Having taught Shakespeare for thirty years, I approached Hamnet with both anticipation and caution. The life of William Shakespeare, as most scholars understand, can almost fit on a postage stamp—an extraordinary creative legacy paired with a frustratingly sparse historical record. So, when Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel premiered, I knew I wasn’t… Continue reading AFF 2025 – Hamnet: a haunting and heartfelt act of imagination
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AFF 2025: WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
Writer/director Rian Johnson is back with another installment in his Benoit Blanc mystery series. After loving Knives Out and enjoying Glass Onion, I was definitely ready to see what the filmmaker had been cooking for the past 3 years since the last movie. It certainly pleases me that each chapter of this series feels unique… Continue reading AFF 2025: WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
ZOOPTOPIA 2: A Fun Sequel That Is Not Quite As Good As The First One
The first Zootopia is a movie full of extraordinary imagination, beautiful animation, exceptional humor, and rich characters. It is one of those first installments that would be hard to follow; therefore, my expectations for this sequel were definitely tempered. Armed with that attitude, I was mostly pleased that the new film still keeps the jokes… Continue reading ZOOPTOPIA 2: A Fun Sequel That Is Not Quite As Good As The First One
Crítica de cine: Eternity – Descubre qué decisiones se pueden tomar en el más allá, o no
Tomar decisiones en la vida no siempre es fácil. Si has pensado toda tu vida que tomar decisiones terminará finalmente después de que pases, bueno, el guion de Eternity mostrará a la audiencia que no termina. Hay decisiones que se pueden tomar, pero una vez que se toma esa decisión, entonces llega el momento de… Continue reading Crítica de cine: Eternity – Descubre qué decisiones se pueden tomar en el más allá, o no
Film Review: Eternity
What Eternity will you choose? Imagine when all of us die, that upon leaving Earth, our consciousness then gets to choose from an entire catalogue of different eternities wherein our soul will dwell in the afterlife. You cannot change your selection once you arrive in that eternity, and you cannot ever leave. In that eternity,… Continue reading Film Review: Eternity
AFF 2025: TRAIN DREAMS: Beautiful and Haunting
Based on the novella (of the same title) by Denis Johnson, writer/director Clint Bentley and co-writer Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing) adapt this moving and compelling story of a simple man who must constantly travel away from his family to toil for the railroad. The movie had a limited theatrical release but is now streaming on… Continue reading AFF 2025: TRAIN DREAMS: Beautiful and Haunting
Sisu: Road to Revenge – Survival, Memories and Determination
Sisu: Road to Revenge had the world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX on September 21, just two months ago. It was highly anticipated then, so satisfying and viewing it in the theater again earlier this week was so great, even though I knew what the protagonist does. To simply refer to the sequel… Continue reading Sisu: Road to Revenge – Survival, Memories and Determination
IN YOUR DREAMS: An Imaginative and Heartfelt Family Movie
Now available to stream on Netflix, In Your Dreams is an animated feature film that follows a small family as its parents face marital woes. Twelve-year-old Stevie (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) loves her family dearly, even though she constantly butts heads with her chaotic little brother Eliot (Elias Janssen). Her father (Simu Liu) struggles to maintain a… Continue reading IN YOUR DREAMS: An Imaginative and Heartfelt Family Movie
AFF 2025 – Rental Family: Fraser delivers a luminous, deeply grounded performance
Having visited Japan twice and fallen in love with its blend of quiet elegance and modern energy, I was instantly captivated by Rental Family—a film that explores both the poetry and contradictions of life in Tokyo. Director Hikari portrays the city not as a neon-lit spectacle, but as a deeply human landscape, full of small… Continue reading AFF 2025 – Rental Family: Fraser delivers a luminous, deeply grounded performance
WICKED: FOR GOOD Ties Up The Loose Ends, But Does Not Do Much Else
The first cinematic adaptation of the popular Broadway musical Wicked didn’t wholly blow me away. Still, I certainly enjoyed the experience and was impressed by some of the musical set pieces. I also appreciated the inventive, creative take on The Wizard of Oz lore, which makes the Wicked Witch of the West/Elphaba a more relatable… Continue reading WICKED: FOR GOOD Ties Up The Loose Ends, But Does Not Do Much Else