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One of the greatest powers that films have is the ability to generate empathy. Even if we have a hard time understanding the issues that other people are dealing with, a great movie can open us up to someone else's experience. While some people go to the movies simply for escapism, films can be a tool for healing and learning.

Divorce is a topic that cinema has flirted with since the golden age of Hollywood, and classic films bravely took on these topics. Comedies like "His Girl Friday" and "The Awful Truth" dealt with non-traditional relationships, in which the couple has to consider the vows they want to make to each other. Although the 1970s saw many serious dramas about the legal proceedings of divorce, such as "Scenes From A Marriage" and "An Unmarried Woman," there have also been more humorous interpretations like "Something's Gotta Give" and "It's Complicated."

Here...

Halfway through the very scary 4th episode of Netflix's surprise smash "Archive 81," an artist named Cassandra (Kristin Griffith) glibly observes, "[all humans] are performers — in one way or another." I concur, Cassandra! Humans learn to walk, talk, and do almost everything through imitation. All the world's a stage. What Rebecca Sonnenshine's show terrifyingly posits is that the act of performance opens anyone up to spirits that might move through them — creative or otherwise.

In "Archive 81," the line between creative and otherwise is razor-thin. From Rebecca Thomas and James Wan to the white-hot team of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, there are many talented filmmakers involved in...

The post The Characters of Archive 81, Ranked appeared first on /Film.

Hulu has added nine actors in recurring roles to the upcoming series “The Girl From Plainville,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Chinasa Ogbuagu, Kelly AuCoin, Scott William Winters, Kristin Griffith, Ella Rubin, Megan Lawless, John Henry Ward, Leah Thompkins, and Callie McClincy have all joined the drama series.

They join previously announced cast members Elle Fanning, Chloë Sevigny, Colton Ryan, Cara Buono, Kai Lennox, and Norbert Leo Butz.

“The Girl From Plainville” is inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter’s controversial “texting-suicide” case. Based off the Esquire article of the same name by Jesse Barron, the limited series will explore Carter’s (Fanning) relationship with Conrad Roy III (Ryan) and the events that led to his death and, later, her controversial conviction of involuntary manslaughter.

Full character descriptions for the new additions to the cast can be found below.

Liz Hannah and Patrick Macmanus will co-write the series and...

The Devil All the Time Review — The Devil All the Time (2020) Film Review, a movie directed by Antonio Campos, and starring Donald Ray Pollock, Bill Skarsgård, Tom Holland, Haley Bennett, Kristin Griffith, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Harry Melling, Pokey Lafarge, Eliza Scanlen, and Robert Pattinson. The experience of watching Antonio [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: The Devil All The Time (2020): Horror in 1950s Suburbia that is Frightening on Several Levels...

There is no reason to care about anyone in Antonio Campos’ “The Devil All the Time,” . More a pileup of scenes and tragedies strung together than the Altmanesque kaleidoscope of intersecting lives it could have been, this slog of an adaptation from Donald Ray Pollock’s terrific Appalachian gothic is dead from the start, with stars like Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson eagerly doing their best to resuscitate the corpse for a nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time.

Director Campos has excelled in mining the masculine and feminine in much smaller-scale movies like indies “Afterschool,” “Simon Killer,” and “Christine,” but that once nimble and focused approach — generally on films that chart an individual’s psychic unraveling into a murderer, sociopath, or suicide case — doesn’t translate successfully to a broader canvas. “The Devil All the Time” has to juggle so many characters that it becomes incoherent and basically boring onscreen, bobbing more...

Stars: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton, Rachel Bay Jones, David Zaldivar, Alexandra Park, Michael Esper, Tim Guinee, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Kristin Griffith, Jack Davidson, Mia Fowler, Jakari Fraser, Cameron Roberts | Written and Directed by Peter Hedges

Ben is Back, directed by Peter Hedges, faces strong competition in this year’s “Armageddon vs Deep Impact” cinematic war/rivalry against Felix van Groeningen’s Beautiful Boy. Two incredibly alike films that follow a parent and drug-addicted son relationship in the emotionally tormenting journey that both travel on. Peter Hedges film stands firmly on its own ground with a semi-captivating drama that hits with a suffocating gut punch of emotionally draining brutality but gets lost on the path it travels with excessively dramatic plot elements that are executed more in the realm of the absurd than captivating.

The unnecessary plot elements, while not destructive to the films overall narrative or resonance of emotional depth,...

Drawing Home M.Y.R.A. Entertainment Director: Markus Rupprecht Screenwriter: Markus Rupprecht, Donna Logan Cast: Julie Lynn Mortensen, Juan Riedinger, Kate Mulgrew, Kristin Griffith, Rutger Hauser, Torrance Coombs, Christian Campbell, Jenny Kost Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 11/2/17 Opens: December 1 in La. Dec. 22 in NY. Some folks are beach bums while others prefer the mountains: […]

The post Drawing Home Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

“A Long Day’S Journey Into A Little Night Silence”

By Raymond Benson

Woody’s Allen’s first dramatic feature film, Interiors, released in 1978 on the heels of his hugely successful and Oscar-winning masterpiece, Annie Hall, was met with praise by some and head-scratching by others. Most critics, however, acknowledged that the picture was a step the artist needed to take in his evolution as a filmmaker.

Prior to Annie Hall, Allen’s films were zany comedies—the “early funny ones,” as facetiously described in a later work, Stardust Memories. Beginning with Annie, Allen made a quantum leap forward in originality, confidence, and stylistic maturity. He reinvented the romantic comedy. In many ways, Annie Hall is a movie with a European sensibility. It could be argued that Allen’s body of work post-Annie resembles the kind of material made by a director like, say, Francois Truffaut—small, well-written, intimate gems about people,...

