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"Category: Movie Reviews
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"
Pixar puts its own take on films about immigrants and ethnic diversity in its newest romantic dramedy, Elemental, now in theaters. I don’t think I ever thought I’d see the day where Pixar would release a film about immigration and draw on a classic like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner in the process. And yet, here we are. Elemental might not become as classic as the star-studded 1967 film but Sohn and company make a…
"Elemental – Tribeca 2023"
Rolling Along is a live theatrical recording of Senator Bill Bradley’s one-man-show performed at the Signature Theatre in December 2021. What I find most impressive is how Bradley committed this show to memory. Bradley workshopped on the road, getting notes afterwards from the audiences. With Covid and everything, he would rehearse while taking a walk in Central Park. Eventually, he would take his show to Broadway. There’s a lot to enjoy about Rolling Along although…
"Rolling Along – Tribeca 2023"
The Blackening is a hysterical laugh riot that subverts every single genre trope when it comes to the horror film genre. The basic question that this film is asking comes down to what is on the tag line. If the entire cast is Black, which of them will die first? It goes back to horror films where the Black person is usually the first person to die. Of course, I would not know because I…
"The Blackening – Tribeca 2023"
Wes Anderson has done it again with his newest ensemble comedy, Asteroid City, releasing in theaters following its Cannes premiere. Anderson is one of those filmmakers that you either love or you don’t. I had an enjoyable enough time that I look forward to diving into the bonus features for the home release. Anyway, Anderson takes the audience to a fictional city in the American Southwest in 1955. To say that it is a small…
"Asteroid City Is A Classic Wes Anderson Film"