Category: Banner

Before receiving the invitation to this screening, I had never heard of the Chinese animated movie Ne Zha. However, after reading the synopsis of the film, I was definitely intrigued. One day before the Ne Zha 2 screening, I watched Ne Zha, the first installment of this Chinese fantasy saga, and fell in love. The… Continue reading NE ZHA 2 Is A Sequel With A Tad Too Much Ambition

Some filmmaking pairs need both members to be present to pull off great work. The perfect example of this is the Coen Brothers. For whatever reason, the Coen Brothers have decided to part ways and make movies on their own. However, Joel and Ethan Coen have yet to deliver something exciting and remarkable individually, despite… Continue reading HONEY, DON’T! Begs For Better Writing

Eden unravels the shocking true story of a German doctor and his partner who have left Germany to live a distinct life from that of World War I. They reside on an island in the Galapagos and write letters “back home” about how they are satisfied and at peace. Those letters are printed in the… Continue reading Eden – This Survivalist Thriller is Based on A True Story

Sometimes you just want a late-summer blast that doesn’t demand much of your brain beyond keeping up with the next punchline or the next punch. Nobody else delivers exactly that: a quick, 89-minute burst of bone-crunching, campy chaos that swaps the first film’s surprise for a looser, more playful good time. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto,… Continue reading Nobody 2: a quick, 89-minute burst of bone-crunching, campy chaos

Akira Kurosawa’s film, High and Low, was a movie I had never watched. That is, until I knew I would be covering Highest 2 Lowest, filmmaker Spike Lee’s interpretation of the same story that inspired one of Japan’s more iconic filmmakers to adapt it for cinema. While watching High and Low, I was absolutely riveted.… Continue reading HIGHEST 2 LOWEST

As much as I like a wide variety of music, Jeff Buckley’s music has managed to escape my hunger for the genre for decades. Though I was familiar with his name and had heard his version of “Hallelujah,” that was all I had to work with going into this screener for this documentary. After experiencing… Continue reading IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY

In 2022, filmmaker Zach Cregger blew me away with his horror-thriller Barbarian. His direction, storytelling, and ability to deliver surprises showed that he is a director who deserves more opportunities to show his talents. So, it was with much excitement that I attended the screening of his new film, Weapons, a movie I, thankfully, knew… Continue reading WEAPONS Is Another Amazing Cinematic Offering From Zach Cregger

I finally watched the 2003 version of Freaky Friday the day before this screening. It was one of those remakes that escaped me because, at the time, I wasn’t interested in revisiting a story that I had already enjoyed as a youth. I have never actually read the book on which these cinematic properties are… Continue reading FREAKIER FRIDAY Lacks The Humor and Character Development To Make This Movie Work

I’m not a big horror fan. There are exceptions—filmmakers who avoid lazy jump-scares and create something hauntingly memorable—but most horror movies leave me indifferent. Still, I went to see Weapons with a group of friends: three walked out raving, one firmly declared they “hate horror,” but stayed curious. The premise is compelling: at exactly 2:17… Continue reading Weapons: confident unforgettable filmmaking – just not for me