Sidewalk review: "Hide Your Smiling Faces" (****½)

Ryan Jones stars in "Hide Your Smiling Faces"

Having heard great things out of Berlinale and Tribeca, Daniel Patrick Carbone's "Hide Your Smiling Faces" was one of the most alluring prospects at this year's Sidewalk Film Festival. Shot in northern New Jersey, an incredible, rustic beauty that isn't usually associated with the state—at least the northern half—is evident in every frame. The landscape is wild and overgrown, looking as though it could have been shot on the slopes of Lookout Mountain. The setting is as much a main player as the two young stars, Nathan Varnson and Ryan Jones (playing brothers Eric and Tommy, respectively), who rarely give you a moment to turn your eyes away from their lead.

Review: "Sahkanaga" (****½)

Trevor Neuhoff stars in "Sahkanaga"

Nearly two years ago, I remember browsing through the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival lineup, stopping at a title with an unusual name and a 'made in Georgia' stamp. It didn't take me long to make the connection between the title "Sahkanaga" and the historic north Georgia town of Chickamauga. I vividly remember the news coverage of the Tri-State Crematory tragedy back in 2002 and in the years following, I often thought that a compelling film could be built around the incident. I suppose, then, that I was always going to be drawn towards this film. Writer-director John Henry Summerour makes a strikingly impressive debut.

"Sahkanaga" coming to Atlanta on December 7th!

John Henry Summerour's "Sahkanaga" is an electric retelling of the Tri-State Crematory incident that jolted Northwest Georgia in 2002. After playing at film festivals across the globe, taking home a bevy of prizes, including the Audience Award at the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival, "Sahkanaga" comes back to Atlanta for a long-awaited theatrical run.

Following its world premiere in Atlanta, the film showed at the Rome International Film Festival, won the Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema from the Georgia Film Critics Association and toured the Southeast as part of the Southern Circuit - Tour of Independent Filmmakers, which included stops in Savannah, Thomasville and Winder. In October, "Sahkanaga" played a one-week run in Chattanooga.

The film starts at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta next Friday, December 7th and runs for one week only. Make sure you go see it! Reel Georgia wasn't around yet during the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival, but you can bet I will soon be posting a proper review of "Sahkanaga." After all, it did rank as my #13 film of 2011.

"Sahkanaga" Georgia dates

Just a year ago, John Henry Summerour's riveting film "Sahkanaga" premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival. After winning prizes in Atlanta, Birmingham, Rome and San Francisco, "Sahkanaga" also received the Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema from the Georgia Film Critics Association and went on to be ranked as the 13th best film of 2011. Thankfully, more Georgians are about to have a chance to see it.

Next month, as part of the Southern Circuit - Tour of Independent Filmmakers, "Sahkanaga" will be playing throughout the Southeast. Summerour will bring the film back to his home state with stops in Savannah, Thomasville and Winder.

Check out the trailer and screening dates after the jump.

The Best Films of 2011

A lot of movie pundits have agreed to label 2011 as a weak year. I suppose I see where they are coming from. I can only claim to love just a few of 2011's releases, but I sure did like a lot. Titles like "Certified Copy," "Melancholia," "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin" showcased crisp and intelligent European cinema as good as anything else in the past several years. Commercial American films such as "Contagion," "Hugo" and "Moneyball" paired sharp screenplays with excellent visuals. Independent cinema shined too, with films like "Martha Marcy May Marlene," "Take Shelter" and "Sahkanaga" standing out. One film, however, stands heads and tails above the rest.

After years of doing this, one usually develops a sense of how strong or weak the year in film is pretty early on. But once you start going back and compiling a list of accolades, each year seems strong in it's own right. Check out my top twenty films of 2011 after the jump.

"The Tree of Life" dominates first ever Georgia Film Critics Awards

"The Tree of Life" won 6 awards out of 8 nominations.

You can now add Georgia to the list of states and cities around the country that boast their own film critics groups and award presentations. The Georgia Film Critics Association released their slate of nominees for their inaugural awards last week and just this evening announced the winners. Although both "The Tree of Life" and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" led the way with eight nominations each, the former received the lion's share of prizes with a total of six. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was awarded Best Ensemble. "War Horse" won Best Score out of six nominations and both "Moneyball" and "Certified Copy" took home two awards each.

Brad Pitt won both Best Actor (for "Moneyball") and Best Supporting Actor (for "The Tree of Life"), while Juliette Binoche won Best Actress (for "Certified Copy") and newcomer Jessica Chastain was awarded prizes for Best Supporting Actress (for "The Tree of Life") and Breakthrough. Chastain bested fellow "The Tree of Life" star Hunter McCracken, British actor Tom Hiddleston ("Midnight in Paris," "Thor" & "War Horse"), as well as actors-turned-filmmakers Josh Radnor ("Happythankyoumoreplease") and Richard Ayoade ("Submarine") in the Breakthrough category.

Other awards went to "The Adventures of Tintin," "Midnight in Paris," "The Muppets," the Georgia-made "Sahkanaga" and racing documentary "Senna."

See the full list of winners and nominees after the jump.