Drawing Home screens Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6:30pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found Here. Lead actors Juan Riedinger and Julie Lynn Mortenson will be in attendance as well as producers Allan Neuwirth and Margarethe Baillou.

In 1920s Boston, East Coast debutante Catharine Robb (newcomer Julie Lynn Mortensen) is dating the most eligible bachelor in the world, John D. Rockefeller III. Her future seems set: a dream life in the upper echelons of society. But Catherine finds her careful plans upended when she meets a young painter, Peter Whyte (Juan Riedinger), from one of the most beautiful places on Earth, the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Although their worlds are polar opposites, a mutual love of art draws them together. They soon face a universal question: Can you find “home” in another person? Inspired by the true story of the central couple,...

Drawing Home screens Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6:30pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Lead actors Juan Riedinger and Julie Lynn Mortenson will be in attendance as well as producers Allan Neuwirth and Margarethe Baillou.

You can win a pair of tickets to the screening Thursday night! We Are Movie Geeks has 5 pairs of tickets to give away. Just leave you first and last name in the comments section below. I’ll notify you Tuesday afternoon if your name will be on the list at the door to get in free. Good luck!

Read my interview with Drawing Home producers Allan Neuwirth and Margarethe Baillou Here

In 1920s Boston, East Coast debutante Catharine Robb (newcomer Julie Lynn Mortensen) is dating the most eligible bachelor in the world, John D. Rockefeller III. Her future seems set: a dream life in the upper echelons of society.

Drawing Home screens Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6:30pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found Here. Lead actors Juan Riedinger and Julie Lynn Mortenson will be in attendance as well as producers Allan Neuwirth and Margarethe Baillou.

In 1920s Boston, East Coast debutante Catharine Robb (newcomer Julie Lynn Mortensen) is dating the most eligible bachelor in the world, John D. Rockefeller III. Her future seems set: a dream life in the upper echelons of society. But Catherine finds her careful plans upended when she meets a young painter, Peter Whyte (Juan Riedinger), from one of the most beautiful places on Earth, the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Although their worlds are polar opposites, a mutual love of art draws them together. They soon face a universal question: Can you find “home” in another person? Inspired by the true story of the central couple,...

The schedule for the 25th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (Sliff) has been announced and once again film goers will be offered the best in cutting edge features and shorts from around the globe. The festival takes place November 3-13, 2016.

Sliff kicks off on November 3 with the opening-night selection St. Louis Brews, the latest home-brewed documentary by local filmmaker Bill Streeter, director of Brick By Chance And Fortune: A St. Louis Story (read my interview with Bill Here)

According to Sliff, the festival will feature more than 125 filmmaking guests, including honorees: Actress Karen Allen (Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Animal House), director Charles Burnett (Killer Of Sheep, To Sleep With Anger), winner of the Cinema St. Louis Lifetime Achievement Award; and director Steve James (Hoop Dreams).

Full information on Sliff films, including synopses, dates/time, and links for purchase of advance tickets is available on the Cinema St.

After building a successful career as a comedic performer, Sarah Silverman makes the transition to drama seamlessly in the first trailer for I Smile Back. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, and was acquired by Broad Green Pictures in March. The film debuts in theaters October 23, but it will have a Special Presentation screening tomorrow night, Saturday, September 12 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Laney Sarah Silverman) is an attractive, intelligent suburban wife and devoted mother of two adorable children. She has the perfect husband who plays basketball with the kids in the driveway, a pristine house, and a shiny SUV for carting the children to their next activity. However, just beneath the fa&#231ade lie depression and disillusionment that send her careening into a secret world of reckless compulsion. Only very real danger will force her to face the painful root of her destructiveness...

Stars: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw, Wyatt Russell, Nick Damici, Lanny Flaherty, Kristin Griffith, Dorothea Swiac, Joe Lanza, Rachel Zeiger-Haag | Written by Jim Mickle, Nick Damici, Joe R. Lansdale | Directed by Jim Mickle

Texan thriller Cold In July, has been hailed as the new No Country for Old Men. The latest film from director Jim Mickle is based on a pulp thriller novel by Joe R Lansdale, who arguably isn’t in the same league as Cormac McCarthy. But can his film adapattion live up to the hype? Having been a big fan of the brilliant albeit trashy series, Dexter, I was keen to see how Michael C. Hall adapted to the big screen.

The film sets off at a rapid pace, with foundations quickly set for an intriguing puzzle. Our protagonist Richard Dane (along with his dodgy Texan accent), is woken up by a curious noise in his downstairs kitchen.

Stars: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw, Wyatt Russell, Nick Damici, Lanny Flaherty, Kristin Griffith, Dorothea Swiac, Joe Lanza, Rachel Zeiger-Haag | Written by Jim Mickle, Nick Damici, Joe R. Lansdale | Directed by Jim Mickle

In the middle of the night, a sound alerts a young couple that an intruder has entered their home. Husband, father and picture frame salesman Richard (Michael C. Hall) confronts the burglar and, out of terror more than anything else, shoots him dead. Shortly afterwards Ben (Sam Shepard), the father of the man Richard shot, makes contact with him and threatens his family. Thus begins a thrillingly tense game of cat and mouse that will, of course, change the lives of all involved.

Except that this only covers the first forty-five minutes or so of the film. The narrative runs off in an unexpected direction and takes a twisty path towards its conclusion...