Sundance 2019: The Sunlit Night

The Sunlit Night frustratingly blends together two very different stories that don’t quite work together for taking place in a single feature film. Frances (Jenny Slate) could have had an excellent painter’s residency.  Unfortunately for her, she passes up the opportunity in order to travel with her boyfriend, Robert, to Japan.  Her plans soon become moot when Robert breaks up with her on vacation.  Forced back home without a choice, it becomes a comedy of…

"Sundance 2019: The Sunlit Night"

Arctic: A Very Intense Survival Thriller

To say that Arctic is a very intense survival thriller wouldn’t be an understatement because this is a film that takes us along for a worrisome ride from start to finish. After surviving a plane crash, Overgård (Mads Mikkelsen) is living on his own while fighting for survival.  He has the same daily routine, which includes catching fish and cranking up a machine in the hope of finding rescue.  One day, rescue comes or so we…

"Arctic: A Very Intense Survival Thriller"

Sundance 2019: Paradise Hills

There’s no doubt that Paradise Hills has a lot of ambition with a strong feminist story it wishes to tell but manages to miss the mark somewhere along the way. The film starts with Uma (Emma Roberts) getting married to a mysterious man that we hardly know anything about.  Almost immediately as any action takes place, the film jumps straight to two months earlier.  This allows us to dive into the backstory of how we…

"Sundance 2019: Paradise Hills"

Sundance 2019: Before You Know It

Before You Know It manages to successfully blend the dysfunctional family comedy and soap opera genres together with a Jewish sensibility. Imagine living in your childhood apartment with your father, sister, and niece.  This is the situation that Rachel Gurner (Rachel Gurner)–stage manager at her family’s downstairs theatre–finds herself in.  The situation is one that isn’t so great for dating as Rachel learns rather quickly.  Together with sister Jackie (Jen Tullock) and father (Mandy Patinkin),…

"Sundance 2019: Before You Know It"

Sundance 2019: Mike Wallace Is Here

Mike Wallace Is Here profiles late CBS broadcaster Mike Wallace through archival footage while also displaying the importance of investigative journalism. “A nation’s press is a good yardstick of a nation’s health,” Mike Wallace once recited. Before the days of a gazillion cable news networks with niche programming, Wallace was the newsman who asked the hard-hitting questions.  The sad reality is that this is seemingly a bygone era.  Yet this film’s premiere at Sundance comes…

"Sundance 2019: Mike Wallace Is Here"

Sundance 2019: Brittany Runs A Marathon

Jillian Bell’s performance in the inspirational Brittany Runs A Marathon shows that the improv comedian is ready to take on the role of being a leading actress. A native of Pennsylvania, Brittany Forgler (Jillian Bell) relocated to New Year but life had something else in mind for her.  When we first meet her, she’s working at a theater where she tries to liven up the joint through her sense of humor.  The only problem with this…

"Sundance 2019: Brittany Runs A Marathon"