Sundance 2020: Save Yourselves!

What should be a relaxing trip to a cabin for a week without smart phones or the Internet becomes something completely different in Save Yourselves! The film is a zany sci-fi comedy that has a lot to offer in terms of lessons.  For one, unplugging sounds like a great idea in theory.  Some of us unplug for 25 hours a week–myself included.  It’s a great way to escape from the troubles of the day.  But…

"Sundance 2020: Save Yourselves!"

Sundance 2020: Ashley Williams talks Meats

Writer-director-actress Ashley Williams took some time out of a very busy Sundance schedule to discuss Meats with Solzy at the Movies. Meats marks the directorial debut for the actress. How thrilled are you that your short film, Meats, was selected to premiere at Sundance? Ashley Williams: It’s absolutely thrilling. It’s a little bit of a shock but mostly just really cool. What was the genesis behind the film? Ashley Williams: Well, I love meat. I…

"Sundance 2020: Ashley Williams talks Meats"

Sundance 2020: La Leyenda Negra

La Leyenda Negra is the black-and-white narrative feature selected for Sundance that the current presidential administration doesn’t want you to see. It’s one thing for Aleteia (Monica Betancourt) to deal with her fellow classmates.  Dealing with the new immigration regulations brings about an entirely different reality.  This is certainly reality that the large majority of Americans will never truly understand.  It’s an unfortunate case.  We can always watch a film but we’ll probably never be…

"Sundance 2020: La Leyenda Negra"

Sundance 2020: Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen

Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen takes a deep dive into cinematic and television history in order to start a conversation about transgender lives. According to GLAAD, 80 percent of Americans have never met a transgender person.  Here’s to hoping that Disclosure changes this statistic because this documentary is the film that we’ve all been waiting for.  It’s a film that puts transgender lives on screen in a new perspective.  There’s a lot to take in…

"Sundance 2020: Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen"

Sundance 2020: Once Upon a Time in Venezuela

Once Upon a Time in Venezuela profiles the Venezuelan village of Congo Mirador and looks at how the community has been impacted by the country’s politics. Politics are a running theme throughout this year’s selection of Sundance documentaries.  I know it’s a cliche to say that all art is political but its true.  Anabel Rodríguez Ríos takes us on a journey down to Venezuela to share the story of a village in her home country.…

"Sundance 2020: Once Upon a Time in Venezuela"

Sundance 2020: Whirlybird

Whirlybird documents a pair of news reporters in turmoil while soaring high above the ground and taking in the sights of Los Angeles. When it comes to Zoey Tur, there is life pre-transition and post-transition.  The large bulk of her news career took place before transition.  I can resonate with what she went through in life because I was also assigned the wrong body at birth.  Hell, we can see it all happening before our…

"Sundance 2020: Whirlybird"

Sundance 2020: Beast Beast

Beast Beast is a timely story set in the American south about three teenagers from first-time feature filmmaker Danny Madden. There’s a type of culture that one will find in southern towns.  Though to be fair, you’ll see different cultures in a larger city compared with the rural communities.  Danny Madden continues Krista’s (Shirley Chen) from a previous short film and fills it with characters like skateboard-obsessed Nito (Jose Angeles) and gun-loving Adam (Will Madden). …

"Sundance 2020: Beast Beast"

Sundance 2020: The Shorts Program

Solzy at the Movies previewed a number of shorts that screened in the shorts programs during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Meats Ashley Williams certainly couldn’t have picked a better project for her directorial debut.  Imagine being a vegan but finding yourself having strong cravings for eating meat.  What would you do in such a predicament?  For Lane (Ashley Williams), it’s eat as much meat as you possibly can.  Lane considers herself to be an…

"Sundance 2020: The Shorts Program"

Sundance 2020: Jumbo

Jumbo is one of the stories that are stranger than fiction and yet this coming-of-age drama is surprisingly inspired by a true story. Jeanne (Noémie Merlant) is a shy young woman that works late nights at the local amusement park.  While Jeanne’s mom would prefer that she meet a man already, she’d rather be doing other things.  For instance, Jeanne is always building miniature theme park rides in her bedroom. When the park gets a…

"Sundance 2020: Jumbo"

Sundance 2020: Happy Happy Joy Joy

Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story takes us through the journey of Ren & Stimpy while also touching on creator John Kricfalusi’s dark side. Ren & Stimpy was a hit for Nickelodeon when it first hit the airwaves.  Outside of those working on the series, nobody could have ever guessed what happened beyond the scenes.  No, not creator John Kricfalusi performing the storyboards while pitching his ideas.  It’s worse than this to…

"Sundance 2020: Happy Happy Joy Joy"