Writer-director Afia Nathaniel’s debut feature Dukhtar (Daughter) is an important and urgent film depicting the unfortunately accepted practice in Pakistan of a child (in this case, as it often is, a girl) being given away for marriage to settle a blood feud. But even more than that, Dukhtar is a thrilling and vibrant adventure film that beautifully captures the love a mother has for her daughter, and the lengths she will go in order to ensure her daughter’s protection.

The film begins when 15-year-old Allah Rakhi is given in marriage to the older tribal chief Daulat Khan (Asif Khan). Ever since the marriage, Allah Rakhi has been completely separated from her family and robbed of finishing any education she could’ve hoped for. Later, a now grown Allah Rakhi (Samiya Mumtaz) shares a 10-year-old daughter, Zainab (Saleha Aref), with Daulat. Upon learning that Daulat has promised Zainab to rival tribe leader Tor Gul (Abdullah Jaan), Allah Rakhi decides to flee with her young daughter to save Zainab from the same fate she suffered. After a harrowing escape the mother and daughter come upon truck driver Sohail (Mohib Mirza), who agrees to help them escape. From there, the film excels as the journey bonds the three of them together, creating the emotional core of the film.

The success of this intriguing story is tied to Nathaniel’s assured direction, who creates one of the more stunning debuts of the last several years. Nathaniel’s biggest triumph is that, while dealing with large and important issues, she never allows them to overshadow the narrative at hand, showing a strong command of story and structure. The pacing may feel rushed at the beginning, but it adds to the nightmarish quality of the early escape scenes before letting the film open up in the second half.

Helping Nathaniel accomplish the transition from the escape to the journey that follows is the work of cinematographer and editor Armughan Hassan. Hassan does excellent work using the film’s mountainous locations to capture some of the most lush and beautiful images of the year, a far cry from the chaotic and claustrophobic visuals filling the early scenes. The use of color is another strength in his work, often contrasting the bright wardrobe of Allah Rakhi and Zainab against the harsh, muted tones of their surroundings. The only element of Hassan’s visuals that doesn’t work is a reliance on soft focus and rack focusing during a few scenes, but not enough can be said about the beautiful landscapes Hassan captures, bringing the work of Terrence Malick to mind (which is just about the highest praise I can think of for a cinematographer).

In front of the camera, Samiya Mumtaz delivers a wonderful performance as a mother doing everything she can to save her child against all odds. It’s a performance that can be gut-wrenching at times, but is almost never without hope. Mohib Mirza is strong as well, providing a welcome presence in the latter half of the film as his character begins to care and look out for Allah Rakhi and Zainab. And Saleha Aref is solid in the role of Zainab, but doesn’t have as much to do as she takes a back seat to her two co-stars as the film progresses. Outside of these three the rest of the supporting cast is far too one-note and ineffective to leave much of an impression, their near mustache-twirling villainy out-of-place amongst an otherwise great film.

Overall, Dukhtar is a powerful and moving film capable of providing more thrills than your average blockbuster, a rare and exciting combination from an emerging filmmaker. With a mostly strong cast and skillful crew, this is a film that shouldn’t be missed. And it will be interesting to see where an interesting voice like Nathaniel will go from here.

Dukhtar is currently playing in limited release across the US. To find out more information about the film and where it’s playing, visit www.dukhtarthefilm.com.

The Keeping Room is the second feature-length film from Daniel Barber, director of the disappointing Harry Brown and Oscar-nominated short film The Tonto Woman. What’s frustrating is that, despite some glimpses of great work found in the film, we’re ultimately left with a disappointing experience similar to Barber’s previous efforts.

Taking place at the end of the Civil War, The Keeping Room starts out with a bang as two rogue Union soldiers and kill a group of women and a man unfortunate enough to cross their paths. But just as quickly as the film steps on the gas, it eases up as the story transitions to a small Southern family’s farm that only houses sisters Augusta (Brit Marling) and Louise (Hailee Steinfeld) along with their slave Mad (Muna Otaru). Any interesting dynamics or tension that could be expected from this situation are pretty much glossed over in the first half of the film, and largely go unexplored. Later, Augusta goes into town to get medicine for Louise and runs into the rogue soldiers Moses (Sam Worthington) and Henry (Kyle Soller) seen at the beginning. This triggers a cat-and-mouse game that continues throughout the rest of the film, as the three women attempt to survive the murderous Moses and Henry.

