Filmmakers have gotten away with claiming that their supposed biographical movies are based on actual events for so long. As we have learned recently (The Blind Side), these claims should always be taken carefully. Liberties are taken regularly. I only know part of the story behind Jann Mardenborough’s experiences as a skilled Gran Turismo player-turned-professional… Continue reading GRAN TURISMO Benefits From a Winning Underdog Story
Category: MAIN
GOLDA Features a Great Performance by Helen Mirren
This slice-of-an-era film about Golda Mier features a masterful performance by lead Helen Mirren but ultimately lacks scope. It is a good movie. Is it an excellent, awards-worthy movie? It is not precisely that. I could see some future love for Mirren’s acting come awards season, but the film needs to catch up in most… Continue reading GOLDA Features a Great Performance by Helen Mirren
Bibi at Cinequest Film Festival
Synopsis: A gripping psychological thriller that takes viewers through the depths of grief and its impact on mental health. Vivian Ashwood, a woman haunted by tragedy, spirals into an abyss of prescription medication and alcohol as she desperately tries to cope. Her world unravels when a mysterious figure appears in her home, blurring the lines… Continue reading Bibi at Cinequest Film Festival
Frightfest Film Review: That’s a Wrap at Frightfest Film Festival has Digital Release in North America
Award-winning director Marcel Walz (for his previous films, Blind and Pretty Boy) takes the helm for That’s a Wrap based on the script written by Joe Knetter (Blind, Pretty Boy) and Robert L. Lucas (One for the Fire: The Legacy of ‘Night of the Living Dead). The synopsis provided sounds interesting and reads: “The cast… Continue reading Frightfest Film Review: That’s a Wrap at Frightfest Film Festival has Digital Release in North America
KITE ZO A: Leave the Bones has a NY Premiere after the SXSW Film & Television Festival
KITE ZO A (Leave the Bones) by Director/cinematographer/editor Kaveh Nabatian (Sin La Habana, The Seven Last Words), world premiered at Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, where it bowed in the International Panorama section and won Best Feature Film, held its international premiere at the SXSW Film & Television Festival, and went on to play the… Continue reading KITE ZO A: Leave the Bones has a NY Premiere after the SXSW Film & Television Festival
Shudder to host BAD THINGS after Tribeca Film Festival World Premiere
Director-writer Stewart Thorndike’s second feature after Lyle (2014) is a horror-psychodrama set in a hotel that has seen better days and needs some upgrades – badly. Yet four people are en route in the winter to this hotel. Challenge number one is a fallen tree limb. One of the characters seems to know where a… Continue reading Shudder to host BAD THINGS after Tribeca Film Festival World Premiere
Hollyshorts Film Festival Reviews: Filmmaker Mo Abudu’s Short Films Feature Mental Health Theme
Nigerian filmmaker Mo Abudu has two short films she wrote and directed that I viewed as part of this month’s 19th Annual Hollyshorts Film Festival. Her directorial debut is with Her Perfect Life and Iyawo Mi (My Wife) films. Each one is about two distinctly different families regarding their socioeconomic status, and the matriarch in… Continue reading Hollyshorts Film Festival Reviews: Filmmaker Mo Abudu’s Short Films Feature Mental Health Theme
BLUE BEETLE Has Much Love for the Mexican-American Culture
Maybe I am biased, but the new superhero movie from Warner Bros/DC is a prominent love letter to the Mexican-American experience. That main element made me enjoy this movie as much as I did. I am unfamiliar with the character’s comic origins, but what struck me most about this character adaptation is how similar it… Continue reading BLUE BEETLE Has Much Love for the Mexican-American Culture
STRAYS: If You Have Seen the Trailers, You’ve Seen the Best Parts
Everyone knows that trailers are supposed to pique people’s interest in movies. However, if a trailer reveals too much, there is little else to enjoy or appreciate once one has spent money on a movie ticket. Sadly, such is the case with Strays, a movie that attempts to deliver a comedic take on “talking animal”… Continue reading STRAYS: If You Have Seen the Trailers, You’ve Seen the Best Parts
DARK WINDOWS in Select Theaters and On Demand on August 18
Dark Windows is directed by Alex Herron (Leave) based on the script by Ulvrik Kraft (also credited as Wolf Kraft). This horror/thriller has a synopsis about a group of teenagers going off for the weekend to a cabin and then being terrorized. If someone reads this, there is plenty of reason to think there is… Continue reading DARK WINDOWS in Select Theaters and On Demand on August 18