A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem is yet another documentary that the National Football League doesn’t want you to see. The NFL has a running list of issues that are drawing fans away from the game. These include CTE, a weak domestic violence policy, and fining players for kneeling. Here’s another that should make you angry: paying cheerleaders next to nothing while the game brings in billions. In essence, the NFL is stealing wages…
"Tribeca 2019: A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem"Tag: Tribeca Film Festival
Led by a solid performance from Elijah Wood, Come to Daddy is a thriller from start to finish with a nice mix of comedy thrown into the mix. When we first meet Los Angeles DJ Norval Greenwood (Elijah Wood), he’s getting off the bus somewhere near the coast. He’s visiting his father–a man who hasn’t seen in three decades–after getting a letter from him. While the two appear to be hitting it off, things quickly…
"Tribeca 2019: Come to Daddy"
To Dust seeks to ask some existential questions about death by way of an absurdist comedy about a grieving Chasidic cantor and a divorced biology teacher. The film starts out with a series of quotes including from Kohelet 12:7: “Then the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to G-d who gave it.” The film takes a literal approach to these words rather than Rashi’s interpretation. The debate over…
"To Dust: Chasidic Jew Has Existential Questions"
Led by an impressive cast, All These Small Moments is a coming-of-age story that marks the directorial debut of Melissa Miller Costanzo. Howie Sheffield (Brendan Meyer) doesn’t have the best family life at the moment. His parents, Tom (Brian d’Arcy James) and Carla (Molly Ringwald), are either headed towards a separation or divorce if they can’t get it together. The fighting is so bad that Tom has been relegated to sleeping on the couch. As…
"All These Small Moments: A Coming-Of-Age Story"
Emotions run high but Back Roads shows a promising start for Alex Pettyfer’s directorial career in his first opportunity behind the camera. The film is set two years after Bonnie Altmyer (Juliette Lewis) is sent to prison for killing her husband. This leaves her son, Harley (Alex Pettyfer), in charge of his three younger sisters. It’s not easy for this family in rural Pennsylvania. The theme of abuse runs very strongly through the film. It’s…
"Back Roads: Alex Pettyfer’s Debut Shows Promise"
Murray Cumming’s documentary, Songwriter, is able to capture Ed Sheeran as he puts together his third studio album, ÷. With director Murray Cummings also being a cousin of the singer, it makes this documentary extra special. Because it’s a family affair, Cummings goes behind-the-scenes as Sheeran puts together a new album with producer Benny Blanco. Sheeran writes whenever he has the time–be it on the bus, a Malibu estate, or even while on a cruise…
"Songwriter: An Ed Sheeran Documentary"
Drawing on videos and interviews, McQueen tells the story of fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen. The fashion designer was best known as Alexander McQueen. His story may best personify the rags-to-riches story. It can be said that his own life wasn’t without his own tragic shortcomings. McQueen grew up in East London’s working-class Stratford neighborhood with five other siblings. Nobody could have ever predicted that a shy child would go onto become one of the…
"McQueen: Tragedy in Fashion"
Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary is the perfect way to offer closure to the series should there never be a reboot. I said as much on Twitter during the world premiere at Tribeca in April. In just over an hour, Brent Hodge manages to reunite the cast and crew of Freaks and Geeks by way of contemporary interviews while revisiting the set of the 1999-2000 series. As the series did so on September 25, 1999,…
"Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary is Nostalgic"
In her feature debut, Blame, Quinn Shephard just about does it all and proves to be a revelation. Whether it’s directing, writing, acting, editing, or producing, Shephard is a versatile talent. Not many filmmakers would do this much in their feature debut by Shephard rises to the challenge. It does not hurt that she has a real knack for storytelling. Abigail Grey (Quinn Shephard) isn’t your typical student. She’d rather have her nose in a…
"Blame: Quinn Shephard is A Revelation"
Woman Walks Ahead sounds like a great idea in theory but the film goes poorly in its execution. Catherine Weldon (Jessica Chastain) has an interesting story. The Swiss immigrant arrived to the United States in 1852, where both she and her mom settled in Brooklyn. She would later have a marriage to Bernhard Schlatter end in divorce in 1883. It’s what happened after her marriage ended in which her life would truly begin to get interesting.…
"Woman Walks Ahead: Poor In Execution"