AFI Film Festival

Quartet

Written by Meredith Alloway Monday, November 05, 2012, 2:44 PM

It’s about time Dustin. We’ve been waiting for the moment when you’d step behind the camera. Like other actors of his time, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson and Ron Howard to name a few, he’s trying his hand at directing. His directorial debut Quartet is loaded with legendary actors, backed by super-producers the Weinstein Co. and is a lovely, well-rounded script. If the film is any proof of Hoffman’s future as a director, we should be excited.

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Silver Linings Playbook

Written by Meredith Alloway Monday, November 05, 2012, 2:12 PM

Watching David O’Russell’s latest film is almost like watching a football game. Seeing it in the jam-packed Egyptian Theater at AFI fest, the crowd cheered, booed and even shed some tears. Was this metaphor intentional? Perhaps. The film centers on an Eagles-obsessed football family after all.

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I Melt With You: 2011 AFI Film Fest

Written by Ryan Mason Thursday, November 17, 2011, 3:22 PM

Gorgeous photography and an incredible soundtrack highlight director Mark Pellington’s latest film, I Melt With You, an excellent, darkly comic ode to men grappling poorly with adulthood. 

During the Q&A after the screening at the Egyptian Theater, Pellington described the film best, so I’ll let him summarize it for you: “It’s an allegory for male failure.” How’s that for an uplifting night out with the missus? As depressing as that sounds, I Melt With You isn’t, especially not for the first half, which finds college best friends Richard (Thomas Jane), Ron (Jeremy Piven), Jonathan (Rob Lowe), and Tim (Christian McKay), reuniting at a mansion in Big Sur to celebrate Tim’s birthday and party hard in remembrance of their youth. But this is not The Big Chill 2k11. This is something far different, far darker, and way funnier.

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We Need to Talk About Kevin (Q&A): 2011 AFI

Written by Meredith Alloway Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 12:00 AM

I knew about the big surprise before everyone else. I leave the theatre moments before the screening of We Need to Talk About Kevin begins. For what else, but popcorn. As I’m loading up on the butter, I see him: John C. Reilly. This should be good. 

After the film ends and the credits roll, not only is Reilly there for the Q&A, but also Tilda Swinton, the leading lady, accompanies him. She looks in fact like the Snow Queen she once portrayed, with bleach white hair and a delicate cream dress. Her hair is short, sharp and mirrors the severity and beauty of her bone structure. Mr. Reilly couldn’t be more different. He’s in jeans, a button down and a tan hat something like a cowboy but with more flop to it. He’s relaxed; she’s serious… surprise, surprise.

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Melancholia: 2011 AFI Fest

Written by Meredith Alloway Saturday, November 12, 2011, 9:54 AM

I should have had a glass of wine before this one.

Lars Von Trier is known for his unsettling, shocking and gruesome journey into the human psyche. Melancholia may not be as horrific as his last film Antichrist, but it still remains subtly terrifying. Everyone fears. Von Trier knows this and although he made a movie specifically about fearing the end of the world, it’s hard not to let your own anxiety creep in, realizing just how relatable the story really is.

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