Actor Chris Hemsworth first appeared as Thor Odinson in the 2011 Kenneth Branagh-directed Thor, a film which brought as much Shakespearian drama as it did Marvel Studios silliness. This was during Phase One, a period when audiences didn’t know what… Read More ›
In Theaters
Ukrainian war film “Sniper: The White Raven” makes a strong argument for the ouroboros nature of war.
Patience and endurance. According to a character in director Marian Bushan’s (Lucescu Phenomenon) Sniper: The White Raven, what separates snipers from soldiers is patience and endurance. Snipers don’t rush, they don’t preen, and they don’t attack unless the shot is… Read More ›
Charming from the start, comedy “Four Samosas” is the little heist film that could. [Tribeca Film Festival]
According to the press notes for comedy Four Samosas, actor/writer/director Ravi Kapoor was struggling to figure out what his next directorial project was going to be after 2015’s Miss India America. His impulse was to go bigger, turning into something… Read More ›
The choiceless choice of survival easily leads one to presume that “We Might As Well Be Dead (Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein).” [Tribeca Film Festival]
Perspective is everything. Without it, we have no way to measure one experience against another. However, the limitation of perspective is that we, as individuals, tend to forget that what we perceive exists within a narrow scope defined by our… Read More ›
Writer/director Tyler Taormina’s dreamlike mosaic, “Happer’s Comet,” eschews formality for the metaphysical. [BAMcinemaFest]
Writer/director Tyler Taormina (Ham on Rye) returned home to New York to move in with his family during the initial lockdown period in 2020. During that time, with help from friends, online strangers, and his family, Taormina spent four months… Read More ›
Director Rita Baghadadi’s “Sirens” throws you into the middle of the lives of co-lead guitarists of the Middle East’s only all-female metal band. [BAMcinemaFest]
Art is one of the first tools of protesters. It appears in the form of protest tags, signs, and banners. It appears in clothing, philosophy, and in song. In 1987, Avram Finkelstein, Brian Howard, Oliver Johnston, Charles Kreloff, Chris Lione,… Read More ›
In the mood for a meat-and-potatoes western? Look no further than “Murder at Yellowstone City.”
The mysterious stranger, the weathered lawman, the preacher with a past: each of these tropes has been used countless times to tell tales of war, revenge, and redemption. They’re tropes due to their frequency, implying a laziness in creativity, but,… Read More ›
Director Kyra Sedgwick’s “Space Oddity” implores audiences not to travel in a tin can alone. [Tribeca Film Festival]
“For here Am I sitting in a tin can Far above the world Planet Earth is blue And there’s nothing I can do – David Bowie, “Space Oddity.” With all the arguments about what is or isn’t the natural order,… Read More ›
“Press Play” offers a refreshing approach to the romance genre.
The Fault in Our Stars, The Notebook, Dear John, A Walk to Remember, Paper Towns — all of those movies have two things in common: they’re originally books written by either John Green or Nicholas Sparks and they’re the cheesy… Read More ›
“The Black Phone” rings, you answer.
Scott Derrickson almost directed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but left the project over “creative differences,” leading Sam Raimi to take over the franchise. While that may seem like a bit of a career setback for Derrickson, losing… Read More ›
Dramedy “Pink Moon” may not grip you, but it’ll worm its way into your ear like a tune you can’t quite identify. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Astronomically speaking, a “Pink Moon” is the full moon of spring, appearing in April. The moon itself doesn’t change in color, but it gets its name from blooming phlox, a pinkish flower. Because of the period in which the Pink… Read More ›
Fantastical drama “Blaze” is the burning fire that rages at the audacity of humankind to take what isn’t theirs. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Trigger Warning: S/A is a central feature of the film, along with the trial and survival process. Additionally, those with photosensitivities should be aware of scenes with strobing. Every day, being a woman gets harder and harder. If their rights… Read More ›
Jennifer Lopez-focused documentary “Halftime” offers a surprising chastisement for the entertainment industry which devours celebrity. [Tribeca Film Festival]
To most folks, Super Bowl LIV, the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, was a game like any other, an opportunity to cheer on their favorite team, to denounce their enemy, or gather together with friends and eat… Read More ›
Director Laura Checkoway’s “The Cave of Adullam” highlights the power of emotional regulation to break generational trauma. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Transformation of any kind requires not confidence, but commitment. Anyone who’s observed small children as their minds develop will tell you that it’s a miracle that the majority of us survive into adulthood given the commitment to explore one’s surroundings…. Read More ›
Before there could be “Toy Story,” there was “Lightyear.”
In 1995, Pixar’s first film, Toy Story, tapped into the imaginations of filmgoers young and old through an adventurous animated story of friendship told from the perspective of toys, specifically, a group of toys owned by a young boy, Andy… Read More ›
When one realizes that there’s always a “Next Exit,” life becomes an unending journey, not a quest with a hard stop. [Tribeca Film Festival]
**Trigger Warning: Next Exit explores concepts of life and death, which involves discussion/examination of self-harm, suicidal ideation, and euthanasia.** “On this bridge,” Lorca warns, “life is not a dream. Beware. And beware. And beware.” And so many think because Then… Read More ›
“The Walk” refuses to hold back its punches, determined to highlights the horrors of the past alive in our present.
There is always a time and a place for politically driven movies to hit more succinctly with audiences and create a stronger emotional reaction due to current climates or personal experience with the subject matter at hand. There is no… Read More ›
Phil Tippett’s “Mad God” is a gem…an oozing, ugly, horrid gem.
As much as I find amazement in the animation work of studios like Pixar and DreamWorks and feel the warmth of a hug in the hand-drawn animation of Studio Ghibli and Folimage, stop-motion always has felt like the pinnacle of… Read More ›
Say hello to a future niche classic with “The Prey: Legend Of Karnoctus.”
I am not one to usually criticize a movie for the way it is marketed, but sometimes we all have to break the unspoken rules we have laid out for ourselves. If you’re going to market a movie that looks… Read More ›
For joy, for the love of music, for the Foo Fighters: “We Are The Thousand.”
July 30th, 2015: With little more than hope and a prayer, Fabio Zaffagnini uploaded a 7:28 minute video he and his friends had made to YouTube in hopes of getting the attention of rock band Foo Fighters. What did he… Read More ›