Stephen Root
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Film Review: ‘To Leslie’ Highlights the Talents of Andrea Riseborough and Marc Maron
Watching someone self-destruct is a hallmark of cinema, especially character-based dramas. However, to do one properly isn’t easy easy as some storytellers think. You need an intriguing premise, sure, but you really need an actor and/or actress who can keep you captivated throughout. In the case of To Leslie, which is a dramatized version of […] More
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NYFF Film Review: ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ is a Visually Stunning and Modern Take on the Shakespeare Classic
Opening the 59th New York Film Festival, Joel Coen‘s The Tragedy of Macbeth is austere in its presentation, yet is brimming with intensity. One of William Shakespeare‘s most notable tragedies, Coen plays up the politically tragic aspect of the story. The corruptive nature of power, something well known to scholars of the play, is in […] More
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Film Review: ‘Four Good Days’ Features Good Acting Among the Myriad Cliches
Cliches aren’t inherently a bad thing. I know it sounds odd, but it’s true. After all, as I’ve said before, cliches only get that way because they work. More important than whether a film utilizes a cliche or not is how it does so. Deftly play with them and no one will mind. Lazily throw […] More
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Film Review: ‘Happily’ Presents a Lot of Questions Without Many Answers
After over a decade of living in happily married bliss, Tom (Joel McHale) and Janet (Kerry Bishé) are surprised to discover that their friends are resentful of their seemingly perfect relationship. The film Happily opens up with them at a party together, pretending to be strangers as part of a romantic role play where they’re […] More
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Film Fest 919 Review: ‘Uncle Frank’ is an Engaging Drama from Alan Ball
When American Beauty was first released, Alan Ball was rightly hailed as an exciting new voice in film. Since then, he’s largely focused on the small screen, creating Six Feet Under and True Blood. On the big screen, he’s really only had his directorial debut, Towelhead, to follow up American Beauty with. Now, Ball has […] More