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.

Stark Insider is on location north of San Francisco for the 38th annual Mill Valley Film Festival. "This script made me cry." Director Tom Hooper is back. We last saw him here on Stark Insider when he introduced the world to The King's Speech. That film, which proved impediments could be...

"Take a deep breath." Who knew?! Breathing is critical to proper camera operation -- at least for the Hollywood pros. Amazing what you can learn on the Internet, and how many talented people are willing to share their knowledge and expertise. Such is the case with award-winning cinematographer Sean Bobbitt (Shame,...

You don't see horror films too often at mainstream film festivals. And you also don't see new Coppola films all that often either. Sacred Blood, thankfully, serves up both. Fortunately I was able to view an advance screening. Scheduled to premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival, this low budget gorefest is the...