⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5. As children, we were all fascinated with something that either stayed as it was or materialized into something productive. Dreaming was the only tool of entertainment as a child. But once we become an adult, only then do we understand the value of the past, the life and the […]
Sundance 2021: “Son of Monarchs”
Meet Cassie Bowden: She drinks and makes terrible decisions and then she drinks some more to help her get through her terrible decisions. And I have to say I think Kaley Cuoco was perfect for this role because in other hands she might be maddening but I actually… love her. I mean The Flight Attendant […]
James Vaughan’s feature film debut, Friends and Strangers is an oddity, to say the least. Both the story structure and character writing take strange roles in Vaughan’s first feature film. The story is split up into three main parts that all revolve around the main character, Ray. Each presents Ray with different people to interact […]
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021 Review: ‘Friends and Strangers’
“Tazmanian Devil” is a Nigerian-American morality fable that might more accurately have been titled “How I Learned to Stop Preaching and Love the Frat.” It’s about a kid who moves in with his Nigerian pastor father so that he can attend college in Texas. But the child the father always called “My young pastor” gets […]
Movie Review: An African preacher’s son contemplates Fraternity life as a “Tazmanian Devil”
Zendaya and John David Washington are two of Hollywood’s rising stars. Both actors had breakout moments in 2020 – Zendaya gave an award winning performance in HBO’s Euphoria and Washington was the lead in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Writer/director Sam Levinson (Euphoria) brings the two stars together in Malcolm & Marie. It’s a simple story that […]
Bereft from some ambiguous tragedy, some half-crazy white lady drops everything to go live on a mountain, totally alone, without being adequately prepared. No phone, no car, nor running water even, this scenario spells disaster to absolutely everyone except her, who persists against all common sense. Edee (Robin Wright) seems not to have thought of […]
Hey everyone! I am writing this having finished the 2021 virtual edition of the Sundance Film Festival. I definitely missed my normal festival experience but there were some good parts of being at home. I got to connect with all of my online friends watching movies and the experience wasn’t as grueling as the live […]
Sundance Log 2021 Day 6 (The World to Come, Amy Tan, Users)
Known as the caviar of the Balkans, ajvar is a Serbian roasted red pepper spread that originated in southeastern Europe. In the Kosovo-set drama “Hive,” the very act of making and bottling it becomes an act of rebellion for one woman, Fahrije (Yllka Gashi), who has no choice but to acquire an entrepreneurial spirit after…
‘Hive’ Review: Pepper Spread Becomes a Sign of Rebellion in Kosovo Drama That Swept Sundance
Talk about an unexpected yet intriguing pairing. In the new film “Bliss” Owen Wilson and Selma Hayek are two people traveling back and forth between vastly different realities. But soon perceptions of what’s real and what’s a simulation begin to blur. This catchy concept comes from the mind of writer-director Mike Cahill whose indie sci-fi […]
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Many famous actors are now turning into directors. Most of them are quite successful such as Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Olivia Wilde, Robin Wright, and now, Rebecca Hall. If you compare the above-mentioned names, I think Rebecca Hall has beaten all of them by directing the truly masterful portrayal […]
Imagine waking up in the bottom of a hole – you, your spouse, your kid. You’ve been drugged, and now you’re being held hostage. There’s no way out. Worse, your son is missing. What happened to him? Is he hurt? Worse? Who’s doing this, and why? Imagine waking up in the bottom of a hole […]
Sundance 2021: John And The Hole
Good storytelling skates by on the tension between what we see, read or hear unfold, and what we hope or fear might happen as the tale unfolds. Dickens or “Dumb & Dumber,” it’s all about meeting or willfully defying our expectations, great or otherwise. “Happy Cleaners” is a Korean-American immigrants and their children drama, a […]
Movie Review: “Happy Cleaners” and the burden of Korean-American expectations
“Some things never let us go” is the tagline of the new film THE LITTLE THINGS out in select theaters and streaming today on HBO Max. Problem is, even with three Academy Award winners – Denzel Washington (Training Day, Glory), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) – this film not only […]
MMT Quick Review of THE LITTLE THINGS
The National Theatre has released the first image of the filmed version of Romeo and Juliet, starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley. The venue utilised the stage spaces of its Lyttelton theatre to house the production of the 90-minute film over the course of a three-week shoot. The film will premiere in the UK on […]
First look: Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley in Romeo and Juliet
Whatever you do don’t confuse Jayro Bustamante’s “La Llorona” with 2019’s promising but ultimately disappointing “The Curse of La Llorona”. The two couldn’t be more different, their only real connection being the ubiquitous Latin American folk tale of “The Weeping Woman”. Bustamante has a much more sobering ambition, using the ghostly legend as a means […]
I’m loving the layers of Wandavision. The comedy and the horror but while watching the two commercials during the show I couldn’t help think how very sad Wanda’s story, and by extent the show, actually is. Spoilers below! Especially that first commercial for the Stark toaster/bomb and remembering the story about Wanda and her brother […]
While not as prominent in today’s news headlines as the current global pandemic, opioid addiction is ravaging lives at its own unspeakable rate. The new drama “Crisis” from director Nicholas Jarecki’s (“Arbitrage”) looks to tackle the issue head-on by using its star-studded cast to cover several interconnected storylines. Jarecki’s goal is to show how the […]
“Minari” is a near classic of the timeworn “troubles on the farm” drama, a story of a family of non-farmers facing the whims of nature and the widening fracture in a marriage as they set out to work the land and grab The American Dream. It’s “Country” or “The Southerner” or “Jean de Fleurette” but […]
Movie Review: Korean Immigrants are tested by the American dream in “Minari”
Title – Penguin Bloom (2020) Director – Glendyn Ivin (Last Ride) Cast – Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, Rachel House, Jacki Weaver, Griffin Murray-Johnston Plot – Based on the true story of Australian family the Blooms and their relationship with a young Magpie they rescue months after their mother and wife Sam (Watts) loses the use […]
Film Review – Penguin Bloom (2020)
Off the wagon. So this is about four friends who all are high school teachers in Denmark. Over a 40th birthday dinner, one of them mentions a theory that all humans are born with a .05% alcohol deficiency in their blood. They decide to test this thesis by maintaining this level through the workweek. Now […]
Stay Drunk – Another Round (2020)
