In the years since its original publishing in 1911, author Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden has been replicated for stage and screen and has often been assigned for summer reading for many students, as was the case for this… Read More ›
based on a book
Historical fiction drama “Greyhound” tells a WWII story that’s significant today.
Perseverance is the key to survival. We’re not just talking evolution here, but the willingness to push-back against any obstacles made by man or nature. In the case of the film Greyhound by director Aaron Schneider (Get Low), working from… Read More ›
The world must have turned upside down because “Hamilton” is coming home via Disney+.
In case you’re coming to this unclear on what actor/playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is about, the play follows significant moments of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton’s (Miranda) life from surviving severe illness as a child; coming to American from the Caribbean;… Read More ›
Don’t let the delays fool you, “Artemis Fowl” is an adventure worth taking.
First slated for August 2019, the adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s young adult novel series Artemis Foul seemed bound for trouble when it was delayed into 2020. Then pushed again. Then COVID-19 hit and all bets were off. Making matters worse,… Read More ›
Deceptively cutting and mesmerizingly mad, director Josephine Decker loses no momentum in her second feature “Shirley.”
Director Josephine Decker’s feature debut Madeline’s Madeline (2018), a tale centered on a young woman whose grip with reality slowly weakens as she finds her imagination being made real, continues to entrap my mind. The film itself is an experimental… Read More ›
Chinese YA adaptation “Better Days” is a genre-bending coming of age story.
Trigger Warning for discussion of bullying, suicide, sexual assault, and violence. In a conversation between an older and younger cop early into the 135-minute Better Days, one says to the other something to the effect that either you were the… Read More ›
Slow burn neo-western “Arkansas” is a strong first feature directorial debut for Clark Duke.
When you do something for the first time, you don’t expect a grand slam, even out of a big swing. You might hope, you might dream, but you’re more likely to keep expectations close. For author John Brandon, this meant… Read More ›
Netflix Original “Extraction” is a theater-quality adventure that deserves a big screen.
The names Joe and Anthony Russo have become synonymous with big blockbuster comic book films thanks to their work with Marvel Studios directing Captain America: The Winter Solider, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. However you… Read More ›
Inspired by true events, law drama “Just Mercy” is now available on home video.
In June of 1987, Walter “Johnny D” McMillian was arrested by Sherriff Tom Tate of Monroeville, Alabama, for the murder of eighteen-year-old Ronda Morrison. The case had been unsolved for a year and Tate was keen to close it. Placed… Read More ›
Novel adaption “The Lost Husband” cleverly sidesteps typical finding oneself tropes.
Published in May 2013, Katherine Center’s novel The Lost Husband is the basis for the second feature film from director Vicky Wight (The Volunteer) and is the latest novel-to-screen adaption to entertain audiences. With a premise focused on a newly-widowed… Read More ›
Now may be the best time to curl up at home with a modern adaptation of the classic “Little Women.”
The art we engage with critically shapes who we become as adults. It molds how we view and engage with the world. It shapes our perspective, often subconsciously guiding us through the choices we make. For this review, it was… Read More ›
Autobiography adaptation “Escape from Pretoria” reminds that the problems of the past remain present still.
It is an unfortunate reality that in the year 2020, the abhorrent values of racism still run rampant across multiple levels of societies throughout the world. Although the Civil Rights Movement in the United States took place during the 1960s,… Read More ›
Looking for some old fashioned family fun? Answer “The Call of the Wild.”
A story of any kind — adaptation, original, or otherwise — that features an animal, usually sparks one specific question: does the animal make it?! To quell this particular concern, the dog in director Chris Sanders’s (How to Train Your… Read More ›
Edward Norton’s passion project “Motherless Brooklyn” is now available on home video.
According to actor/writer/director Edward Norton, his relationship with Jonathan Lethem’s 1999 novel Motherless Brooklyn began before the book hit shelves. As he explains in the featurette “Making-Of: Edward Norton’s Methodical Process,” he was tipped off by a friend about the… Read More ›
Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women” masterfully captures the timelessness of the novel with a top-level ensemble cast.
Published in 1868, Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women continues to be read, studied, and poured over by readers of all ages and stripes. Alcott’s story of the four March sisters is timeless in nature, despite being anchored in the… Read More ›
Novel adaptation “The Goldfinch” is beautifully constructed and executed, yet feels somehow disconnected.
Published in 2013, Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch went on to earn best-selling status, along with the coveted Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014. It’s a book that — it seems — entranced readers, including future cast member Sarah Paulson (Ocean’s… Read More ›
Despite the trappings of a thoughtful noir, Edward Norton’s “Motherless Brooklyn” adaptation doesn’t seem to coalesce.
The cinematic adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s book Motherless Brooklyn by Edward Norton (Keeping the Faith) possesses all the hallmarks of a great noir: mystery, a dame in trouble, and a gumshoe in over his head. When you add in a… Read More ›
“Motherless Brooklyn” possesses a strong statement on gentrification, which is mired by cliché noir tropes and bland filmmaking. [Film Fest 919]
Being from Durham, North Carolina, I have seen a lot of changes happen in my city over the last few years. Durham kept a large, mostly black, working-class population due to the employment of so many citizens at the tobacco… Read More ›
“Neither Wolf Nor Dog” challenges our unconscious bias in an adaptation of the award-winning book.
There are many ways to deal with the past. For some, it’s easier to move on and look to the future rather than process deeds done. For others, ignorance is a way of life, though it doesn’t excuse them from… Read More ›
YA adaptation “The Sun Is Also a Star” indulges in romance more than the real world.
While there’re varying degrees with which one can look at themselves in relation to the universe, there are two distinct perspectives which stand in opposition. Either the universe is an uncaring, vast space born out of chaos and we are… Read More ›