Based on the novel by Willy Vlautin, film festival favorite Lean on Pete tells the poignant story of of a teenage boy and his strong connection to a horse. Charley Thompson (Charlie Plummer) hasn’t had an easy life living with his father Ray (Travis Fimmel). Charley’s mom is out of the picture and looking for meaning in his life, he turns to the Portland Downs racetrack where he meets Del Montgomery (Steve Buscemi) and jockey Bonnie (Chloë Sevigny). …
"SXSW 2018: Lean on Pete"Category: Movie Reviews
The Death of Stalin takes a comic approach from director/co-writer Armando Iannucci when it comes to the death of the Russian dignitary in the 1950s. The all-star cast assembled includes Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Olga Kurylenko, Michael Palin, Andrea Riseborough, Paul Chahdi, Dermot Crowley, Adrian McLaughlin, Paul Whitehouse, and Jeffrey Tambor. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer! Politics is no easy game to play and there are…
"The Death of Stalin: A Comic Approach to 1950s Russia"
Based on classic novel, A Wrinkle In Time may break the time-space continuum but there’s a lot of important life lessons at hand–none more important than to win against fear. Middle school student Meg Murry (Storm Reid) is struggling in school. This isn’t so much because of her school work but because her father, Mr. Murry (Chris Pine) has been missing for four years now. Nobody knows why he disappeared as he just vanished one…
"A Wrinkle In Time: Let Ava DuVernay Direct Everything"
While late actor Anton Yelchin serves as the third lead of Thoroughbreds, his performance is a reminder of how much was lost when his life came to a tragic ending. Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke) used to be close friends when they were growing up but their friendship faded away in recent years. Lily’s parents had sent away to boarding school and she was able to land an internship. Meanwhile, Amanda, who has…
"Thoroughbreds: Goodbye, Anton Yelchin"
In focusing on a transgender woman coming out, Venus is a film that also speaks to the themes of feeling included and wanting to be loved. When it comes to films with a transgender character in the leading role, it’s very important that their being trans is not the key thing about their character. Eisha Marjara doesn’t as much focus on Sid Gill (Debargo Sanyal) transitioning in general in as much as the focus is on…
"Cinequest: Venus"
The Oscar-nominated Loveless is a film that is best served by looking it as a film offering social commentary on family life in Russia. The limited theatrical release of the Russian film comes at a time when the country is in the news for much different reasons (cough Trump administration cough). The film is a provocative one and it should come as no surprise given that the director, Andrey Zvyagintsev, is known for films that…
"Loveless: A Provocative Look at Russia"
There’s a lot going on in The Rainbow Experiment and that’s just saying the least of it. Writer-director Christina Kallas follows up 42 Seconds of Happiness (2016) with the New York-set The Rainbow Experiment. There’s a lot going on following a science experiment gone awry at a Manhattan high school and one unlucky student, Matty, will pay the consequences for the rest of their life due to an injury. It’s Matty Fairchild (Connor Siemer) who…
"Cinequest: The Rainbow Experiment (Slamdance 2018)"
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"
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)"