Nearly 500,000 film lovers flocked to the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, screening hundreds of films from all over the world. Artistry and diversity, the hallmarks of TIFF, were on view. Black artists, filmmakers and films were a key part of the mix. Big budget movies, small indie films, documentaries and shorts filled out the […]
So many legendary jazz musicians are gone. Victims of father time. And as they pass, a bit of history does too. When enlightening documentaries revive their memories, we get a do over. For a brief moment, we can appreciate them and their eras, all over again. Director Stanley Nelson is a gifted archivist who recreates […]
Quick! Someone call Child Protective Services. Three juvenile actors have been kidnapped and forced to play bawdy tweens in this uncontrollably hilarious coming-of-age film. With a salacious script by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, pervy direction by Stupnitsky, and a sense of devious humor that reeks of producer Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express), audiences will laugh themselves […]
So, what’s the big difference between the normal Fast & Furious franchise movies and this new spin-off? Well, when Hobbs & Shaw digs into the old F&F trick bag, it’s as good as the real thing. When it reverts to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s brand of far-fetched action movies (Skyscraper), it’s an inferior project—but not […]
In this MeToo age, a biofilm about a wrongfully convicted high school football player, who was accused, tried and imprisoned for rape, is timely. The real Brian Banks, the subject of this movie, lived through an ordeal that was tragic, inspiring and often profound. However, something is lost in this one-dimensional retelling of his life experiences. Something turns his extraordinary story […]
David Crosby’s tenor voice is so angelic, it’s hard to believe that he was the most antagonistic member of the band Crosby Stills Nash & Young. But according to his own self-reflection, he wasn’t always such a nice guy. Crosby wasn’t the most popular member or highest record seller of CSN&Y; that would be Neil Young. […]
That thing called life. Everyone goes through it, somehow putting a greater focus on the beginning and not the end. Who’s more adorable? Babies or elders? Yea, right. The Farewell dares to venture to the last chapter of our existence as it examines how an Asian family handles the finish-line process. It does so with […]
Sometimes novels that start out slowly turn out to be the books you just can’t put down. Similarly, German writer/director Jan Zabeil’s story about a modern family triad gone askew isn’t easy to discard. Like a painter, he takes his time etching in figures before brushing in colors, textures and shadows that add dimension. Lea […]