(***) He’s a space cowboy. Well, not exactly. He’s an 8th-grade science teacher who’s lost in space. If you’re going to strand an audience in the heavens above with a thespian, many would choose Ryan Gosling. Why? He’s got charm to spare (La La Land). He’s self-effacing (Barbie). Has a great sense of humor (Step Brothers). […]
The Bride!
(**1/2) He yearned for a bride. He got one. But is she too complicated? Will fate let them be? Restlessness, chaos and bodaciousness permeate The Bride! The overdeveloped script, by writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter), has glitches that the direction mirrors. Tonal issues and a main character that’s enigmatic on paper and screen are the cause. Sci-fi […]
Union County – 2025 Sundance Film Festival
(***) He could be the kid down the street. The guy next door. The young man working at the supermarket. The one with that vacant look in his eyes. The kind you get when you’re addicted to drugs, and your mind is always somewhere else even when you’re staring forward. It could be him. There’s […]
American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez – 2025 Sundance Film Festival
(***1/2) ¡Viva la revolución! ¡Viva Luis Valdez! That celebratory tone defines David Alvarado’s documentary portrait of the father of Chicano film and theater, Luis Valdez. Most know Valdez as the writer/director of the biofilm La Bamba, the story of the singer Ritchie Valens. But the filmmaker/playwright has roots that go far deeper into the Mexican American community than […]
Josephine – 2025 Sundance Film Festival
(***1/2) She can’t unsee what she’s seen. She’s only 8 years old! Witnessing a crime is a tough position to be in. That skewed psycho-emotional state gives this family drama heart-wrenching, nail-biting and unsettling moments that just won’t quit. Writer/director Beth de Araújo has a keen ability to create a unique premise rarely seen in film […]
Jane Elliott Against the World – 2025 Sundance Film Festival
(***1/2) Sometimes you have to clean your own house first. That’s what anti-racism activist and diversity educator Jane Elliott has been doing for decades. At age 92, she ain’t stopping. This probing doc is telling audiences why. Elliott has reasons, lessons and successes in changing stubborn bigoted mindsets. Guidance that should be captured, repurposed and taught […]
American Doctor – 2025 Sundance Film Festival
(***) You know you’re brave? You know you’re brave when you go into Gaza in 2025, in the middle of a war with mass casualties, and try to save lives. That was the calling of three American doctors of different ethnic backgrounds who were willing to risk their safety to bring care to those in […]
My Father’s Shadow
(****) “May the four colors of the earth bless me. I will see you in my dreams.” Writer/director Akinola Davies has a way with words that’s poetic. He has a great feel for sensitive and compelling storytelling, which pervades all that’s delicately drawn in this father/son allegory. Two young brothers, Remi (Chibuike Marvelous Egbo) the […]
Crime 101
(***) “I need to be in your line of work,” she says coyly. Then she warily observes, “But you can’t seem to look me in the eye.” So, what’s with this dude? In an era of superhero movies, family animation films and blockbuster sequels, it’s nice when adults get a smart crime/thriller thrown their way. […]
Black Voices Come Alive at 2026 Sundance Film Festival
Black filmmakers, actors and films were an integral part of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. And now that the event is leaving Park City, Utah after 40+ years, they were around to say farewell to the old and welcome the new. In 2027 the fest is headed to Boulder, Colorado. If I Go Will They […]
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