Green Book: A Must-Watch Film

Because of its approach to racism in the early 1960s, Green Book may offer light-hearted moments but it’s one of the must-watch films of 2018. Bronx native Frank Anthony “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Mortensen) works as a bouncer for Copacabana but is forced to find work while the club undergoes repairs.  He learns that Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) is looking for a driver so he applies for the job. What Tony doesn’t know until meeting…

"Green Book: A Must-Watch Film"

Outlaw King gets Bloody and Brutal

In telling the story of Scottish king Robert the Bruce’s early years, Outlaw King draws a bigger focus on the battle at hand. There’s no doubt that Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) led an interesting life but as a person, he’s such a complex character.  He goes from noble to kind to outlaw in the span of just a few years.  How many people can truly put such impressive feats on their resume?!?  The Scotland…

"Outlaw King gets Bloody and Brutal"

A Private War: Marie Colvin’s Important Story

A Private War follows The Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin during some of the most pivotal moments of her career as a Foreign Affairs correspondent. The film starts out in Homs, Syria in 2012 before flashing back to London, 2001.  While her bosses wanted to send her to one country, Colvin (Rosamund Pike) believed that the Sri Lankan Civil War was the more important story.  Whatever the case, Colvin’s decision would get her placed in…

"A Private War: Marie Colvin’s Important Story"

Viper Club Never Reaches Full Potential

In spite of the material’s importance, it felt as if Viper Club was lacking something in getting across the film’s message. Make no mistake that it’s a bummer that Viper Club isn’t a better film than it should have been.  This is a film who tells the story of emergency room nurse Helen Sterling (Susan Sarandon).  While the Oscar winner is fine actress and does what she can with the material, her performance alone isn’t enough…

"Viper Club Never Reaches Full Potential"

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Melissa McCarthy is virtually unrecognizable while portraying New York writer-turned-forger Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me? Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) is a biographer.  When we first meet her, she’s just beginning to write about comedian Fanny Brice.  She doesn’t know it yet but her life is about to change when she stole two notes written by Brice.  While it’s initially for the better with the amount of money she makes, things soon take…

"Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

Mid90s: Racist, Sexist, Homophobic

Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s, takes us back to the middle of the 1990s with a look at life for one teenager’s summer in LA. Stevie (Sunny Suljic) lives with his older, abusive brother Ian (Lucas Hedges, appearing in 3 films at TIFF), and single mom, Dabney (Katherine Waterston).  Stevie’s world opens up when he discovers a skate shop.  It’s soon thereafter that the teenager meets a new crop of friends.  Among them are Ruben…

"Mid90s: Racist, Sexist, Homophobic"

Felix Van Groeningen talks Beautiful Boy

Felix Van Groeningen sat down with Solzy at the Movies during a roundtable interview to discuss his new film, Beautiful Boy, starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet.  The film tells the story of a father and son, David and Nic Sheff. With having two books being the source material, how easy was it to weave these two narratives together and still tell a coherent story? Felix Van Groeningen:  What helps is that it’s two points of…

"Felix Van Groeningen talks Beautiful Boy"

Chicago Film Festival 2018: The Other Story

The Other Story is grounded through a father-daughter relationship but also touches on the struggles between Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and secular lifestyles. There are two major plots going in The Other Story.  One is the relationship between Anat Abadi (Joy Rieger) and Shachar Elkayam (Nathan Goshen).  The other deals with patients of Dr. Shlomo Abadi (Sasson Gabai), Rami (Maayan Bloom) and Sari (Avigail Harari).  While Shlomo brings in his son, Yonatan (Yuval Segal), to help these…

"Chicago Film Festival 2018: The Other Story"

Wildlife: A Career-Best for Carey Mulligan

With first-time director Paul Dano at the helm, Wildlife benefits from a stand-out performance from actress Carey Mulligan. Based on Richard Ford’s book of the same name, we view the events through the eyes of teenager Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould) in Great Falls, Montana.  As his parents struggle financially, Joe decides to quit the football team to work for a photographer. Meanwhile, Joe’s dad, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal), decides to run out of town to fight fires some…

"Wildlife: A Career-Best for Carey Mulligan"

Beautiful Boy: A Wonderfully Acted Film

Beautiful Boy is a wonderfully acted film showing that Timothée Chalomet’s Oscar-nominated performance from last year was not a fluke. As wonderfully acted as the Felix van Groeningen film may be, the story of father-and-son, David (Steve Carell) and Nic Sheff (Timothée Chalamet), is such a sad one.  When we first meet David, he’s in some sort of office looking to learn more about crystal meth.  This is because his son, Nick, is an alcoholic and…

"Beautiful Boy: A Wonderfully Acted Film"