There’s nothing more frustrating as a cinephile than a film with great ideas that don’t seem to coalesce in execution, where you can see all the pieces of a clever, engaging, thoughtful story, yet, for some reason, in completion, the… Read More ›
drama
War drama “Danger Close” is an astounding testament the power of sacrifice, brotherhood, and dedicated cooperation.
War movies have been around since the days of silent cinema. There is something about this brutally intense human experience that, despite its horrific nature, always produces intriguing stories that can be massively impactful when told in an effective fashion…. Read More ›
“Waves” is an utterly transportive experience as it presents the ups and downs of pure love. [Film Fest 919]
“Stick to what you know” is something we’re told as kids to keep us stuck to the ways we’re used to and to not question authority, keeping us confined. It’s an adage that unfortunately sticks in many of our minds… Read More ›
Now available on home video, Andrea Berloff’s adaptation of DC Vertigo limited series “The Kitchen”.
In November 2014, the first issue of DC Vertigo’s The Kitchen ran. Created by Ollie Masters and drawn by Ming Doyle, the story followed three women trying to survive in 1970’s mobland New York. With the desire for stories from… Read More ›
William Fichtner’s directorial debut “Cold Brook” plays like cinematic comfort food.
William Fichtner’s been working in television and film since 1989. He’s played a variety of characters in myriad of genres, but rarely does he get the kind of recognition that other actors working as hard as he and as talented… Read More ›
Taika Waititi’s period comedy “Jojo Rabbit” lacks the bite satire requires. [Film Fest 919]
It used to be that everyone agreed that the Nazis were bad. It was one of the world’s universal truths, but unfortunately, because everything today has to be terrible and awful at all times, we’ve re-entered the age of neo-Nazism… 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 ›
Fernando Meirelles’s “The Two Popes” explores the push-pull involved in church reformation via the conversation of two old men. [Film Fest 919]
In another life, I swear I’d be Catholic. Of course, I’m too much of a dirty sodomite to get away with it in this life, but something about the sheer pageantry of it all feels more like drag than RuPaul’s… Read More ›
James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari” exudes cool, placing his undeniable stamp on the car film genre. [Film Fest 919]
Despite my aversion to the complexity of the vroom-vroom-crashy-crashy machines called “cars” today, there was once a time I was obsessed with automobiles. I had every Matchbox car under the sun and, as a three-year-old, I could talk a car… 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 ›