Lupe is yet another film telling a story about a transgender woman and once again, there is a cisgender actor portraying the role. (EDIT: I covered the film remotely and didn’t have access to any press notes in early 2019 when I wrote my initial review. Now that the film is going to be available on HBO/HBO Max, I’m only learning through the press tour that the lead actor came out as non-binary. Had I…
"Cinequest 2019: Lupe"Tag: Cinequest
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"
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)"