"It's not good enough... I wasted six months of our lives." Nicolas Winding Refn held himself, once again, to a very high standard. The Danish director was coming off the smash film Drive and feeling the pressure that comes with the follow-up. In this case, that would be Only God...

He's stayin' alive. And in our hearts. Famed ageless wonder known as John Travolta is set to unlock a career achievement award at this year's edition of the Napa Valley Film Festival. Now in its fifth year, NVFF organizers say they will also hold special tributes for actor Bruce Dern ("Legendary Actor"), and actor-writer...

The votes are in. Organizers say Room was named the overall audience favorite at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival. Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, the film is a dark, yet uplifting (and unique) look at childhood as told through the eyes of a 5-year old boy (Jacob Tremblay). His "Ma" (a...

Hard to believe, but it was only less than a century ago that women first earned the right to vote (on the same terms as men). In England, as depicted here in the film Suffragette, thanks to the Representation of the People Act, in 1928. And, in the U.S., with the...

Mark Ruffalo. Michael Keaton. Rachel McAdams. Liev Schreiber. John Slattery. Stanley Tucci. Together, in one movie? Yes. That would be Spotlight. And it's a monster. Tom McCarthy's newsroom drama will surely go down as one of the year's best films. Based on true events surrounding the take-down of the Catholic Church in...

Stark Insider is on location at the Mill Valley Film Festival. In this episode, Brie Larson talks about Room, and losing her (inner) child. "It's very similar to Plato's 'Cave' allegory." Brie Larson lit up San Francisco last night at the premiere for her new film Room. But it wasn't just her...

Director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) said that she wanted to ensure that Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette bonded before shooting began. As she has done so often before, during pre-production she invited the actors to her home for several readings, and rehearsals, in hopes a relationship would bloom; one that...

At filmmaker Lázló Nemes' request, Son of Saul screened at MVFF using a gorgeous, organic 35mm print. Interestingly, after opening promos, the screen and drapes re-sized to a 4:3 aspect ratio. Odd, I thought. I suspected this was an artistic choice. It gives the viewer little relief, and contributes to...

"Great news, we're gonna make this movie!" Two years later, when Sarah Silverman finally got the email that she thought she'd never get she hit reply-all and wrote "Yay!" Then, she said last night at the premiere of I Smile Back at the Mill Valley Film Festival, she spiraled into a little...

MVFF38 opens with heavy weight films about heavy weight topics.