In the year of virtual/hybrid film festivals, the annual Sundance Film Festival adapted its programming to reach viewers around the world in the safety of their homes or at socially-distanced indoor or outdoor venues. Docs, dramatic films, shorts, series and other variations of video programming screened under the tutelage of new festival director Tabitha Jackson. […]
A young blonde woman drives down a deserted California highway at night, alone. A mysterious car drives alongside her, passing, then stopping in the middle of the road. She freaks. She’s scared. The big car and her sedan play cat and mouse. Terrified, she drives to a closed motel looking for help. No one is there. […]
Is this just another passive servant movie, like Gone With the Wind, The Help or Roma? Or does it have a new kick? In 2008, Indian/Australian author Aravind Adiga wrote his debut novel The White Tiger, and its thoughtful examination of India’s caste system was rewarded with a prestigious Man Booker Prize. The book’s protagonist is a scrappy lower-class man […]
It may be 2021’s first viable COVID-themed movie. Hopefully it’s not the best audiences can expect. Anyone who has been locked down, pent up, frustrated and emotionally frayed will relate. Life with the virus has been hard and the light at the end of the tunnel is tiny. And so, British screenwriter Steven Knight (Oscar […]
She’s building from the ground up. Her self-esteem, confidence and a home. Physical, emotional and psychological abuse wrecks its victims and can produce pervasive trauma. That’s what’s on view in this well-crafted story about a survivor. A mom trying desperately to regroup with her two young daughters and escape an evil husband’s savagery. It’s a […]
It’s love at first sight. That’s true for the couple in this romantic period film and for audiences who will be transfixed by the stunningly beautiful footage. It’s the summer of ’57. Sylvie (Tessa Thompson), a twentysomething, works in her dad’s (Lance Reddick, John Wick) small Harlem shop, Mr. Jay’s Records. Though she tries not to […]
Passing the love of jazz on to a younger generation, cloaked in the sweetness of an animated movie, is a genius move. It’s a bit jarring. A New York City middle school band is murdering the Disney song “When You Wish Upon a Star.” By the time they’re through, you’d wish a dream-fulfilling star had […]
2020 kept us on our toes. Adapting became a way of life—especially for films and their fans. Part of the adjustment movie lovers had to make was viewing films on VOD and streaming services while only a few enthusiasts ventured out to near-empty theaters. Within that context, here’s a look at the best and the […]
A child becomes a demon. It’s a cliché in the horror film genre. So how does a smart filmmaker avoid the obvious and create the new? This way. He’s a mess. A recent car accident has taken the life of Sang-won’s (Jung-woo Ha, The Handmaiden) wife. The crash haunts him. As a busy architect, he’s overseeing the building […]
Absence doesn’t’ always make the heart grow fonder. Sometimes the heart forgets. That’s the case in this very observant tale that examines one immigrant family’s complicated back story and their questionable future. Walter (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, The Chi and Tasmanian Devil), a taxi driver has been in the states for 17 years, on his own. His dream […]