Smash or trash? Nicolas Winding Refn probably doesn't care which you choose. My guess is the Danish director is content with you just having the very thought, and the inevitable conversation. Trafficking in drama -- boos and derision at Cannes for his last two films -- seems to ignite his inner Alejandro...

One of my favorite past-times when it comes to video production is to look for inspiration in various places (art, cartoons, video games, movies, etc.). This time I find it in a little known film from the 1980s starring two of the era's biggest stars. 9 1/2 Weeks (imdb) may well...

"Capture the moment." One of this online film school's final suggestions is simple enough. But when it's delivered by none other than legendary director and documentarian extraordinaire Werner Herzog the advice may well have been hand-delivered from the heavens. Maybe it's the charismatic German accent? The passion in the eyes, the face?...

Film festival season will soon be here, and news and details have begun to emerge about one of our favorites, the Mill Valley Film Festival. Today organizers announced that Jeff Nichol's Loving (Focus Features) will close out the 39th edition of MVFF. Stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga are scheduled to attend....

When it comes to Catherine Hardwicke one word comes to mind: hustle. As I discovered when I met the energetic director at the Mill Valley Film Festival you can't help but come away from a Harwicke encounter without being inspired. And educated. It was while filming the seminal skateboarding and surf...

While on a mission in Afghanistan, a French captain's men begin to disappear. Clément Cogitore's war mystery features a thoughtful script, and brilliant performance by Jeremie Renier.

The beauty of filmmaking, film culture, and film history is that it is an interdisciplinary study. And, it requires you to read. A lot. And not books about filmmaking -- rather creative fiction, pages filled with visual story-telling. I'm learning this in earnest thanks to the online filmmaking class I'm taking...

It's official. I'm now "studying under" famed filmmaker Werner Herzog. Well, actually we all are... A few months ago I enrolled in the German director's MasterClass. You've probably seen ads for the web site -- most notably the ones by Ron Howard on directing and others on writing, comedy, and various...

If a movie is defined by its look, its mood, then Blade Runner is one of the industry's most famous, celebrated examples. Ridley Scott's 1982 masterpiece is getting the sequel treatment. Canadian Denis Villeneuve (Sciario, Enemy, Prisoners) directs, Ryan Gosling, Robing Wright, Ana de Armas and, yes, Harrison Ford, star....

As you watch Alex Gibney's latest documentary, prepare to be transported, just as you were with 'Inside Job' narrated by Matt Damon in 2010.