and I wasn’t aware that it...

"If a Tree Falls" Director Marshall Curry on His Second Oscar Nomination, What He Looks for in a Subject and What Keeps Hollywood Interested in Remaking Docs

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:53:08 GMT

Since his debut in 2005 with "Street Fight," documentary filmmaker Marshall Curry has remained one of the most acclaimed nonfiction directors working today. That first film, about the 2002...

Review and Ranking of the 2012 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

Christopher Campbell — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:42:36 GMT

Curious which Oscar-nominated animated short film will win the Academy Award on February 26? Well, I'm no prognosticator and I honestly don't really care which little-known filmmaker takes...

Short Starts: Watch Two Tim Burton-ish Films by "Journey 2" Director Brad Peyton

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:16:04 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at two early films by director Brad Peyton, whose latest feature is the...

The Doc Option: Instead of "Big Miracle" See "The Whale"

Christopher Campbell — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:40:30 GMT

I can understand the appeal of "Big Miracle," the cheesy looking new movie about a whale trapped in Arctic ice. I was once a preteen kid obsessed with marine life and I definitely would...

Short Starts: Watch "Ghost Closet '07" - Written by "Chronicle" Screenwriter Max Landis

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:48:04 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at an earlier film by screenwriter Max Landis, who wrote...

Sundance 2012: Reviews of "The Other Dream Team," "The Law in These Parts" and "Love Free or Die"

Christopher Campbell — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:30:46 GMT

As a documentary fan and critic who discovered so many great nonfiction films at Sundance last year, including some of 2011’s very best, it’s been extremely painful not being in Park City...

Slamdance 2012: Alexandra Berger Talks “Danland,” Finding a Narrative in Verite Style and Being a Woman Documenting the Porn Industry

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:13:38 GMT

One of the highlights at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival is the documentary "Danland," which follows the romantic pursuits of a well-known producer and star of amateur...

Sundance 2012: Managing Cynicism - This Year’s Great Crop of Sundance Online Shorts

Daniel Walber — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:15:00 GMT

Maybe I’m a bit cynical. That’s not true. I’m excessively cynical. I could claim it comes naturally once you’ve seen too many movies, but that doesn’t seem like a good...

Sundance 2012: Top Online Shorts "Long Distance Information" and "The Debutante Hunters"

Daniel Walber — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:23:39 GMT

All of the nine shorts Yahoo and the Sundance Film Festival have put on the web are pretty good. It’s an impressive crop, and I’d say more consistent than a lot of the stuff festivals...

Which Documentaries Could Be Remade as Narrative Films?

Christopher Campbell — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:02:00 GMT

It doesn’t happen that often, but sometimes documentaries are adapted, or remade, into narrative films. That’s what we call the fully dramatized versions anyway, ignoring the fact that...

2012 Oscar Nominee Discussions

Spout — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:05:40 GMT

First, obligatorily, we don't care about the Oscars. Second, we really haven't seen or at least haven't written about enough of the Oscar nominees this year. Part of the reason is that a...