The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival (April 8-17) has hit year number five—not a small feat when you consider the amount of work that goes into pulling such an event off. I’ve attended the past three years and have to say that it’s gotten better each and every time. From the level of cinema, the recognition of filmmakers in attendance, and the overall day-to-day handling of the festival itself, the experience is pretty great when you consider the $10 ticket price (cheaper if you partake in a Multi Pass) per movie.…
Read MoreTag: Autism: Made in the U.S.A.
Top Ten Films of 2010: Dark Fantasy Cinema
This list is accurate as of post-date. So many films and not enough time to see them all—141 seen is this year’s number—the potential for future change is inevitable, but as of today here are the best … I remember thinking around April that there hadn’t been a truly great film released yet. After summer came and went with little to cheer about, I feared 2010 would be a gigantic bust containing a ton of decent to good films, but only a handful of great ones. And then—like it seems…
Read MoreBNFF10: The 4th Annual Buffalo Niagara Film Festival Recap
The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival closed out its fourth annual entry, ending a pretty great eight days of cinema. Attendance might have been stunted due to a plethora of activities in Buffalo, including a Salman Rushdie talk that prevented me from going to opening night and the brief return of Sabres hockey to the playoffs, but that did little to dampen the spirits of organizers, volunteers, or filmmakers. What makes this event uniquely great in comparison to an event like the Toronto International Film Festival is that you don’t have…
Read MoreBNFF10 REVIEW: Autism: Made in the U.S.A. [2010]
“The worst parts of human nature gone awry” The debate about whether or not vaccinations are attributing to Autism in children has been raging for a while now. High profile celebrities have gotten involved—the most vocal being Jenny McCarthy whose own son was diagnosed with the disorder—and producer Gary Null has created a documentary to make the message spread even wider. Autism: Made in the U.S.A. is an intriguing look at the two sides of the argument through both medical evidence and firsthand accounts from parents who not only saw…
Read MoreBNFF10 PREVIEW: The 4th Annual Buffalo Niagara Film Festival
Year four is here for the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival taking place at both Dipson’s Market Arcade Centre downtown and the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda. I’ve attended the past two entries and have been impressed by the quality of films and improvements made. 2009 saw the world premiere of Steve Coogan and Hillary Duff’s What Goes Up, a sub-par movie with only lackluster guests in attendance, but a cool event to be a part of anyway. To date, 2008’s The Cake Eaters and last year’s Boppin’ at the Glue…
Read More