Bad Reputation: A Joan Jett Documentary

Through interviews and archival footage, Bad Reputation shows how Joan Jett opened the doors for women to have a career in rock music. It’s not easy for anyone to make it in rock and roll but as is the case in any field, being a woman makes it harder to break in.  The biggest rocker of them all gets a documentary profile allowing us not just a glimpse into her life but how she made…

"Bad Reputation: A Joan Jett Documentary"

LA Film Fest 2018: The Wrong Todd

Blending together sci-fi, comedy, and drama, The Wrong Todd has quite the absurd delivery in seeking to understand what truly matters. Todd (Jesse Rosen) lives in Providence with his girlfriend, Lucy (Anna Rizzo).  When she’s offered a job in Seattle, Todd is hesitant to change up his entire life.  He’s not entirely pleased at moving 3,000 miles away or even a long-distance relationship.  Obviously, Lucy would like Todd to see where she’s coming from but he’s…

"LA Film Fest 2018: The Wrong Todd"

Solo: A Star Wars Story Comes Home

With the home video release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, fans can go behind the scenes with an expansion of bonus features. There’s a nice array of bonus content featured on the second disc.  That’s right.  The bonus content is too big for any single Blu-ray disc.  Through such content, the filmmakers take us behind the scenes of some of the biggest moments in Star Wars history.  The Kessel run isn’t without some discussion…

"Solo: A Star Wars Story Comes Home"

A Boy, A Girl, A Dream

Dreams may come and go but what A Boy, A Girl, A Dream ultimately seeks to do is remind us to never give up on our dreams. A love story about dreams develops when Los Angeles club promoter Cass (Omari Hardwick) meets midwestern visitor Free (Meagan Good).  The two of them come from very different worlds.  Cass comes from an environment filled with both drugs and alcohol.  Free, on the other hand, is still reeling from…

"A Boy, A Girl, A Dream"

TIFF 2018: Fig Tree (Etz Teena)

Set during the Ethiopian civil war, Fig Tree tells the coming-of-age story of a Jewish teenager looking to save her non-Jewish boyfriend. Writer-director Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian makes her award-winning feature debut by taking viewers back to 1989.  Set in Addis Ababa, Ethopia, the film focuses on Mina.  When the Jewish teenager learns of her family’s plan to make aliyah in Israel, she fears the worst for her boyfriend, Eli.  This is because Eli is likely to be…

"TIFF 2018: Fig Tree (Etz Teena)"

Some 36th Reeling Film Festival Thoughts

When Freelancers Anonymous screens tonight, the Chicago-produced indie film will kick off the 36th Reeling Film Festival. Through my covering of other film festivals this year, I’ve been able to see quite a number of these films.  Eve though I’ve been quite busy this month with coverage of TIFF, there are a number of films I plan to see again.  That is if my sinuses will allow me to do so. Some of my personal…

"Some 36th Reeling Film Festival Thoughts"

Life Itself: A Tonally Uneven Mess

Despite the best efforts from a star-studded cast, Life Itself is a tonally uneven mess in spite of all the hype going into the film. Given the positive reception of the This is Us on NBC, it’s surprising to believe that Dan Fogelman could follow it up with such a dud.  This film is all over the place.  Seriously. The first hour of the film is New York-centered because if you don’t live in New…

"Life Itself: A Tonally Uneven Mess"

TIFF 2018: Clara

Grander than it’s sci-fi nature, Clara seeks to ask the question of not so much is there another Earth-like planet but are we alone in the universe. Astronomer Isaac Bruno (Patrick J. Adams) is so obsessed with searching for an Earth-like planet that it costs him his job.  With no job and needing a purpose in his life, Bruno puts out a search for research assistant.  This is because of the TESS launching into space. …

"TIFF 2018: Clara"

TIFF 2018: Red Joan falls short

In this era of The Americans and so many other crazy spy stories being told, Red Joan ultimately falls well short of its potential. While I’m not going to make this a compare/contrast with the popular FX series, it’s extremely disappointing to say that this film disappointed.  Considering that the film is headlined by Dame Judi Dench, the fact that it disappoints is frustrating. To most people, Joan Stanley (Dame Judi Dench) is just a…

"TIFF 2018: Red Joan falls short"

TIFF 2018: Vox Lux

Led by one of the best performances of Natalie Portman’s career, Vox Lux follows one woman as she sings her way into stardom and beyond. When we first meet her in 1999, Celeste (Raffey Cassidy, as the younger version) is just like any ordinary student in school.  This is until one student, Colin, becomes very aggressive and practically shoots the entire class.  While Celeste lives, she suffers from an awful spinal injury as a result.…

"TIFF 2018: Vox Lux"