Beginners

MUST-SEE: (Mike Mills) There is no better advice than to see a film with no prior expectations. Just that mindset led me into Beginners with a simple and curious intelligence and in turn, wrapped me up in a snuggly blanket of emotion, love and tenderness so complex that it simultaneously left me hurting and happy. The story is that of a budding relationship between father and son, only occurring much later in both of their lives and not until the father has come out of the closet. His ability to love and speak about love, and therefore teach love, erupts from within deeply altering his son’s life as he’d tried to live it. That familial love story mirrors many variations on the emotion throughout the film, touching any viewer with a genuinely good story. Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer have instant chemistry, easily believable as a quirky pair just getting to know each other, despite an already existent and unconditional love. Writer/Director Mike Mills writes this one to cheer and inspire and leave you feeling enlightened in love—no matter your politics, it’s a guaranteed treat.

Trivia! Did you know Mike Mills is married to one of my filmmaking idols, Miss Miranda July?!

Look for the review in Insite Atlanta's June issue!

Insidious

MUST-SEE: (written by Leigh Whannell and directed by James Lee) It’s a tough thing to do these days, making a horror film that actually leaves a mark beyond the theater. We’re doing good to get a legit scare every few years, but a rare film makes it into your mind for longer than the time it takes to sleep through the night. Somehow, Aussie filmmakers and long time friends James Wan and Leigh Whannell have found a way to capture that essence, initially with their first film, 2004’s Saw, and now with a new deliverance of terror in Insidious. It’s the story of a young family, parented by Rose Byrnes and Patrick Wilson, settling into a new house with three children. Aside from the expected stress of starting over, strange things start to happen around the house. The alarm goes off in the middle of the night, stuff keeps getting moved around, their oldest son falls into an unexplained coma and strange sounds get picked up on the baby monitor. Eeriness slowly envelops both the house and the film, and you find yourself on the edge of your seat, awaiting a good jump or a deep shudder. Both come, but don’t think you’ll be able to predict it. The writer-director team aces the scare tactic, leaving you terrified to stay in your seat and anxious to get the lights back on. It’s what we’ve been waiting for in the realm of scary films, a completely unique story, one creep enough to send you home checking your surroundings and certainly leaving its mark. Don’t miss it, but don’t see this alone. Oh... and check out Insite Atlanta's online archives to see my interview with the masterminds behind the mayhem (March issue).

Mad About WHO

There's a small group of us out there who grew up loving that show... and then Helen Hunt became a movie star and Paul Reiser (unless you're on the comedy circuit) disappeared... Well, he came back with a bang, but his return ran about as fast as the speed of the sound of that bang. Alas, here's my conversation with him... Click the title, Mad About WHO, to read the article published in Insite Magazine.