Slamdance 2019: America the Beautiful

America the Beautiful is an innovative found-footage thriller that plays right into the current American political environment in the Trump era. Upon moving to San Bernardino, Calif., Billy and Carly Reynolds decide to remodel their new house.  This leads to Billy Reynolds’s Extreme Home Makeover being uploaded onto YouTube.  Nobody expects what happens to take place next.  It turns out that their neighbors are racist Trump voters.  This comes through by way of the dialogue. …

"Slamdance 2019: America the Beautiful"

Slamdance 2019: Lost Holiday

Lost Holiday takes us to our nation’s capital as the independent film shows us why it is a solid candidate to join the Gone Girl cinematic universe. There’s no place like home for the holidays.  In this instance, home just happens to be our nation’s capital of Washington, DC.  This is where Margaret (Kate Lyn Sheil) finds herself with her friend Henry (Thomas Matthews).  Henry is in graduate school while Margaret–who also goes by Maggie–teaches…

"Slamdance 2019: Lost Holiday"

Slamdance 2019: Markie in Milwaukee

Markie in Milwaukee follows transgender woman Markie Wenzel over a number of years through her struggles with transitioning and its impact on her life. We first meet Markie Wenzel in 2013.  This is when she had decided to put off transitioning and go back to living as a man.  The reason for doing so is the toll that it’s taken on her.  She lost her family as a result.  Not only this but her marriage…

"Slamdance 2019: Markie in Milwaukee"

Sundance 2019: We Are Little Zombies

The musical Nintendo-inspired We Are Little Zombies is one of the more eclectic offerings during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. It’s only after their parents get cremated in which Hikari, Ikuko, Ishi, and Takemura meet each other.  As viewers, we are first introduced to emotion-less Hikari.  He descibes Japanese funeral customs as being five times more boring than history classes.  Ouch! These four young teenagers decide to start a band as a means to an…

"Sundance 2019: We Are Little Zombies"

Sundance 2019: Jessy Hodges, Anna Greenfield talk Sundowners

Jessy Hodges and Anna Greenfield spoke with Solzy at the Movies prior to the world premiere of Sundowners during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Congrats on Sundowners being selected for Sundance.  How thrilled are you for the opportunity? Jessy Hodges:  Just like completely beyond.  We never even thought that there was a possibility to the extent that we were we were really hardly even paying attention to things beginning to be accepted. I think we…

"Sundance 2019: Jessy Hodges, Anna Greenfield talk Sundowners"

Sundance 2019: Shooting the Mafia

Shooting the Mafia shows the power that one woman’s act of bravery had in not only exposing Cosa Nostra but putting an end to their control. The Godfather might possibly be one of the first things that come to mind when it comes to the Mafia.  With this out of the way, Shooting the Mafia introduces us to a brave Sicilian woman, Letizia Battaglia.  Through her job as a photojournalist, she captured a very bloody…

"Sundance 2019: Shooting the Mafia"

Slamdance 2019: The Vast of Night

The Vast of Night takes us back in time to 1950s New Mexico while also placing director Andrew Patterson on the map as a filmmaker to watch. This year is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and while that film held its world premiere last night, this is a very different flick.  This film could very well be one of the most talked about films that aren’t screening during Sundance. Things are much different…

"Slamdance 2019: The Vast of Night"

Sundance 2019: Stieg Larsson – The Man Who Played With Fire

Stieg Larsson – The Man Who Played With Fire profiles of the Millennium trilogy author and spends time exploring the Swedish political culture. Stieg Larsson is the Swedish author who wrote The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest.  Unfortunately, Larsson’s passing meant never seeing the finished products.  This year will mark the 15th anniversary of his passing.  In some ways, this documentary is…

"Sundance 2019: Stieg Larsson – The Man Who Played With Fire"

Slamdance 2019: The Professional: A Stevie Blatz Story

The Professional: A Stevie Blatz Story profiles a jack-of-all-trades entertainer living in Pennsylvania during what may very well a very rough patch. Some people have to do whatever is needed in order to stay afloat.  For Stevie Blatz, this means taking as many jobs as possible.  There are risks that come with this line of work.  His debt is piling up, which is likely the last thing that Stevie wants.  Meanwhile, all it takes is…

"Slamdance 2019: The Professional: A Stevie Blatz Story"

Sundance 2019: Anthropocene – The Human Epoch

Anthropocene – The Human Epoch follows the Anthropocene Working Group in their mission to add this epoch to the Geological Time Scale. The phrase was initially coined by Paul J. Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000 in their proposal for the current epoch.  In 2009, the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy ordered the AWG–a collective–to look into whether or not this epoch is real.  These people are experts in their field, be it climate and polar science, oceanography, ecology, archaeology,…

"Sundance 2019: Anthropocene – The Human Epoch"