North Carolina Film Critics Association

14 hours ago

Review: "Buoyancy" from member Andrew Spitznas.

Sitting safely in my heated American home, it’s hard to imagine there are 40 million people still in slavery worldwide, 200,000 of them trapped on fishing vessels in Southeast Asia. The Australian feature "Buoyancy" effectively tells the story of one such slave.

For his full-length debut, Australian writer/director Rodd Rathjen didn’t take the easy way. After interviewing 50 slavery survivors and storyboarding his script, Rathjen set off for Cambodia, filming for three weeks at sea and two weeks on land. ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

17 hours ago

Watch: "MLK/FBI" director Sam Pollard chats with member Noel T. Manning.

Award-winning filmmaker Sam Pollard ("4 Little Girls," "Mo Better Blues," "Jungle Fever") brings to the screen a documentary exploring the life of Martin Luther King Jr. through a different lens. Using never before seen footage, archival information and lost audio recordings, Pollard explores the humanity of King and the FBI's deep fascination with this civil rights leader.

On this episode of Open Dialogue, Pollard offers Noel T. Manning II a closer look at the making of the Critics Choice Award-winning documentary "MLK/FBI."

Open Dialogue provides an opportunity for talents of the entertainment industry to talk about their craft, their hopes, and their ongoing journey of arts and entertainment.

Noel T. Manning II, host of Open Dialogue, has been an entertainment journalist for over three decades and is a member of several film critics’ organizations.

*Footage is used by permission of IFC Films. ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

20 hours ago

Review: "Locked Down" from member Joel Winstead.

When it was revealed the often-fantastic Doug Liman (“The Bourne Identity,” “Edge of Tomorrow”) was planning to make a COVID heist film, it didn’t take long to get entirely on board.Even when Liman’s films miss the mark critically, as with “Jumper,” you’re at least guaranteed to be entertained.

Where last month’s COVID-23 thriller “Songbird” felt tone deaf and exploitative, hopefully the subject matter in the hands of a more adept filmmaker would lead to better results. ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

23 hours ago

Review: Max Cloud from member Douglas Davidson.

Trends are entirely cyclical. What was once deemed out of date becomes retro, reabsorbed into the lexicon of society, often repurposed into something new. It’s not just clothes (ex. tie dye and bell bottoms), music (ex. vinyl and cassettes), or oral/written language (ex. tea and woke), but the objects we engage with. It’s not just beings propelled by a sentimental need for yesteryear, it’s often finding a new appreciation for what once was. Sometimes this takes shape in the form of toy-like vinyl totems made by Funko and sometimes it’s using the sounds of generations past to make new music like Fitz & the Tantrums did with their 2010 album "Pickin’ Up the Pieces." In the case of director/co-writer Martin Owen’s "Max Cloud," it means tapping into the joy of 16-bit gaming in all its weird violent glory. With a synth score, spot-on costuming, and production design, you’ll feel like you’ve literally been dropped into your favorite side-scroller in Owen and co-writer Sally Collett’s ("Killers Anonymous") "Tron"-meets-"Jumanji" sci-fi comedy romp.

Available on VOD and digital now.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD January 19 2021. #MaxCloud ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

2 days ago

Review: "Outside the Wire" from member Edwin Arnaudin.

Perhaps it’s unfair to expect much from an action film released directly to Netflix in January, but the makers of "Outside the Wire" seem uninterested in doing much to clear even that low bar.

The latest from Mikael Håfström, director of such ambition-free fare as "1408" and "Escape Plan," is likewise content with merely delivering a few thrills, and fails to provide a narrative framework to support these fleeting moments of excitement. ...