Love Spreads is an exploration of the creative process when the pressure is mounting on band members to put together another album. Following the end of their first tour, the members of Glass Heart head to Rockfield Studios to record their sophomore album. The trio–and their band manager–are couped up there in an effort to create some music. Like any sophomore effort, the pressure is on and for singer-songwriter Kelly (Alia Shawkat), it starts to…
"Tribeca 2020: Love Spreads"Tag: Tribeca Film Festival
What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali follows the recent trend of resorting to all-archival materials in telling the story of The Greatest. What filmmaker Antoine Fuqua seeks to do is tell Muhammad Ali’s story through his own voice. This is the way to go. There’s no reason for a narrator here. Ali lived through both ups and downs. Many of us know his story but this documentary takes it to an entirely different level. We get both…
"What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali"
Grounded in the stories of four LGBTQ people, For They Know Not What They Do is an essential documentary and should be a must-watch for everyone. This film tells the stories of Sarah McBride, Elliot Porcher, Vico Báez Febo, and the late Ryan Robertson. If you’re anything like me, you will get emotional while viewing the documentary. I got chills all over my body just from watching the clip of Sarah addressing the DNC in 2016. …
"Tribeca 2019: For They Know Not What They Do"
Storm is what happens when you imagine a near-distant future where the government is put in charge of our dating and sexual affairs. The film starts out with a message from the U.S. Department of Social Health that introduces us to the Relationship Compatibility Act. Participation is required by law as all Americans are “paired with or reassigned” to our ideal partner. If no such matches occur in a 12-month period, people will be then…
"Tribeca 2019: Storm"
An unknown actor practically has to beg a celebrity acting coach to help him audition for a TV role in the short film, Master Maggie. Most people think of acting classes as being a necessary requirement on the way to their Emmy, Oscar, or Tony. The direction that director/co-writer Matthew Bonifacio takes us on is not quite as we expected. One could see this as an acting coach’s worst nightmare. In addition to filmmaking, Matthew Bonifacio is…
"Tribeca 2019: Master Maggie"
Flyby is a well-made sci-fi drama from writer-director Jesse Mittelstadt in which viewers can’t help but ask the hard questions after viewing. When an asteroid, Chrono-7, enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to mess with our perception of time. The film focuses on Bill (Riley Egan). After hanging out with friends, we see Bill go back with Cora (Tommee May). It’s only when she wakes up really pregnant the next day that we realize something is…
"Tribeca 2019: Flyby"
Drew Denny’s Momster works as a proof-of-concept film while laying the groundwork for what may be the feature film that follows. Angel (Brianna Hildebrand) works at Wild Ride, a drug dealing diner operated by Dallas (Josh Ennis). Angel’s mother, the Momster (Amanda Plummer), had left her with Dallas so as to live a life free of the cops. Unfortunately, Angel isn’t leaving an easy life with Dallas around. While her mom comes back into the…
"Tribeca 2019: Momster"
Actor-filmmaker Nick Borenstein had a pair of shorts, 99 and Sweater, screen in the Tribeca N.O.W. program during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Both of these are very different films but they’re both comedies. In 99, both mother (Kathryn Markey) and son (Borenstein) are shopping in a 99 cent store for a bar mitzvah gift. She’s a frequent customer so it comes as no surprise that many of the store’s employees know who she is. …
"Tribeca 2019: Nick Borenstein’s 99 and Sweater"
Lady Hater is a smartly written comedy from Alexandra Barreto that challenges the gender norms that come with being a woman. The gist of the film is that Sam Hardy (Allyn Rachel) is a “guy’s girl.” When the yoga class turns out to be a seminar to find the goddess within, it really hits a nerve. She’s not really into the things that people would describe as girly. Oh, yes, this includes brunch and shopping. If you dare…
"Tribeca 2019: Lady Hater"
I Think She Likes You has us thinking that it is one type of comedy but the reality is that there’s something hiding just beneath the surface. A night at the bar takes a quick turn into something else for Jake (Josh Fadem) when he meets Julia (Teresa Lee). Julia spots Justine (Christine Medrano) across the way and thinks she likes Jake. The next thing we know, Jake finds himself in a threesome with both…
"Tribeca 2019: I Think She Likes You"