The 1990s

Sidney Lumet has an encyclopedia of classics under his belt: 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, Fail Safe, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, and The Verdict stand out in a parade of excellent American movies by the prolific genius. But if I had to name a favorite Lumet film, it would be… Network. Then maybe 12 […]

Nicole Holofcener

https://www.avclub.com/nicole-holofcener-indie-filmmaking-comments-black-widow-1851575986 Per the AV Club and The Hollywood Reporter: “Independent movies when I was coming up in the ’90s were really exciting and open, and studios were willing to take chances on me—weirdos. I was at Sundance with Todd Solondz and Quentin Tarantino,” Holofcener said during a Q&A at the Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary International […]

Kiss or Kill is a film noir in every way except for its visuals. It’s a crime thriller featuring two hapless con artists who accidentally kill a mark and go on the run across the Australian outback. So instead of dark alleys and underground nightclubs we get blazing hot deserts, out of the way motels, […]

Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run is everything one goes to the movies for. It has action, crime, ironic comedy, hotly-burning young love, and sharply-realized characters. It also has meditations on destiny, free will, and the plasticity of time. Tom Tykwer, the brilliant writer-director-co-composer, has stuffed every idea he possibly conceived into the brisk 80 minutes of running […]

The 1990s were not the best decade artistically for independent filmmaking (not when compared to the 1960s and 70s), but it was the best time for getting your indie movie seen. Small distributors (Miramax, October/Artisan, Island) released films that enough people saw to keep indie theaters thriving. Sundance became a household name in the 1990s, […]