Since 1997, the Sonoma Valley Film Festival has been recognizing the best films from around the world. Located in the beautiful wine country of northern California the multi-day festival showcases more than 90 acclaimed films and his host to celebrities such as Bruce Willis, Danny Glover and John Waters.

Focusing on smaller independent films, the festival is a boon for up-and-coming or unrecognized directors. Past winners include Nick Stagliano (2011 for Good Day For It), Luis Mandoki (2005 for Voces Inocentes), and Beth Murphy (2008 for Beyond Belief). (Read the rest of this post)

Does it get any better than this? I submit to you, it does not. Nearly fifty years old, Sergio Leone’s apotheosis, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” is the final word in spaghetti western film. Quentin Tarantino counts director Sergio Leone as a primary influence: “Inglorious Basterds” was a catalogue of the “Mexican standoff” style popularized by Leone, and QT’s upcoming “Django Unchained” is an attempt to recapture the old Leone spark.

“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” follows Clint Eastwood, a drifter known only as (Read the rest of this post)