Author: Laurie Coker

BLONDE

Gentlemen prefer BLONDES – or at least, many -prefer Marilyn. Monroe was the quintessential blonde bombshell, the woman every woman wanted to be, and every man wanted to be with. Blonde, starring Ana de Armas in the title role, looks to shed light on the star’s life, whose light burnt out too quickly and soon.… Continue reading BLONDE

THE SILENT TWINS

Unique true stories turned into movies have always intrigued me. I find myself looking up details beyond what is presented. The story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, Welsh twins born to Caribbean immigrants in the 1960s, goes beyond mystery and into psychological. The girls were harshly bullied and ostracized because of their race in a… Continue reading THE SILENT TWINS

TV Show: Sprung

Where is the humor in Covid and the events that transpired in 2022? Sprung, a new television series from writer and producer Gregory Thomas Garcia (My Name is Earl and Guestbook), does find humor in elements caused by a worldwide pandemic. Playing on the release of non-violent prisoners set free because of the Corona Virus,… Continue reading TV Show: Sprung

Emily the Criminal

Many of us find ourselves desperate for solutions to debt and bills. Emily the Criminal chronicles one woman’s struggle to live past mistakes and simply survive. Student loans are at the forefront of the news these days, and Emily’s debt is at the root of this story. Director/writer John Patton Ford has created an edgy… Continue reading Emily the Criminal

VENGEANCE

There is always a challenge in being a writer, director and actor for a film. B.J.Novak, manages to pull off all three well in his first effort. Vengeance, as the name implies, turns on payback for an untimely death and the family that wants someone to answer for it. Novak’s messages ring true, and he… Continue reading VENGEANCE

MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS

Not too often do we have a 40-something-year-old cleaning lady as the lead in a movie, but director/co-writer Anthony Fabian manages a sweet and entertaining tale of kindness and determination. Best yet, however, is the delightful cast, led by the talented Lesley Manville, that makes Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris a delightful romp through the… Continue reading MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS

Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan (1:13)

Where our education leaves us flat, this inspired documentary film, Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan, brings the past and present of the Mongolian people to life. Written by award-winning novelist and filmmaker Robert Lieberman and produced by Deborah C. Hoard of Photosynthesis Productions, with its focus on social justice issues, we see the… Continue reading Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan (1:13)

WHEN IT’S GOOD, IT’S GOOD (Documentary Short)

Mexican-American filmmaker Alejandra Vasquez returns to her hometown of Denver City, Texas, to document the effects of the boom-and-bust economic cycles of the oil industry on the single-source economy of that town.  Denver City is in West Texas, just Southwest Lubbock, near the New Mexico border. It is in the middle of nowhere if you… Continue reading WHEN IT’S GOOD, IT’S GOOD (Documentary Short)

SLIM PICKINS

Watch the unlikely story of a man (Jahmicah Dawes) who knows little about the outdoors but decides to open up an outdoor outfitter store.  Also, he happens to be a black man in the small Texas town of Stephenville, where they had a Klan rally as recently as 2007.  This charming video documents the warm-hearted… Continue reading SLIM PICKINS