Guiding the film through a shaky first half are two great performances; Otaru with her endlessly expressive eyes, and Worthington’s menacing presence. And the rest of the cast turn in mostly admirable efforts. Brit Marling is solid in the lead role, but unfortunately her character is also the most uninteresting of the main cast. Hailee Steinfeld is strong at times but severely underwritten, and Kyle Soller does what he can with his thankless role.

Barber makes great use of space and locations, but his direction is a constant source of frustration. He consistently lets the film meander longer than needed, mishandling sequences that should be thrilling and intense. Cinematographer Martin Ruhe does solid work, bringing a cold sense of dread to the film that makes up for some of the unnecessary and ineffective handheld shots. The feminist leanings of Julia Hart’s screenplay are a welcome addition to this bloody western, but the story is overly simple to a fault and only gets interesting in the final minutes. And that’s the ultimate problem with the film; outside of a rambunctious opening and promising conclusion, it not only fails to engage but seems fairly uninterested in doing so.

While the acting helps the film stay afloat and some intriguing ideas are brought up (and then immediately dropped), the film has very little to offer and doesn’t even provide some of the B-Movie thrills that the equally disappointing Harry Brown managed to pull off. So while The Keeping Room isn’t the worst way to spend 90 minutes, there are certainly better ways to fill one’s time.

Despite his great films and huge influence on several of today’s most celebrated directors (including Quentin Tarantino), Brian De Palma is somehow one of cinema’s most underrated filmmakers. While De Palma has had his share of misfires (Snake Eyes) to outright disasters (Bonfire of the Vanities), he’s also responsible for many great films (Scarface, Casualties of War, Dressed to Kill, The Untouchables, and Obsession to name a few).

In honor of the New York Film Festival premiere of Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow’s new documentary De Palma (read our review), which screens on October 11^th, Way Too Indie put together a list of the Top 5 Brian De Palma Films. With such a lengthy filmography and a true master of his craft, it was difficult to decide on just five of his films. So after watching the following films, be sure to check out more of his prolific catalog.

Top 5 Brian De Palma Films

#1. Blow Out (1981)

One of the greatest and most criminally under-seen films of all-time, Blow Out is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word, up there with the best of fellow new Hollywood greats like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Coppola. Featuring John Travolta’s best performance, it makes you wonder how (outside of Pulp Fiction) he has been so spectacularly wasted throughout most of his career. Pino Donaggio’s heartbreakingly beautiful score will sit with you for days after hearing it, no matter how many times you’ve heard it before. Nancy Allen is at her most charismatic, her chemistry with Travolta so rich and natural. At one point while jotting down notes for this article I simply wrote “VILMOS FUCKING ZSIGMOND”, the incredible cinematographer who is a frequent collaborator with De Palma. (Note: Zsigmond’s middle name isn’t “Fucking”, but I’ll be damned if that’s not how I pronounce it every time I watch the many ambitious photographed sequences in Blow Out.)

But the real star of the show is of course, Brian De Palma. Blow Out is the moment when it all clicked in place, all the tools and style De Palma had been toying with and perfecting over the years are on full display here. Beautiful, and in some cases groundbreaking, use of split diopters, Steadicam, split screens, and expert audio editing demonstrates his technically proficient skills. But this is also De Palma’s most mature film. Though not completely void of some of his trademark sleaze and sophomoric humor, Blow Out is a classic thriller that illustrates the frustrations of a person in post-Watergate America tired of the political cover-ups. The film also contains the most tragic, painful, and beautifully executed ending I’ve ever seen in a film.

Do yourself a favor and buy a copy of the Criterion Collection’s release of Blow Out on DVD & Blu-ray. Don’t download it, don’t wait for it on Netflix, buy the Criterion release. You won’t regret it.

