Jeffrey Overstreet

Favorite Performances by Peter O'Toole

In view of Peter O’Toole’s announcement of his retirement today, let’s take a moment to appreciate him. There’s still time for him to change his mind. Maybe if he feels the love….

Jeffrey Overstreet

Wenders will return to 3D

Wim Wenders will follow up his triumphant tribute to Pina Bausch with another 3D project: An exploration of the architecture of Peter Zumthor, reports Phaidon. Wenders says,

Jeffrey Overstreet

Palme d'Haneke?

Hey, Max Von Sydow, did director Michael Haneke just win his second Palme d’Or in three years’ time?

Jeffrey Overstreet

Filmwell Icons: #2. Samantha

Samantha (Cécile De France) is a hairdresser; she works with her hands, and she knows the art of gentleness. Hairdressers also tend to become listeners… even counselors and confessors. All of these skills will come into play as she finds herself seized by a broken-hearted boy. The central character of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s film […]

Jeffrey Overstreet

Filmwell's Book of Filmmaker Wisdom, Excerpt 13: Robert Altman

On directing actors: “I want to see them do the work. All I’m trying to do is make it easy on the actor, because once you start to shoot, the actor is the artist. I don’t say, ‘Here’s the way I want it done,’ because I want to see something I’ve never seen before. How […]

Jeffrey Overstreet

The Avengers (Whedon, 2012)

  Caution: The following review was written by a moviegoer who has been suffering from superhero-movie fatigue since X-Men 3 back in 2006. You have been warned. Don’t worry — I get it. My review of The Avengers won’t make a dollar’s difference in the box office results. The best stunt you’ll see now that […]

Jeffrey Overstreet

Taylor-Made: Why You're Missing Out If You Don't Go See Blue Like Jazz

Blue Like Jazz, the new film by director Steve Taylor, is based on Donald Miller’s New York Times-bestselling memoir. It’s the biggest filmmaking success story in the history of the Kickstarter program, earning $345,000 in donations to help cover its costs. Were their investments rewarded? If you skim through the reviews, you might be inclined […]

Jeffrey Overstreet

Guest Contributor Stephen Lamb: A Short Defense of Melancholia and "Images from a Closed Ward"

[This post comes to us from guest writer Stephen Lamb.] At the premier last Friday of Michael Hersch’s “Images from a Closed Ward,” performed by Nashville’s Blair String Quartet, the program notes included some thoughts from Michael Mazur, the artist whose etchings bearing the same name had inspired the new work. “These compositions are filled […]