THE VAST OF NIGHT (2019) Starring Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz, Gail Cronauer, Cheyenne Barton, Gregory Peyton, Mallorie Rodak, Mollie Milligan, Ingrid Fease, Brandon Stewart, Kirk Griffith, Nika Sage McKenna, Brett Brock, Pam Dougherty, Lynn Blackburn, Richard Jackson, James Mayberry, Grant James, and the voices of Bruce Davis, Nicolette Doke and Libby Villari. Screenplay by James Montague and Craig W. Sanger. Directed by Andrew Patterson. Distributed by Amazon Studios. 8

By the Grace of God BY THE GRACE OF GOD (GRÂCE À DIEU) (2018) Starring Melvil Poupaud, Denis Menochet, Swann Arlaud, Eric Caravaca, Francois Marthouret, Bernard Verley, Martine Erhel, Josiane Balasko, Helene Vincent, Francois Chattot, Frederic Pierrot, Aurélia Petit, Julie Duclos, Jeanne Rosa, Amélie Daure, Nicolas Bridet, Pierre Lottin, Fejria Deliba, Baya Rehaz, Stephane Brel and Pauline Ziade. Screenplay by François Ozon. Directed by François Ozon. Distributed by Music Box

Porno PORNO (2019) Starring Evan Daves, Larry Saperstein, Jillian Mueller, Glenn Stott, Robbie Tann, Peter Reznikoff, Bill Phillips and Katelyn Pearce. Screenplay by Matt Black and Laurence Vannicelli. Directed by Keola Racela. Distributed by Evoke. 98 minutes. Not Rated. Screened at the 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival. There is something nice about good-natured DIY productions, so you tend to overlook some of the problems you may point out in bigger films. Take Porno, a surp

Deerskin DEERSKIN (LE DAIM) (2019) Starring Jean Dujardin, Adele Haenel, Albert Delpy, Pierre Gomme, Laurent Nicolas, Coralie Russier, Marie Bunel, Caroline Piette, Stéphane Jobert, Géraldine Schitter, Panayotis Pascot, Youssef Hajdi, Simon Thomas, Tom Hudson, Maryne Cayon, Thomas Blanchard, Rio Vega, Maxim Driesen, Jérôme Menard, David Sztanke and Julia Faure. Screenplay by Quentin Dupieux. Directed by Quentin Dupieux. Distributed by Greenwich Entertainment. 77 minutes. Not

Adam ADAM (2019) Starring Nicholas Alexander, Bobbi Salvor Menuez, Margaret Qualley, Leo Sheng, Chloë Levine, Colton Ryan, Maxton Miles Baeza, Dana Aliya Levinson, Alisha B. Woods, Jari Jones, Rachel Burkhard, Katie Lynn Esswein, Gracie Lawrence, Haley Murphy, May Hong, Paige Gilbert, Scott Zimmerman and Ana Gasteyer. Screenplay by Ariel Shrag. Directed by Rhys Ernst. Distributed by Wolfe Releasing. 95 minutes. Not Rated. Screened at the 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival. Adam

Bacarau BACURAU (2019) Starring Sonia Braga, Udo Kier, Bárbara Colen, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Perera, Thardelly Lima, Rubens Santos, Wilson Rabelo, Carlos Francisco, Luciana Souza, Karine Teles, Antonio Saboia, Jonny Mars, Alli Willow, James Turpin, Julia Marie Peterson, Brian Townes, Charles Hodges, Chris Doubek, Buda Lira, Clebia Sousa, Danny Barbosa, Edilson Silva, Eduarda Samara, Fabiola Liper, Ingrid Trigueiro, Jamila Facury, Jr. Black, Márcio Fecher, Rodger Rogerio, Suzy

Sunset Over Mulholland Drive SUNSET OVER MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2019) Featuring Connie Sawyer, Anne Faulkner, Madie Smith, Dena Dietrich, Wright King, Maggie Malooney, Brett Hadley, Joel Rogosin, Deborah Rogosin, Daniel Selznick, Jerry Sedley Kaufmann, Duke Anderson, Phil Haberman, Ted Witzer and Tony Lawrence. Written by Uli Gaulke and Marc Petzke. Directed by Uli Gaulke. Distributed by achtung panda! Media. 97 minutes. Not Rated. Screened at the 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival.

Les Misérables LES MISÉRABLES (2019) Starring Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djebril Zonga, Steve Tientcheu, Issa Perica, Al-Hassan Ly, Almamy Kanoute, Raymond Lopez, Jeanne Balibar, Nizar Ben Fatma, Luciano Lopez, Jaihson Lopez, Sana Joachaim, Lucas Omiri, Rocco Lopez, Zordon Cauret, Steve Cauret, Diego Lopez, Omar Soumare, Abdelkader Hoggui and Djeneba Diallo. Screenplay by Ladj Ly & Giordano Gederlini & Alexis Manenti. Directed by Ladj Ly. Distributed by Amazon Studios. 1

Empathy Inc. EMPATHY INC. (2019) Starring Zack Robidas, Kathy Searle, Jay Klaitz, Eric Berryman, AJ Cedeno, Charmaine Reedy, Fenton Lawless, Anthony Mangano and Karen Lynn Gorney. Screenplay by Mark Leidner. Directed by Yedidya Gorsetman. Distributed by Dark Star Pictures. 97 minutes. Not Rated. Empathy Inc. was my favorite film from the 2018 Philadelphia Film Festival. It was tucked away in the final Sunday Filmadelphia series. A quiet, black and white, sci-fi dark horse of