#2. Carrie (1976)

Shield your eyes Kubrick super-fans, not only is this one of the strongest horror films of the ’70s, it’s also the best film adaptation of a Stephen King horror story. Don’t get me wrong, The Shining is excellent (so put down that Jack Torrance’s axe), but De Palma’s Carrie is so stylistically rich and anchored by an incredible performance from Sissy Spacek that it’s impossible to turn away from. Spacek and Piper Laurie’s Academy Award-nominated performances (along with Travolta’s stellar work in Blow Out show what a great director of actors Brian De Palma has been throughout his career. Make sure to see this right away if you haven’t already, and if you have, it’s the perfect time for a rewatch.

#3. Carlito’s Way (1993)

One of the more underrated De Palma films and certainly not as widely known as his other collaboration with Al Pacino, but Carlito’s Way is De Palma’s finest crime drama, even superior to Scarface in just about every way. Pacino is in top form here and (along with his Michael Mann collaborations) delivered some of his finest work since the ‘70s. Sean Penn heads up a strong supporting cast. Stephen Burum’s cinematography is exquisite. And David Koepp’s script brings a solid foundation that is missing from most of De Palma’s efforts in this decade.

#4. Sisters (1973)

Along with 1974’s Phantom of the Paradise, Sisters was the film that set in motion the De Palma we know today. The film demonstrated just how versatile he could be considering his earlier work on counter-culture comedies. While Sisters is rough around the edges in some areas, the talent is very clear. De Palma has always been accused of being a Hitchcock rip-off artist and it’s easy to see why when watching something like Sisters (or better yet, Dressed to Kill). But lost in that criticism is the fact that De Palma has always been experimenting and curating his own style by way of his Hitchcock influence. That experimentation is rarely more evident than it is in Sisters with its heavy use of split screens and De Palma allowing the exploitation side of him show with increasingly graphic imagery.

#5. Mission: Impossible (1996)

Still the best entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise despite lacking the thrill of high stakes stunts executed by Cruise himself (an area the last two films have excelled in). Where De Palma one-ups the others is his handling of smaller, quieter moments that create an intensity that permeates the whole film (rather than just a few minutes of insane stunts). This proved that De Palma can handle the big scenes as well, the scene where Cruise’s Ethan Hunt steals the NOC list from C.I.A. headquarters is one of the most masterfully directed sequences of his career.

With his sophomore effort, writer-director Nadeem Soumah delivers 6 Ways to Die, a prime contender for worst film of the year. Full of poor acting, clumsy direction and an incredibly clichéd, needlessly convoluted script, the most value this film carries is that it can act as a guidebook on how not to make a movie. It’s the kind of disaster that would be funny to watch if it weren’t so infuriatingly self-serious and devoid of any real attempts to entertain. It’s a film so poorly realized that most any other crime film, no matter the quality, would look like a masterpiece in comparison.

The film follows the execution of a multi-layered, years in the making plan in which John Doe (Vinnie Jones) seeks revenge against Sonny ‘Sundown’ Garcia (Michael Rene Walton). Sonny was once a good friend and a partner in crime to John Doe before betraying him and ascending the ranks to become the top narcotics distributor for the Colombian cartels (a fact that is mentioned several times in the film to nauseating effect). John’s plan consists of killing Sonny by taking six things from him: his freedom, his love, his reputation, his most valued possession, all his money, and his life. In one of the most mind-numbingly bizarre stylistic choices the film has to offer, the revenge plot is shown in reverse beginning with Sonny’s murder at the hands of a contract killer (Chris Jai Alex) and each step concluding with a ‘One Week Earlier’ title card until the film has finally arrived at the beginning. And with each flashback, a new character is introduced as part of the revenge plot, and as a result, another actor gets a chance to embarrass themselves under the guidance of Soumah’s poor script and direction.

As bad as the acting is, it’s hard to really dissect it seeing as how basically every character in the film is played the exact same way. Outside of Sonny’s heavily underwritten wife Steph (Dominique Swain) and the annoying tech geek Hunter (Jeff Galfer), every character is a mostly silent, brooding, intense figure. And then there’s Vinnie Jones, who essentially acts as walking exposition and only appears to relay the story of betrayal for each new flashback (yes, all six of them) with bits of new information each time. None of these actors could say they’re above typical B-movie action films, yet somehow this still feels like an incredible waste of their time.

