Every day, Opening Acts highlights the best pieces of writing on film, television, and literature published around the Internet. Please share if you like what you see.
For your reading enjoyment …
Fact-Checking the Film: ‘American Sniper’ by Madison Vain. Madison compares Eastwood’s film to Chris Kyle’s autobiography.
“The movie has come under heated criticism. It has been accused of glorifying the life of a bloodthirsty killer, being ignorant of the U.S. criminality in Iraq, acting as pro-war propaganda, and over-indulging in depictions of the local culture’s “savagery.” Kyle does call Iraqis “savages” and “evil” in his book, and while he hesitates before his first sniper kill, that is the only instance of doubt he records.”
Small Screen Is Big Player at Sundance by Brooks Barnes. Brooks reports upon a shift in attention toward television at Sundance, which is causing the festival an identity crisis.
“Independent film used to define the cutting edge in entertainment, but the indie crowd has lately ceded ground to television, which is turning out risk-taking shows like Amazon’s “Transparent,” created by a Sundance film alumna.”
A$AP Rocky Makes Film Debut in Sundance-Bound ‘Dope’ by Daniel Kreps. Daniel reports upon the new coming-of-age drama.
“A$AP Rocky will make his big-screen debut in the upcoming film Dope, a coming-of-age story about a young hip-hop fan growing up in Inglewood, California’s tough The Bottoms neighborhood. Dope is set to premiere this week at the Sundance Film Festival.”
Berlin: First Arab Cinema Center To Debut At EFM by Nick Vivarelli. Nick covers a significant move within the European film industry.
“In what could turn out to be a significant bridgehead between the Arab and European film industries, the first Arab Cinema Center will bow at the Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market, comprising eleven prominent entities and production companies from the Arab world.”
Down with dramedy: American indie cinema’s adventures in being phony by Noel Murray. Noel criticizes the indie-film trend of quirky comedy dramas with contrived profundity.
“I see too many independent films every year that are like Wish I Was Here: phony and faux-profound, and filled with recognizable actors who make the project seem even more like a fiction, divorced from real-world relevance.”
