A grieving children’s book author turns to the dark web and orders a self-help book in The Secret Art of Human Flight. The film was one of two Vanishing Angle productions to premiere at Tribeca. It’s a film that is very high-concept in nature with an ending that I’m still thinking about. The ending is one of the big reasons why my review did not go up immediately after watching. Days after watching the film,…
"The Secret Art of Human Flight – Tribeca 2023"Category: Movie Reviews
Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater adapt Chuck Klosterman’s Reagan-era 1980s dark comedy, Downtown Owl, for the screen. The film, like Klosterman’s novel, takes place in a fictional North Dakota town. Funny enough, the Minneapolis area stands in for North Dakota in the adaptation. Anyway, the film takes place in 1984 just as a blizzard is about to hit the area. English teacher Julia Rabia (Lily Rabe) is one of Owl’s newest residents, having moved from…
"Downtown Owl – Tribeca 2023"
A writer travels home to Cleveland in The Good Half, where he must confront the recent death of his mother amidst family drama. Grief has a way of resonating differently with people. My parents are still alive but I’ve lost grandparents–some of their deaths hurt more than others but that’s another story for another day. How people respond to death–or not–in this film is what drives the story forward, let alone the family drama. Because…
"The Good Half – Tribeca 2023"
The Line is the one movie that fraternity and sorority houses will probably not want anyone to watch but it’s a conversation starter. It’s not uncommon for a film to be a conversation starter and Ethan Berger does exactly this with his feature narrative debut. To say that frat houses will not want this film out there is not an understatement. And yet, it is impossible to discuss this film without touching on the history…
"The Line – Tribeca 2023"
Kiss the Future is a documentary that focuses in part on the music scene in Sarajevo, U2’s activism, and the post-war U2 concert. I can’t argue with the Tribeca Festival for selecting Kiss the Future as its opening night selection. The opportunity to have the likes of Bono and The Edge walking the red carpet is a no-brainer. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are producers. However, I went into the…
"Kiss the Future – Tribeca 2023"
Gene Stupnitsky follows up Good Boys with another winning comedy in No Hard Feelings and it’s one of the funniest comedies of the year. I was laughing hysterically throughout No Hard Feelings. Maybe it’s because of the situations that Stupnitsky and co-writer John Phillips placed the two leads in but this one had me howling with laughter. Funny enough, we owe some thanks to an actual Craigslist ad that a pair of parents once posted.…
"No Hard Feelings: A Raunchy Coming-of-Age Comedy"
Ang Lee brings his own style to Hulk and makes the film stand apart from other comic book movies as it marks its 20th anniversary. This film is not a disaster. Sure, the visual effects work make it stand apart from what we’ve seen in other Marvel movies. It really wasn’t until The Avengers in which someone finally gave us the right balance between Bruce Banner and the Hulk. When they recast Eric Bana with…
"Hulk: Ang Lee Film Marks Its 20th Anniversary"
The League is a worthy addition to the canon of baseball documentaries with its focus on the history of the Negro Leagues. Tribeca had a trio of baseball movies this year. Two of them were documentaries–both touch on Bill Veeck signing Larry Doby in Cleveland and breaking the AL color barrier. While I easily recommend both documentaries, The League is probably the more important of the two just because of what it brings to the…
"The League – Tribeca 2023"
The Wedding Contract is the newest Jewish offering on the Hallmark Channel, airing during the network’s June Weddings programming. Adam (Jake Epstein) works in advertising at the Sanders and Pitts Advertising Agency where he is on the verge of landing his biggest account yet. Rebecca (Becca Tobin) is a teacher doing important work in teaching kids in an afterschool program. Anyway, they start dating for some six months following their meet cute–that’s when Rebecca decides…
"The Wedding Contract: The Newest Jewish Film on the Hallmark Channel"
Extraction 2 improves upon its predecessor by delivering a sequel to the action film that is bigger in every way possible. I had not been planning to watch Extraction 2 while in NYC for Tribeca. It was sheer luck that I was even able to fit the film into my schedule. Unfortunately, finding the time to write my review prior to the Netflix release became impossible. That’s festival life for you! In any event, I…
"Extraction 2 Improves Upon The Original Film"