But it’s really Soumah who is at fault here. His script is full of unnecessary clichés, a pointlessly convoluted structure, and the stiffest characters assembled on screen this year. His direction is no better. It’s as if someone took Michael Mann and stripped him of all his vision. The film reeks of a desire to look “cool” and “slick,” but it comes across as a humorless parody of that style. The opening scene with Mike Jones (Tom Sizemore) is a perfect example of this, as Soumah consistently cuts from a close-up of Sizemore to several different angled close-ups of Sizemore back-to-back-to-back as if to breathe some intensity into the scene. It’s the type of scene that plays to amusing effect in something like Robert Rodriguez’s Machete, but here is delivered with such sincerity that it feels like a joke Soumah isn’t in on. The film also features a few glaring technical issues, like when a shootout includes a few poorly exposed or color-corrected shots. It’s jarring in the worst way.

And then to top it all off, 6 Ways to Die ends with one of the most asinine, ridiculous twists that I’d say needs to be seen if it weren’t for the torturous hour and 35 minutes preceding it. This twist is so laughable, it feels insulting. 6 Ways to Die is sure to go down as one of the worst films of the year if it’s not completely overlooked, although I think that might be for the best.

Superman Lives is one of the most bizarre and criticized unmade films of all-time, and now thanks to Jon Schnepp we have new insights into the failed project, along with an interesting look in at the equally bizarre nature of the mainstream Hollywood filmmaking machine. The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? begins with Schnepp surveying fans at Comic-Con about the idea of a Tim Burton directed, Nicolas Cage starring Superman movie, showing them the leaked picture of Cage (with flowing hair) wearing an early test version of the new suit. Reactions are mixed.

Schnepp then dives into the history of the film, beginning with producer Jon Peters’ acquisition of the film rights and hiring of Kevin Smith as screenwriter. It’s clear Peters and Smith were never on the same page, as most of their recollections of early meetings never match up. Smith claims Peters wanted a modern, heavily misguided take on the iconic superhero in which he doesn’t fly and doesn’t don his famous outfit and cape; Peters immediately denies this when Schnepp asks him about it later. Peters represents the creatively bankrupt big Hollywood producer, and Smith represents the true fan fighting for the creative integrity of Superman (at least in Smith’s eyes). Their vision is clearly a mess, with the only thing they seem to agree on being that Tim Burton should direct. And so Burton comes on board, but he hates the script, so Smith gets replaced by Batman Returns script doctor Wesley Strick.

This is where things really get rolling, with plenty of interesting developments. Nicolas Cage gets involved in the production, and after getting reminded of his incredible performances in films like Adaptation and Wild at Heart, he seems perfect for the vulnerable, outsider Superman that Burton wants to portray. Schnepp also lets viewers see and hear from the incredible, versatile team of visual artists and art directors Burton put together for the project, a group reminiscent of the team Alejandro Jodorowsky put together for his failed adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel Dune (profiled in last year’s Jodorowsky’s Dune). But the studio keeps reigning the production in, tightening the budget and creative control, forcing Burton to fire Strick and bring on screenwriter Dan Gilroy (writer/director of Nightcrawler). Eventually it’s revealed that what really killed Superman Lives wasn’t fan outrage over the leaked photo of Cage, Jon Peters’ constant interference, or anything from Burton or his team; it was because of the spectacular string of big budget box office failures (like Batman and Robin) Warner Brothers put out in the late ‘90s that made the studio nervous of making another dud.

The revealing interviews Schnepp gets for his film makes it an enjoyable and informative watch throughout, but the film also does a great job highlighting the humor that comes out of the behind the scenes tensions. Schenpp also edited the film, and he shows a masterful hand at putting together differing accounts of what was going on behind the scenes to play up the comedy of the situation. Most of that comes into play in the early scenes with Peters and Smith. One of the funniest moments in the film sees Smith talk about how Peters seemingly fell into a producing career after working as a hairdresser for Barbra Streisand, followed by Peters defensively talking about how people don’t take him seriously because he started out as Barbra’s hairdresser.

