Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part V delivers its best episode to date in the penultimate episode and sets up what will likely be an explosive finale. Disney learned from its mistake upon launching the series on May 27. This time around, there is a warning to alert viewers about unsuitable images. I’ll get to it soon but given Star Wars history, I’m sure that you can figure it out. I’ve been staying up for launch of every…
"Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part V – The Best Episode Yet"
Relative, the new dramedy from Chicago filmmaker Michael Smith, brings family dysfunction home for graduation weekend. Nothing can be more anxiety-inducing than gathering with family. There’s always the one family member who you disagree with politically. Or maybe it’s a sibling that brings out you inner Hulk. And yet, there’s still this bittersweet feeling in being able to come back home. Even if it isn’t your family, you might have time to catch up with…
"Relative Brings Dysfunction Home For Graduation"
The Wild One explores the journey of Holocaust survivor Jack Garfein and how his trauma would impact him as a director and filmmaker. Orson Welles once said of Garfein that “If there had not been a Jack Garfein, Hollywood would have invented him!” The generation of Shoah survivors are dying out. Garfein passed away at the end of 2019. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1930, his family moved to Hungary because they thought it would be…
"The Wild One – Tribeca 2022"
After the release of last year’s Indiana Jones 4K UHD set, Raiders of the Lost Ark is getting a standalone 4K UHD release sans bonus features. The difference between this Limited-Edition SteelBook release and last year’s set comes down to what you get. Basically, you’re just getting the film, a digital copy, and an exclusive mini-poster reproduction. If you’re a fan of bonus features, the box set is where it’s at. SteelBooks are fine but…
"Raiders of the Lost Ark Gets Standalone 4K UHD"
The Horse Soldiers gets a brand new 4K master as John Ford’s latter era Civil War Western gets a Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber. I’m hesitant to call it the beginning of the end. But in reading about the death of a stuntman and Ford getting getting up there in age, you can’t help but wonder. The film’s release wasn’t anything to write home about. Throw John Wayne and William Holden in the same film…
"The Horse Soldiers Gets Brand New 4K Master"
Unfinished Business tells the definitive story of the WNBA in documentary format while weaving in the 2021 New York Liberty season. The New York Liberty entered the 2021 season following one of their worst seasons in history. They were 2-20 during the 2020 season. Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu became the league’s overall #1 draft pick in April 2020 when the Liberty selected her. Meanwhile, Betnijah Laney joined the roster for the 2021 season after having…
"Unfinished Business – Tribeca 2022"
Broadway Rising explores both the toll of the pandemic and the long journey back reopening the many Broadway theaters in fall 2021. All of the Broadway theaters shut down on March 12, 2020 after an usher and part-time security guard tested positive for Covid-19. This was the first shut down since the terror attack on September 11, 2001. This time around, theaters would stay shut down for some 18 months before beginning to reopen. Initially,…
"Broadway Rising – Tribeca 2022"
Butterfly in the Sky is a nostalgic documentary as the film takes viewers into the history behind the 26-year run of Reading Rainbow. This is a series that inspired generations of people. Community even paid homage during an episode of the Dan Harmon series. It all goes back to Twila Liggett and the teacher went onto create the series. Liggett’s journey goes back to getting hired by a Nebraska educational network in 1980. At this…
"Butterfly in the Sky – Tribeca 2022"
Munich – The Edge of War plays way too much with history in what is otherwise a fan fiction adaptation of the Robert Harris novel, Munich. Years after having a falling out after graduating Oxford, British civil servant Hugh Legat (George MacKay) and German diplomat Paul von Hartmann (Jannis Niewöhner) get their hands on the Hossbach Memorandum about Hitler’s plan for taking over Europe. In this aspect, the film plays like a solid spy thriller.…
"Munich – The Edge of War Plays With History"
Kaepernick & America discusses the leadup and fallout of the moment in which Colin Kaepernick didn’t stand during the national anthem. Some quick background before proceeding further: Kaepernick is biracial and was adopted and raised by a white family. He may have been a football player but he was still shy. It wasn’t until he started to protest the anthem that everyone started giving him all the attention. The main focus of the film is…
"Kaepernick & America – Tribeca 2022"