Lone Survivor Written and directed by Peter Berg USA, 2013 The most unsettling moment in Lone Survivor, upon reflection, is its opening shot, one that mirrors the first moments of the extended long-take beginning of Gravity, albeit in a more Earthbound fashion. The former is a static shot of bleak, dry land in Afghanistan as …
David Gordon Green says that he was inspired to make his most recent film, Prince Avalanche, after shooting a Super Bowl commercial for Chrysler that featured Clint Eastwood. His crew was about ten men, with not much star power (Eastwood isn’t on screen for two-thirds of it), and it was shockingly easy for Green considering how much money Chrysler was willing to put at stake. Prince Avalanche is similar, a film so easygoing and simple that it seems to have required no effort at all, but which never seems lazy.
The story of Bonnie & Clyde, immortalized by the 1967 Oscar-winning movie, remains popular even today, and so it was only a matter of time before someone would come along and adapt a story based on the notorious couple. History and Lifetime are mounting a four-hour Bonnie & Clyde miniseries, produced by Smash‘s Craig Zadan …
Prince Avalanche Directed by David Gordon Green Written by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (original story), David Gordon Green (adapted screenplay) US, 2013 The inception of this film does not so much start with a story but a location. Filmed in the ash ridden Bastrop, TX after the late 2011 fires that devastated thousands of homes, Prince …
Killer Joe Directed by William Friedkin Written by Tracy Letts USA, 2012 Nudity doesn’t often serve as a statement of purpose for an American filmmaker, but Killer Joe delights in going against the grain. In the first scene, one of the lead characters opens the door to her trailer, naked from the waist down. In …
Killer Joe Written by Tracy Letts Directed by William Friedkin USA, 2011 William Friedkin – in the likes of The French Connection, To Live and Die in L.A. and The Exorcist – has always been a director drawn to the absurdities or extremes that can be found with figures of authority. Killer Joe – his …