But what’s most impressive is how Schnepp turns you around one of the most massively criticized attempts at a blockbuster ever. The film seems like a joke in Peters and Smith’s hands full of both misguided ideas (from Peters) and unneeded fan service (from Smith), but once Burton comes on to the project, the film surprisingly appears to come to life under his direction. And that leads into the other great victory of this documentary: it shows the real issues with today’s superhero movies. It’s not so much that they’re oversaturating the market, but that something like a Marvel cinematic universe is too safe, to the point where studios are dropping a new superhero into their template of choice. Superman Lives could have been a disaster if it had actually been made, but it definitely would’ve been a strange and unique take on an iconic superhero, and that’s something we don’t really get anymore.

The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? is currently out on Blu-Ray, DVD and VOD.

Humorous, uplifting, terrifying, heartbreaking, tense and inspirational, normally it’d be nice if a film was able to successfully conjure up just one of these feelings. Sunshine Superman, the fantastic début of Marah Strauch, manages to pull them all off in what is bound to be one of the most entertaining and interesting documentaries of the year. It is the story of aerial cinematographer and creator of BASE jumping Carl Boenish who is responsible for some of the most breathtaking feats to come out of the emerging extreme sport. Carl was an incredibly eccentric, likable and talented aerial cinematographer/BASE jumper whose dedication to both crafts breathes so much life into nearly every moment of the film.

The film starts out with a somewhat overlong introduction to Carl, giving us a glimpse at his early childhood battle with polio as well as stories illustrating his dedication and work ethic. One of the more amusing tidbits being a story of how he beat every boy in his class in a foot race despite difficult circumstances. From there, we see it was Carl’s work on John Frankenheimer’s 1969 film The Gypsy Moths that ignited and fused together his two passions which would eventually lead to the creation of BASE jumping and many thrilling, sometimes illegal jumps. Amidst his skydiving work, Carl began to really test his limits with highly dangerous and exhilarating jumps like the ones he (and others) perform at the rock formation El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The El Capitan jumps also feature some of the most incredible footage the film has to offer thanks to the wealth of Carl’s footage the filmmakers were able to include as well as the makeshift contraptions Carl would use to elevate the footage beyond the simple point-and-shoot. Most of the film however is focused on two things, Carl’s relationship with his wife, Jean Boenish, and his jumps at the Troll Wall in Norway.

The Norway jumps bring about the most emotional and gripping scenes in the entire film beginning with the lead up to Carl and Jean’s world-record setting jump off the Troll Wall. This section of the film is truly wonderful as the dread and tension that builds in these scenes is among the best editing work I’ve seen in a film this year.

In a film filled with no shortage of death-defying stunts and wildly impressive jump sequences, Jean Boenish quietly becomes the most interesting element of the film. Seen as somewhat of an outsider at first by other jumpers, we see Jean’s development into an incredible BASE jumper in her own right take form over her years with Carl. While both are a little strange and eccentric in some ways, they appear a perfect fit when seen together in Carl’s old 16mm footage. And most importantly, Jean becomes arguably the strongest and bravest person in the film with her accomplishments in BASE jumping and the way she perseveres despite the tragedy such a passion can cause.

Like Jean, Carl is among the most interesting people you’ll find on screen this year. From the beginning of the film Carl is someone to root for and get invested in, one of the most charming personalities in a film this year, and I don’t think there’s a single shot where Carl isn’t sporting the most genuine of smiles. This was a guy who loved what he was doing and inspired those around him. His enthusiasm is so apparent and contagious that you feel like joining him on a thrilling jump, and that’s coming from someone with a crippling fear of heights.

With a documentary that entertains and intrigues as much as this one does, it’s hard to focus on the negative aspects of the film. But one of its biggest issues is Strauch’s over reliance on documentary crutches, such as over-produced reenactment scenes. While meant to make the film more captivating, these reenactments simply distract from subject matter and archival footage that is already so interesting that any cutting away just lessens the effect of the film. At times it rather played like a poor man’s Alex Gibney documentary, relatively unsurprising given Gibney is an executive producer on the film. Still, despite these flaws, Strauch does more right than wrong resulting in an incredible début film.

Sunshine Superman is available in theaters in limited release on May 22.

