Slamdance 2019: America the Beautiful

America the Beautiful is an innovative found-footage thriller that plays right into the current American political environment in the Trump era. Upon moving to San Bernardino, Calif., Billy and Carly Reynolds decide to remodel their new house.  This leads to Billy Reynolds’s Extreme Home Makeover being uploaded onto YouTube.  Nobody expects what happens to take place next.  It turns out that their neighbors are racist Trump voters.  This comes through by way of the dialogue. …

"Slamdance 2019: America the Beautiful"

Slamdance 2019: Lost Holiday

Lost Holiday takes us to our nation’s capital as the independent film shows us why it is a solid candidate to join the Gone Girl cinematic universe. There’s no place like home for the holidays.  In this instance, home just happens to be our nation’s capital of Washington, DC.  This is where Margaret (Kate Lyn Sheil) finds herself with her friend Henry (Thomas Matthews).  Henry is in graduate school while Margaret–who also goes by Maggie–teaches…

"Slamdance 2019: Lost Holiday"

Slamdance 2019: Markie in Milwaukee

Markie in Milwaukee follows transgender woman Markie Wenzel over a number of years through her struggles with transitioning and its impact on her life. We first meet Markie Wenzel in 2013.  This is when she had decided to put off transitioning and go back to living as a man.  The reason for doing so is the toll that it’s taken on her.  She lost her family as a result.  Not only this but her marriage…

"Slamdance 2019: Markie in Milwaukee"

Slamdance 2019: The Vast of Night

The Vast of Night takes us back in time to 1950s New Mexico while also placing director Andrew Patterson on the map as a filmmaker to watch. This year is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and while that film held its world premiere last night, this is a very different flick.  This film could very well be one of the most talked about films that aren’t screening during Sundance. Things are much different…

"Slamdance 2019: The Vast of Night"

Slamdance 2019: The Professional: A Stevie Blatz Story

The Professional: A Stevie Blatz Story profiles a jack-of-all-trades entertainer living in Pennsylvania during what may very well a very rough patch. Some people have to do whatever is needed in order to stay afloat.  For Stevie Blatz, this means taking as many jobs as possible.  There are risks that come with this line of work.  His debt is piling up, which is likely the last thing that Stevie wants.  Meanwhile, all it takes is…

"Slamdance 2019: The Professional: A Stevie Blatz Story"

Slamdance 2019: Dollhouse

Dollhouse: The Eradication of Female Subjectivity from American Popular Culture is blatantly transphobic in its efforts to take a satirical look at misogyny. Writer-director Nicole Brending examines the life of fictional child star Junie Spoons by way of Behind the Tinsel.  It’s clearly a satirical take of Behind the Music or similar series.  While this format works, it only does so to an extent.  Brending does not even allow the film’s subject to tell her…

"Slamdance 2019: Dollhouse"

Slamdance 2019: Feature Lineup Announced

The Slamdance Film Festival announced the lineup of feature films to screen over the course of the film festival in Park City, Utah.  The Slamdance Film Festival will be celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2019. There will be 20 feature films screening in competition, including 11 narratives and 9 documentaries. In all, the festival will play host to 10 World, 4 North American, and 4 U.S. premieres. “When it comes to discovering talent, Slamdance has…

"Slamdance 2019: Feature Lineup Announced"

San Luis Obispo: Man on Fire (Slamdance 2018)

Man on Fire offers a glimpse at life in Grand Saline, Texas, where a white preacher Charles Moore killed himself in 2014. Moore’s life came to an end in 2014 with an act described as self-immolation.  Self-immolation is described as the the killing of one’s self, usually by lighting their self on fire.  At the time of his suicide, if you want to call it that, Moore was an elderly white man and it is…

"San Luis Obispo: Man on Fire (Slamdance 2018)"

Cinequest: The Rainbow Experiment (Slamdance 2018)

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)"

Cinequest: Mr. Fish: Cartooning From The Deep End (Slamdance 2018)

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)"