Vox Lux VOX LUX (2018) Starring Natalie Portman, Raffey Cassidy, Jude Law, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Ehle, Stacy Martin, Natasha Romanova, Maria Dizzia, Erik King, Maria Severny, Daniel London, Matt Servitto, Christopher Dylan White, Sophie Lane Curtis, Candace Smith, Micheal Richardson, Allison Winn, Fred Hechinger, Leslie Silva, Meg Gibson and the voice of Willem Dafoe. Screenplay by Brady Corbet. Directed by Brady Corbet. Distributed by Neon. 110 minutes. Not Rated. Thi

Shoplifters SHOPLIFTERS (2018) Starring Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Jyo Kairi, Miyu Sasaki, Kiki Kirin, Mayu Matsuoka, Kengo Kora, Chizuru Ikewake, Sôsuke Ikematsu, Yôko Moriguchi, Yuki Yamada, Akira Emoto, Naoto Ogata and Moemi Katayama. Screenplay by Hirokazu Koreeda. Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. \Distributed by Magnolia Pictures. 121 minutes. Rated R. S hoplifters has been getting such accolades – including winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes – that I went into the screening r

Joel Edgerton at the screening of “Boy Erased” at the Philadelphia Film Festival. Joel Edgerton Rewriting Boy Erased By Jay S. Jacobs This seems to be a fertile time for actors to take a more hands-on approach to filmmaking and write and direct their own films. Take Joel Edgerton. The Australian-born actor has been slowly-but-surely building a big name in the States with roles in such films as Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Warrior, Zero Dark Thirty, The Great

Jason Reitman at the Philadelphia Film Festival Screening of “The Front Runner.” Jason Reitman Looks Back at a Political Shift with The Front Runner By Jay S. Jacobs Director Jason Reitman is known for taking on some pretty big subjects in his films. He took on lobbying in Thank You for Smoking. He set his sights on teenage pregnancy in Juno and corporate soullessness and greed in Up in the Air. He also looked at alcoholism and personal grievances in Young Adult and modern di

Bodied BODIED (2017) Starring Calum Worthy, Jackie Long, Rory Uphold, Jonathan “Dumbfoundead” Park, Shoniqua Shandai, Walter Perez, Charlamagne tha God, Dizaster, Anthony Michael Hall, Debra Wilson, Lisa Maley, Eddie Perino, Eric Allen Smith, Candice Renée, Daniel Rashid, Vivian Lamolli, Matt Alpert, Sloane Avery and Faithe Herman. Screenplay by Alex Larsen. Directed by Joseph Kahn. Distributed by Neon. 121 minutes. Rated R. Screened at the 2018 Philadelphia Film Festival. I

Paul Dano at the Philadelphia Film Festival Screening of “Wildlife.” Paul Dano It’s A Wild Wildlife By Jay S. Jacobs We know Paul Dano as an actor with over a decade of quirky movie choices behind him. Perhaps you remember him best as the twin preachers in There Will Be Blood. Or perhaps as the young Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy. Or, then again it could be as the dysfunctional older brother in Little Miss Sunshine. Or as the frightened future gangster in Looper. Or the mental

Anchor and Hope ANCHOR AND HOPE (2017) Starring Oona Chaplin, Natalia Tena, David Verdaguer, Geraldine Chaplin, Trevor White, Charlotte Atkinson, Lara Rossi, Philip Arditti, Meghan Treadway, Rogers Leona, Faith Edwards, Laraine Dix, Taya De La Cruz, Becky Bullman, Peyton Jowers and Kimberly J. Forbes. Screenplay by Carlos Marques-Marcet and Jules Nurrish. Directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet. Distributed by Wolfe Releasing. 113 minutes. Not Rated. Screened at the 2018 Philadelph

Prospect PROSPECT (2018) Starring Sophie Thatcher, Jay Duplass, Pedro Pascal, Andre Royo, Sheila Vand, Anwan Glover, Luke Pitzrick, Arthur Deranleau, Alex McCauley, Doug Dawson, Krista Johnson, Brian Guntner, Trick Danneker, Christopher Morson, Ben Little and Shepheard Earl. Screenplay by Zeek Earl & Christopher Caldwell. Directed by Zeek Earl & Christopher Caldwell. Distributed by Dust/Gunpowder & Sky. 100 minutes. Not Rated. Screened at the 2018 Philadelphia Film Festival.

Olivia Lichtenstein and Nick Bedu at the Philadelphia Film Center. Olivia Lichtenstein & Nick Bedu If You Don’t Know Teddy Pendergrass by Now by Jay S. Jacobs In the early 1980s, Teddy Pendergrass was just on the cusp of superstardom. The Philly-native soul man was known for his silky voice, charismatic performances and athlete’s physique. He had platinum albums, sold-out concerts and was a massive sex symbol – he’d often do “Women only” concerts and sell out the joints every

The Price of Everything THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING (2018) Featuring Amy Cappellazzo, Stefan Edlis, Gael Neeson, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, Larry Poons, George Condo, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Margaret Lee, Marylin Minter, Robert Rauschenberg, Jerry Saltz, Alexander Nemerov and Mary Boone. Directed by Nathaniel Kahn. Distributed by HBO Documentary Films. 98 minutes. Not Rated. Screened at the 2018 Philadelphia Film Festival. I’ve watched a number of different documentaries on th

Overlord OVERLORD (2018) Starring Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Pilou Asbæk, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, Iain de Caestecker, Jacob Anderson, Dominic Applewhite, Gianny Taufer, Joseph Quinn, Bokeem Woodbine, Erich Redman, Mark McKenna, Hayley Carmichael, Marc Rissmann, Meg Foster, Sarah Finigan, Gunther Wurger, Bart Lambert and Michael Epp. Screenplay by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith. Directed by Julius Avery. Distributed by Paramount Pictures. 110 minutes. Rated R. Screened a