Ruby Sparks

Given her lineage, it’s no surprise that Zoe Kazan’s debut as a screenwriter results in a charming, heartfelt romantic comedy that is nothing less than sheer pleasure to watch from start to finish. Inspired by the Pygmalion myth, it also doesn’t hurt that Kazan’s script is directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the duo that brought us the unexpectedly extraordinary Little Miss Sunshine six years ago. Although not in the league of the indie masterpiece that was Sunshine, Ruby Sparks delivers an unpredictable, feel-good experience that manages to remain surprisingly sincere despite a plot that sometimes reads like a...  read more

The Exploding Girl

Release Date: March 12 Director/Writer: Bradley Rust Gray Starring: Zoe Kazan, Mark Rendall Cinematographer: Eric Lin Studio/Run Time: Oscilloscope, 79 mins. Bradley Rust Gray’s low-key second film, about an epileptic college student on break in New York City, offers no grand moments or spectacular explosions. Instead, The Exploding Girl is an ambitiously life-size coming-of-age story, striving for a moody, post-adolescent realism constructed of small events and improvised chatter—and it’s this everyday scope that makes the movie both charming and frustrating....  read more

Shooting Starlets: Three Soon-to-be Leading Ladies

Young actresses these days are more likely to get press for...  read more