Jack Of All Trades is a documentary that will bring a wave of nostalgia to those who collected baseball cards while they were growing up. Aside from that, this film is also about a man’s search for his missing father. Co-directed by Stu Stone and Harv Glazer, the question that Stone decides to explore is “whatever happened to baseball cards.” It’s a very good question to ask. Some malls used to have card shows all…
"Cinequest: Jack Of All Trades"Category: Film Festival
High and Outside: A Baseball Noir isn’t the run-of-the-mill baseball movie but a gripping drama depicting the relationship between father and son. Directed by Evald Johnson from a script written by Dan O’Dair, the film also serves as the final role for the late character actor Geoffrey Lewis. The son of baseball great Len Harding (Geoffrey Lewis in his final role), Phil Harding (Phil Donlon) is stll trying to make it to the Majors Leagues. …
"Cinequest 2018: High and Outside: A Baseball Noir"
Mr. Fish: Cartooning From The Deep End takes a look at the life of a political cartoonist who lives on the edge at a time when it’s so hard to be a political cartoonist. Directed by Pablo Bryant, who also doubles as the documentary’s cinematographer, this film takes a look at a satirical cartoonist known professionally as Mr. Fish, whose work is losing value from a commercial perspective. It’s not so much the fact that…
"Cinequest: Mr. Fish: Cartooning From The Deep End (Slamdance 2018)"
Cold War is the sickest rom-com in years as the indie comedy kicks off the 2018 Midwest Independent Film Festival with a wave, or sickness mind you, of laughter. Written by J. Wilder Konschak, who co-directs with Stirling McLaughlin, Cold War stars an impressive array of talent–many of who have a background in improvisation–including Michael Blaiklock, Madeline Walter, Antoine McKay, Gail Rastorfer, Kenneth Yoder, Rammel Chan, Antoine Pierre Whitfield, Sara Sevigny, and Scarlett Harper. Maggie (Walter) and Jonathan (Blaiklock) had just moved in together and…
"Cold War kicks off 2018 Midwest Independent Film Festival"
Premiering at Sundance, Hal is a documentary that–break your heart as it may–offers closer a look at the career of the underrated director, Hal Ashby. In her directorial debut, editor-turned-director Amy Scott assembled a wide array of interviews, archival footage, and a soundtrack heavy on Cat Stevens over the last five years to give movie fans the long-overdue documentary on Hal Ashby. The documentary in itself is a reminder that many directors don’t get to…
"Sundance 2018: Hal – The Life of Hal Ashby"
An official Sundance selection, The Queen of Fear features a stellar acting performance from actress Valeria Bertuccelli. Bertuccelli, who also wrote the film, co-directs the absurd comedy with Fabiana Tiscornia. For a film that comes off as an absurd comedy, The Queen of Fear is surprisingly so dark in terms of lighting–whether that’s due to cinematographer Matías Mesa or the co-directors, I don’t know. As with any foreign film, to truly be able to understand what’s going…
"Sundance 2018: The Queen of Fear"
Because of the Disney/Freeform background of star Maia Mitchell, Never Goin’ Back has that Spring Breakers vibe to it but these two films couldn’t be any more different. Never Goin’ Back isn’t without drugs or vulgarity and there’s a lot of it throughout the film. A first feature from writer-director Augustine Frizzell, it’s another film in which one can show their support of a female director. Just as Sean Baker brought light to underrepresented low-income families with…
"Sundance 2018: Never Goin’ Back"
An official Sundance selection, The Price of Everything is a documentary that goes into the art world and examines what art is worth, be it for the collector or the artist. The film is a fascinating documentary, directed by Nathaniel Kahn, and explores a world in which one may only hear about in the news in passing but outside of the die-hard art collectors, that’s just about it. Art collecting is a different world in…
"Sundance 2018: The Price of Everything"
Ingrid tells the fascinating story of Ingrid Gipson, a fashion designer who left the comforts of life in Texas and escaped into the woods of Oklahoma. Directed by Morrisa Maltz, the documentary is just shy of an hour. Among the eight films selected as a Documentary Feature, Ingrid was the only one to be solely directed by a female filmmaker. This comes at a time in which it is so hard for the studios to…
"Slamdance 2018: Ingrid (dir. Morrisa Maltz)"
Selected by the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival, Pick of the Litter contains an overload of puppy cuteness as the documentary offers a glimpse into the rigorous training of guide dogs for the blind. Co directed by Dana Nachman and Don Hardy, Pick of the Litter is a touching film that makes you wish that you could place your hands through the screen. A project that was birthed at Slamdance in 2015 following the premiere of…
"Slamdance 2018: Pick of the Litter – Puppy Cuteness Overload"