Smooth one, Peter. Leave it to dads to gladly go beyond their reach and overdo a promise to impress their spouse and children. Why? Because dads are meant to be larger than life and therefore operate the same way. Well, “to the moon and back” sure worked on Peter Gilbert’s daughter Lydia (Isabel May of I Want You Back) every time it was shared. The Moon & Back confirms that claim with evidence captured with the framing and resolution of old VHS.
Read MoreMake no mistake. Unspoken history exists between Lena and James. At this recorded moment, they may or may not share the inquiring answer the host is hoping to extract. Nevertheless, there’s a story here that promises a long and difficult road merging togetherness and stardom. Using deft and economical storytelling, writer-director Patrick Meaney (House of Demons) has crafted The Brink Of to reveal this little melodrama nimbly.
Read MoreMuch like the scientifically wondrous notion of us forged by recycled dust of past celestial bodies, the documentary’s powerful implications and posed questions give Deep Sky viewers immense swell and pause. Even though Deep Sky is an abrupt shorthand version of a continuing story, it is exactly the type of presentation and ponderous point that will rightfully and fruitfully inspire the next generation of innovators and explorers. Somebody somewhere is going to watch Deep Sky, hear Williams’ lush poeticism, and plot their future.
Read MoreChallengers roars forth to use the invasive scrutiny found in tennis as a mimicking reflection of personal hostilities and exposed intimacies. Keeping with that idea of body language, Guadagnino’s blistering athletic love triangle is a ballet of sweat and a battle of three beautifully furrowed brows set atop the lithe bodies of Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. For two hours-plus mirroring the length of a full set tennis match, this film cuts years deep and rips off scabs to show you why those brows are furrowed and towards whom.
Read MoreThe sentiment and pattern of the letters morphs from targeted malice to liberated venting, and begins to float as both. And, it’s all likely coming from marginalized female citizens who never have the stump or permissive opportunity to speak their mind or exorcize their frustrations in an honest way, let alone a shamelessly crude one. Wicked Little Letters develops enough expressive clout with its mystery to be more about the voices being found than the rumors being circulated.
Read MoreMost will come away from Monkey Man going on and on like that last paragraph to praise the carnality of this movie, and rightfully so. That strapping and blood-soaked athleticism is what is going to draw the hoots and hollers at public screenings and fire up future YouTube fight breakdowns. Sometimes action for action’s sake can come up empty for greater meaning and audience investment. Without anchors to care about, the fun of it all can be meaningless. This movie does not make that mistake. That’s why Monkey Man’s passionate heart should be praised as highly as its physicality.
Read MoreMerging this kind of existential melodrama with the outlandish happenstance of time travel requires characters audiences will care about beyond pragmatics and a lush production that can sprinkle magic on the grains of salt required. With the three charismatic and emerging talents present, the human appeal is covered in The Greatest Hits.
Read MoreDirecting his fifth feature length film, Steve Buscemi had us at Tessa Thompson. That’s an immediate victory. Go ahead and close your eyes. Picture Tessa and hear her voice. If you’re hearing her approachable tone and timbre in softer roles like Passing or Sylvie’s Love before her heroic bellows in the Thor and Creed franchises, you’re the right kind of cinephile and have dialed in to the proper Tessa Thompson.
Read MoreWith a different approach, One Life could have very easily veered into horn-tooting hero worship or some kind of indulgent salve applied to reduce the horrors of the Holocaust. That’s not the case with the work of director James Hawes and screenwriters Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake to depict this history with little to no extra flamboyance. The film’s style and attitude matches the central figure who never put the glory first. The history speaks for itself and needs no assistance for heft.
Read MoreAlas, potential viewers of the film are going to see the faith-centered creative team (The Case for Christ director Jon Gunn and notable producers Dave Matthews and the Erwin Brothers) highlighted by the marketing efforts and assume this is some kind of cinematic religious extortion. They would be way off. The presented cause to believe in greater than some fancy church in Ordinary Angels is a sick little girl. Nothing more is necessary.
Read MoreThe moving experiences come from sharing the expressed gastronomical artistry. The art of those fears is in unique masterful cooking. The cooking comes from the two-decade partnership between Eugénie and Dodin. Their partnership has blossomed to a long-term love of understanding and freedom that has avoided the culminating step of marriage. Simply put, food is merely the setting of shared quality time for the rest of life.
Read MoreFor Adam to approach these strangers with his “I’m looking for my father” story and burning questions, it takes a sit-down. That kind of talk can’t be rushed and Franco lets those opportunities fully breathe. Moreover, each of the important exchanges create their own emotional transitions for Adam. He needs every springboard he can get from these talks, and so does Oakes Fegley playing the character.
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