Pink Skies Ahead takes us back to the Los Angeles of the late 1990s when a college students drops out and moves back in with her parents. Aspiring writer Winona (Jessica Barden) drops out of college and gets diagnosed with an anxiety disorder after moving back home with her parents, Robert (Michael McKean) and Pamela (Marcia Gay Harden). She’s in denial about Dr. Cotton’s (Henry Winkler) diagnosis. After all, she’s never had a panic attack…
"AFI FEST 2020: Pink Skies Ahead"Author: Danielle Solzman
Danielle Solzman
Ammonite seeks to tell the story of paleontologist Mary Anning but there’s more here than meets the eye when it comes to actual truth. When we first meet Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) in the 1840s, the paleontologist already has her best days behind her. The Lyme Regis resident now resorts to hunting fossils and hoping that wealthy tourists will buy them. This is really the only way that she can support both herself and her…
"NewFest 2020: Ammonite"
Riz Ahmed delivers a captivating performance as a heavy metal drummer that is beginning to lose his hearing in Sound of Metal. Within the film’s opening minutes Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is experiencing hearing loss. At the beginning, the loss is intermittent but as any musician knows from experience, it will only get worse. This is exactly what happens as the plot moves forward. However, technology has advanced to where Ruben is set on pursuing a…
"AFI FEST 2020: Sound of Metal"
I’m Your Woman, directed by Julia Hart and starring Rachel Brosnahan, owes its influence to the 1970s classic crime dramas. Here’s the thing about the classic crime dramas: they were told from a man’s point of view. What Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz do with their script is change up the genre. Surburban housewife Jean (Rachel Brosnahan) is front and center in this throwback thriller. You know it’s a throwback as soon as you see…
"AFI FEST 2020: I’m Your Woman"
Director James Fletcher and political consultant Anthony Scaramucci spoke to Solzy at the Movies about The Accidental President. The Accidental President will open in theaters on October 16, 2020. A VOD release will follow on October 27, 2020. The Accidental President is one of a number of Trump-related documentaries this fall. Was there some sort of directors meeting where everyone decided they were going to release their films so close together? James Fletcher: Well, Danielle,…
"James Fletcher, Anthony Scaramucci talk The Accidental President"
Rebecca is the first major American adaptation of Dame Daphne du Maurier’s novel since the Alfred Hitchcock film in 1940. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” – the second Mrs. de Winter says as the film opens with Clint Mansell’s haunting score. It’s one of the most famous opening lines in text or cinema. Not including this line would be criminal. This is a contemporary update but in spite of that, the film…
"Rebecca: Netflix Adaptation Stays True To The Book"
Belushi is a heartbreaking must-watch documentary about late Saturday Night Live, Animal House, and Blues Brothers star John Belushi. This summer marked the 40th anniversary of The Blues Brothers hitting the big screen. Sadly, this year also marked the 38th anniversary of the comedian’s tragic death at 33 years old. And yet this film finds a way to capture what was going on in his head with newfound movie stardom. Mind you, this was during…
"Belushi: A Heartbreaking Must-Watch Documentary"
American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules arrives on DVD as the fifth installment in the American Pie Presents Direct-DVD spin-off series. One of the things that sets this film apart from the previous spin-offs is that it is the first film to not feature Eugene Levy in the cast. Levy first portrayed Jim’s dad, Noah Levenstein, in 1999 but of course, the actor has been busy with Schitt’s Creek. At the same time, an appearance by…
"American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules Now on DVD"
Darren Aronofsky’s second feature, Requiem for a Dream: Director’s Cut, arrives on 4K Ultra HD to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary. There are certainly a few Oscar winners and nominees involved in the psychological drama: Darren Aronofsky, Matthew Libatique, Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, and Jennifer Connelly. Following its out-of-competition premiere during the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and North American premiere during the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, the film would also receive plenty of critical…
"Requiem for a Dream: Director’s Cut on 4K Ultra HD"
Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! heads home to Blu-ray just over a decade after the release of the the second sequel in the franchise. Following the second sequel, a Great Truce was made. Cats and dogs have come together to form Furry Animals Rivalry Termination or, you guessed correctly, F.A.R.T. Some jokes are made and yes, they’re rather juvenile but it won’t distract us from the cute and cuddly friends on the screen. Of…
"Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! Now on Blu-ray"