Miles to Go is the feature film debut of writer/director/editor/star Quincy Rose in which he brings a personal touch to a similarly personal story, albeit one overrun—and at times completely weighed down—by its influences. The story follows Los Angeles-based writer Miles (Rose) who attempts to navigate and understand a renewed interest in on-again-off-again girlfriend Julia (Jen McPherson), a person who has brought stability to his life and allowed him to embrace his creative side. Is he really interested in her though or just enjoying the creative space he finds himself in when he’s with her? Is the relationship doomed to fail once again? Are all relationships meant to fail (as Miles often suggests)? These are the questions Miles constantly faces throughout the film and grapples with. And like his greatest influence (and godfather), Woody Allen, Rose tries to tackle these questions in a witty, neurotic and sometimes philosophical way. Ultimately, his efforts don’t click as well as his inspiration, adding up to pale imitation.

The story begins with Miles in a rut both creatively and romantically and trying desperately to reconnect with ex-girlfriend Julia. The problem in his plan is that they clearly do not work together. After trying with no success to get her on the phone Miles goes over to her house uninvited in an attempt to talk to her, instead they have sex only to immediately begin fighting afterwards which leads to Julia demanding Miles leave. Later Julia drunk dials Miles in an effort that goes nowhere. The next day she invites him out for coffee to apologize, embarrassed by what happened the night before. It’s from here that the two begin to casually renew their relationship letting it build to something more serious. Despite succeeding in what he set out to do, Miles is unsure if this is really what he wants or needs and so his self-destructive tendencies start to come around.

Later scenes in the film benefit from Rose finding a more unique voice, but the first half is greatly weighed down by a desire to replicate the feel of a classic Woody Allen romantic comedy. Rose’s performance comes across as a lesser Woody Allen impression—or what Woody Allen would be if he were a character on Portlandia. But while Allen’s personality is an essential element to his films, Rose’s lack of originality in the early stages of Miles to Go distracts from the story and the stronger elements of the film.

Miles to Go is also reminiscent of fellow neurotic comedian/writer/director Albert Brooks’ 1981 film Modern Romance, exploring a cyclical on-again-off-again romance and the self-destructive tendencies involved in such a relationship. Unfortunately, Rose’s debut mostly fails to impress due to its inability to come full circle and find its own balance. The comedic scenes either really hit or fall completely flat. The film brings up interesting dramatic conflicts and either abandons them or further “explores” them via poorly constructed and completely pointless scenes between Miles and his therapist, Lucy (Maggie Rowe). The therapist scenes superfluously discuss dramatic beats we’ve previously seen without adding any insight and effectively drag down the film draining what drama the film was building towards. Another issue with these scenes is how self-satisfying they are as Lucy constantly complements Miles for always being so funny and interesting. Combined with Rose’s over-reliance on his influences, the film nearly sinks early on but is able to finish strong thanks to its supporting cast and crew.

While Rose struggles as a director and the lead, McPherson excels and crafts an interesting, relatable and charming character over the course of the film. McPherson is so strong her presence is missed when she’s absent from scenes. She’s able to turn what at first seems like a very clichéd and rather thankless role into the best performance in the film and one of the biggest strengths the film has going for it. Outside of a lone dinner scene, McPherson only shares the screen with Rose’s Miles and it’s in these scenes that his performance and the film works best.

Rounding out the main supporting cast are Zack Tiegen as best friend Sydney and Toni Romano-Cohen as older sister Alexandra. Tiegen features in a few scenes spread out over the film and works his way from annoying to bearable and eventually to likable (much like the film itself). Initially a very one-note, almost misogynistic character who doesn’t really change or show that much depth, but he does fill the comedic best friend role more admirably as the film continues. One particular scene—between Miles and Sydney arguing over who is “the worst”—is among the funniest in the film. Romano-Cohen is only present in one scene, though we’re given some idea of her character thanks to several phones calls throughout the film, and she does a solid job as Miles’ depressed sister. Unfortunately the scene doesn’t add very much to the story.

On the technical side, cinematographer Amza Moglan really shines here in the way he’s able to bring an appropriately intimate and lived-in feel to the production. It doesn’t feel like most small-budget films that take advantage of rough handheld work to create an intimate environment, there are some wonderfully composed and executed shots in Moglan’s work here. A shot of Miles running is particularly beautiful as it travels with him. In addition to Moglan, Rose actually shows some of his strength as a filmmaker with his editing on the film. The two complement each other quite well here and Rose is able to keep scenes moving and more interesting with his editing.

