Malice at the Palace, which revisits the Pacers/Pistons game, is the first film in a five-part weekly Untold documentary series streaming on Netflix. One can look at Untold serving as Netflix’s response to ESPN’S 30 for 30 series. After all, they are both a stand-alone documentary series. Chapman Way and Maclain Way developed the series, which aims to go behind the headlines with the people who made the news. This initial edition offers five different…
"Malice at the Palace Kicks Off Untold Doc Series"
Infinitum: Subject Unknown is a British sci-fi film that came about during the first British lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. Director/co-writer Matthew Butler-Hart and actress/co-writer Tori Butler-Hart make the best of the Covid lockdown. All sorts of creatives had their lives put on hold for much of early 2020. At least until filmmakers were able to figure out how to make movies safely during a pandemic. Matthew Butler-Hart shoots the film on an iPhone. When…
"Infinitum: Subject Unknown: A Time Loop Film"
Aretha Franklin might not have lived to see Respect on the screen but Jennifer Hudson shines in the new biopic about the Queen of Soul. The thing about biopics, let alone musical biopics, is figuring out where you want to focus the story. You have to go about the right angle because once you commit to depicting a lengthy time period, a film either will work or it won’t. Respect doesn’t spend much time focusing…
"Respect: Jennifer Hudson Shines As Aretha Franklin"
Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly star as a pair of baseball players who moonlight as vaudeville comedians in Take Me Out to the Ball Game. It’s late in the first decade of the 1900s when part-time vaudeville comedians Eddie O’Brien (Gene Kelly) and Dennis Ryan (Frank Sinatra) make the way to Florida to train for the upcoming season. When they’re not performing vaudeville, they are the shortstop and second baseman for the Chicago Wolves, respectively.…
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game: A Musical Classic"
Matt Yoka spoke with Solzy at the Movies during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival about the new Los Angeles documentary, Whirlybird. Yoka’s feature debut, Whirlybird, is about helicopter reporting pioneer Zoey Tur along with then-wife Marika Gerrad. They forever changed broadcast news as we know it when they reported on the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Two years later, they hovered above the O.J. Simpson Ford Bronco pursuit during the 1994 NBA Finals between the New…
"Matt Yoka talks Los Angeles documentary Whirlybird"
Here Today, a bittersweet comedy starring Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish, is now available to watch on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital. Comedy veteran Billy Crystal is a true triple-threat in front and behind the camera. Crystal directs, co-writes the script with legendary comedy writer Alan Zweibel, and delivers one of his best performances on screen. He truly outdoes his performance in last year’s Standing Up, Falling Down. There’s something about playing a comedian or writer…
"Here Today Is Now On Blu-ray, DVD"
Luca, the Italian-set film from Pixar, is now available for audiences to watch at home on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital. PSA: Please stick around for the credits as there is a post-credits scene. One can’t help but feel bad for Pixar on some level. This is the second consecutive Pixar film to go straight to streaming because of the pandemic. I don’t doubt that the film would have done solid box office.…
"Luca: Pixar Film Now On Blu-Ray, DVD"
The long-delayed Free Guy offers audiences a rocking good time as the Shawn Levy-directed film starring Ryan Reynolds hits the big screen. I’m a fan of Shawn Levy and will see anything that he directs. Ryan Reynolds turns in another solid Ryan Reynolds performance that only Ryan Reynolds can do. Listen, there are other actors but Ryan Reynolds is Guy. He’s got the charming humor required to pull off the performance. There aren’t many other…
"Free Guy Is A Rocking Good Time"
Lin-Manuel Miranda is having himself a strong year and Vivo is no exception as audiences will have a lot of fun watching this one. Vivo (Lin-Manuel Miranda) is a kinkajou or what we otherwise refer to as the rainforest “honey bear.” Not just any regular kinkajou but a one-of-a-kind one. He can dance and sing! He spends his time in the town square with his human, Andrés (Juan de Marcos), where the two of them…
"Vivo: Lin-Manuel Miranda Can Do No Wrong"
The new Sparks musical film, Annette, requires a trigger warning because Adam Driver portrays an emotionally abusive comedian. The gist of the film is that Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) falls in love with a renowned opera singer, Ann Defrasnoux (Marion Cotillard). The two of them tie the knot and have a kid, Annette. Annette’s birth changes everything–Henry starts to crash and burn while Ann keeps flying high. If there’s a dictionary definition for odd couples,…
"Annette: Sparks Musical Requires A Trigger Warning"