The Hate U Give: A Deeper Message At Core

The Hate U Give offers an art-imitates-life narrative of a situation that’s all too familiar in minority neighborhoods frequented by white police officers. As the film starts, former gangster Maverick Carter (Russell Hornsby) is giving his kids the all-important talk about what to do when they see police officers.  His kids are young for the talk but this has grave importance in their Garden Heights community.  We soon cut to a few years later where…

"The Hate U Give: A Deeper Message At Core"

LA Film Festival 2018: Banana Split

Friendships manage to get complicated in the weeks to go before heading off to college in the coming-of-age comedy, Banana Split. A trio of high school seniors, April (Hannah Marks), Nick (Dylan Sprouse), and Ben (Luke Spencer Roberts), are in their final summer before leaving for college.  None of them know it at the time but their lives are about to get messy in these final months.  With just months to go before college, April…

"LA Film Festival 2018: Banana Split"

Reeling 2018: Funny Story, Transcending Gender Shorts

Here are some thoughts after attending a pair of Thursday night screenings during the 2018 Reeling Film Festival last night.  I was there to watch Funny Story on the big screen for the first time since this year’s Slamdance Film Festival as well as the Transcending Gender shorts program. I was curious how Funny Story would play not only with an audience but watching on a screen larger than my laptop.  It played especially well upon…

"Reeling 2018: Funny Story, Transcending Gender Shorts"

Eva Vives talks All About Nina

Writer-director Eva Vives took some time on Thursday to speak with Solzy at the Movies ahead of All About Nina‘s release in theaters this weekend. Congrats on the release of All About Nina. Eva Vives:  Thank you so much. How are you doing? I’m doing well. I’m enjoying somewhat of a breather between TIFF and the Chicago International Film Festival. Eva Vives:  You got sick after Toronto like everyone else I know. I came back…

"Eva Vives talks All About Nina"

The Good Place: Season 3 is GREAT!

The Good Place is back for season 3 and the hit sitcom starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson is as great as it’s ever been. When we last saw our favorite people trying to escape The Bad Place, Good Place architect Michael (Ted Danson) argued in front of the Judge (Maya Rudolph) that four humans did not receive proper treatment.  Season 2 ended with a twist that stays true to the spirit of the series.…

"The Good Place: Season 3 is GREAT!"

Monsters and Men: A Well-Made Debut

A well-made feature film debut led by great performances, Monsters and Men splits the narrative into three while telling an all-too familiar story. Writer-director Reinaldo Marcus Green takes us to Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood just north of Crown Heights.  When a father plays witness to–what else–the shooting of an unarmed black man, all hell starts to break loose in their community.  This is how Green chooses to start the film and with this, we’re off and running. The…

"Monsters and Men: A Well-Made Debut"

LA Film Festival 2018: Anywhere with You (We The Coyotes)

Anywhere with You (formerly We The Coyotes) dives in head first as a pair of young adults move from the comforts of the midwest for life in Los Angeles. The film starts as Amanda (Morgan Saylor) and Jake (McCaul Lombardi) set out to restart their life in Los Angeles.  It’s not long before we see why Amanda’s family doesn’t like Jake.  He comes off as such as slacker. We follow Amanda and Jake over their…

"LA Film Festival 2018: Anywhere with You (We The Coyotes)"

306 Hollywood

Two siblings uncover quite a bit in their excavation of their late grandmother’s house following her death in 306 Hollywood. Before I dive into this film, I have to admit that yes, I am a hoarder.  It’s quite rare that I throw things out, including my several years worth of Entertainment Weekly magazines.  I can admit to knowing that this is an unhealthy habit.  The size of my apartment certainly does me no favors with…

"306 Hollywood"

Colette

Telling the story of French literary icon Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, Colette is a film that is appropriate for this new era following the start of the Times Up movement. The film starts as Henri Gauthier-Villars, best known as Willy (Dominic West), gets engaged to Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley).  Their marriage is a real depiction of the sexism, much less the feminism, of their time.  Willy is an author, but when money troubles become too real, he revisits an old…

"Colette"

Black 47: An Irish Western Falls Short

Black 47 offers a Western vibe as the film takes us back to 1847 when the country of Ireland was two years into their battle with the Great Famine. Feeney (James Frecheville) returns to his home in Ireland after deciding to leave the British Army.  Nothing prepares him for the horrible conditions he’s about to face.  Despite having seen the conditions that war provides, the famine provides for some sights he wasn’t ready for.  Feeney discovers…

"Black 47: An Irish Western Falls Short"