Rose proves a filmmaker worth keeping an eye on, proving his ability to craft an interesting story and utilize collaborators. Hopefully he’s able hone these skills and develop his style and voice to the point that he’s not relying so heavily on his influences to fill in the gaps. These influences are important and help inform the good work Rose does in the film as well, but hopefully he can strike a better balance in the future.

Miles to Go is available on VOD April 28th.

The Last Time You Had Fun is a flawed, but engaging enough film that peeks in on the lives of four 30-somethings who are adapting to the lives they didn’t fully expect and aren’t sure they want. It’s incredibly well-worn territory for most dialogue-heavy independent films and while this doesn’t reach the heights of something like Joe Swanberg’s Drinking Buddies, it does have something to offer specifically in the performances of its main cast.

The film begins with Ida (Eliza Coupe) visiting her sister Alison (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), Ida is an emotional wreck who has recently lost her husband, her job and moved back in with their mother while Alison has seemingly settled into a nice life with her husband and small daughter. Meanwhile Will (Demetri Martin) is an unhappily married soon-to-be father trying to force his friend, the recently divorced Clark (Kyle Bornheimer), to join him for a fun night out like they used to have. From there the two duos cross paths at a respectable, but lifeless wine bar before branching out onto a more adventurous and revealing night. Driven from location to location by the always dry-humored Charlyne Yi (in a limousine no less) the foursome comically confront the current states of their lives while challenging each other.

The Last Time You Had Fun moves along at a quick pace (even for its short runtime) largely due to the fun chemistry of the four leads who all turn in strong performances and for the most part play against type. Martin is at times hilariously obnoxious and insecure while Coupe displays a level of vulnerability and depth I hadn’t seen in her before this film. And while all four of the performances were good, it was Bornheimer and Ellis who really stood out by the end of the film. Bornheimer is quietly funny and somber sometimes even in a single moment and really makes a lot out of his character. And Ellis gives a very layered and heartfelt performance in probably the most complex role I’ve seen of hers.

Mo Perkins, working from a Hal Haberman script, smartly allows her cast a lot of room to play around with in the film. Each character is given a chance to shine in some way and that’s a credit not just to the actors, but Perkins and Haberman’s work here. However some of the more dramatic beats in the film are often clumsily handled or fumbled in one way or another, the actors are usually able to right the ship, but it’s these moments that hold back the film overall. The film is at its best when the cast are playfully joking around with each other and letting their natural chemistry together come to the forefront. But whenever the film amps up the drama and tension it comes off as overly melodramatic and poorly handled. Overall it’s a fine film made watchable by the strong work of its four leads, though it would’ve benefited immensely from a more delicate and thoughtful touch.

The Last Time You Had Fun is available nationwide now on VOD.

Mad Max is making an unexpected stop in France on his wild path of action and mayhem. The newest film in George Miller‘s wonderfully manic saga, Mad Max: Fury Road, is scheduled to premiere out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The film will be presented at the Grand Théâtre Lumière on May 14th, one day ahead of its May 15th U.S. release date. Tom Hardy stars as the titular hero (taking over for Mel Gibson) along with Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult. Mad Max: Fury Road was produced by the Kennedy Miller Mitchell company and is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Mad Max: Fury Road is sure to be one of the most explosive and interesting action films of the year. If you’re like me you’ve already watched the trailer about 50 times in anticipation, but in case you haven’t or you just want to watch it for that 51st time then check it out below.

Ahead of its SXSW World Premiere, Alex Winter’s new Silk Road documentary Deep Web has just released a brand new teaser trailer. This trailer promises a very interesting, highly complicated story surrounding the case of Ross Ulbricht who was recently convicted of all seven charges he was facing. This story also touches on the importance these issues will have on the future of our online rights, the economy and the government’s involvement in such issues. Deep Web is directed by Alex Winter (Downloaded) and executive produced by Seth Gordon (the unbelievably entertaining King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters) and will be premiering on March 15th at SXSWWatch Deep Web Trailer

Deep Web Poster

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