Aftershock is among the most heartbreaking documentaries that any audience will watch when the film is eventually released. The U.S. maternal health system is in a crisis. Perhaps you’ve heard of it and perhaps you did not. In any event, this documentary brings the crisis directly to you for the better part of almost 90 minutes. It’s unfortunate because the United States is among the most industrialized nations in the world. We should not have…
"Aftershock – Sundance 2022"
892 is just further proof that America as a whole needs to do better when it comes to its veterans after their service career is over. An American veteran and father, Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega), is waiting to receive his latest disability check from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because he owes money somehow, they never bother sending out a check and it only gets worse from here on out. Not receiving the check is…
"Breaking – Sundance 2022 (Formerly 892)"
Cooper Raiff follows up his SXSW award-winning Shithouse with Cha Cha Real Smooth, a film set on the Bar and Bat Mitzvah circuit. (If you are searching on Google to see if either Cooper Raiff or Dakota Johnson are Jewish, the answer is no. That’s just another frustration with the film). My worst fear going into this film was that Dakota Johnson would be the latest non-Jewish actress starring as a Jewish woman. This turns…
"Cha Cha Real Smooth – Sundance 2022"
Alice is inspired by true accounts and has Quentin Tarantino-esque vibes once it gets into the Blaxploitation part of the film. I needed to sleep on this one. It’s been over twelve hours since pressing play and I’m still not sure what to think. When it comes to Sundance premieres that touch on slavery, Descendant is the better of the two offerings. The gist of the film is that Alice (Keke Palmer) is an enslaved…
"Alice – Sundance 2022"
To learn about U.S. history means to learn about the history behind The Clotilda, the last known and illegal slave ship, in Descendant. I’m going to be 100% honest here. I’m a student of U.S. history but I had never learned about The Clotilda when I was growing up. If a number of Republican politicians get their way, nobody will. There’s this segment of the American population that doesn’t want people to learn about America’s…
"Descendant – Sundance 2022"
Amy Poehler explores Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s legacy in the new documentary, Lucy and Desi, premiering at Sundance. Sundance audiences will get to watch the film before Amazon Studios releases on Prime Video in March. This film was one of my high priority films going into the festival simply because it’s about sitcom pioneers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Well, this and the fact that Amy Poehler directs it. I’ve seen her narrative features…
"Lucy and Desi – Sundance 2022"
Framing Agnes is a unique introduction to transgender history as the film brings Harold Garfinkel’s gender health research to the screen. The feature film expands on the short by bringing on additional cast members. To say that the film is unique would not be an understatement. They utilize Garfinkel’s UCLA transcripts by presenting it in a form of a talk show. Meanwhile, the documentary takes us behind the scenes by talking with the cast members…
"Framing Agnes – Sundance 2022"
Fire of Love celebrates the love story between volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through the archival footage they left behind. I’ve been on a natural disaster thriller kick of late so it’s only natural that I end my first day of Sundance with this unique love story. What a beauty it is! I mean, sure, it’s a sad ending with their deaths coming at the hands of a volcanic explosion at Japan’s Mount Unzen in…
"Fire of Love – Sundance 2022"
Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg makes his directorial debut at Sundance with the A24 film, When You Finish Saving the World. Evelyn Katz (Julianne Moore) runs a shelter for domestic abuse survivors. But when it comes to her home life, she struggles when it comes to finding a connection with her son, Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard). She only realizes this when a new family comes to her shelter: Angie (Eleonore Hendricks) and son, Kyle (Billy Bryk). Evelyn…
"When You Finish Saving the World – Sundance 2022"
Culture Beat is a doc-style prank show that marks Andre Hyland’s fourth time appearing as a filmmaker at the Sundance Film Festival. Cory Palmer (Andre Hyland) is our guide through everything pop culture. In this first episode, he seeks to find out the answer to the question, “What is art?” Hyland also portrays cyclist Phil Gower in the second bit before we get back to the main Culture Beat on art. Following this, Palmer returns with…
"Culture Beat – Sundance 2022"