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 MoreIt’s not that the movie or the actors don’t look the part in Sasquatch Sunset. That’s not the issue. It’s more about the purposes and examinations at hand. This film, which enjoyed praise during its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival earlier in the year, is one hell of a bizarre enigma poking and prodding any number of desires and intentions.
Read MoreWhen it comes to the contentious social and political conflicts surrounding the immigration issues between Mexico and the United States, it’s very easy to create “us vs. them” measurements and scenarios. On many occasions, each side has called out opposing irregularities and hostilities to declare themselves in the right while labeling the other the enemy. The Absence of Eden, the debut directorial effort from Marco Perego, attempts to address this balance while carrying a burdensome “us vs. them” dual narrative.
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 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 MoreIn the Land of Saints and Sinners earns a fair victory by slowing down and softening Liam Neeson from his signature gear of constant action ferocity. Even while playing a contract killer with imposing intimidation in his back pocket, the soon-to-be 72-year-old was granted a warmer character who exudes thoughtful wisdom first and brutality second. Clearly, the chance to give a little more of his best back to audiences on his home turf was irresistible and appreciated by Neeson.
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 MoreRiddle of Fire introduces audiences to the fictional town of Ribbon, Wyoming. As the camera stays wide to soak in the idyllic Utah vistas, captions styled in a Tolkien-esque font speak of faery castles, swords, knights, squires, and kindred spirits. Those thematically chosen words and the mystical synth musical score by Hole Dweller enunciate that we’re in for a sinuous fairy tale of a wholly different sort because of who, thanks to the W. C. Fields quote, is presented as the heroes of this fable.
Read MoreFor better or worse, Free Time operates like an audience tolerance test on the topic of the Millennial lifestyle. Little events and narrative turns occur that viewers will either identify with to a certain degree or downright disdain. The examinee for this inquest is Drew, played by emerging writer/actor Drew Burgess (who also headlines the indie Dad & Step-Dad this month), and the first exercise of this filmic inquest occurs in the opening five minutes of Free Time.
Read MoreSleeping Dogs is one of those murder mystery thrillers where motive construction and character placement is the whole kit and caboodle. Simply put, it’s one of those movies where every main and supporting character– and I mean everyone– looks guilty the majority of the time they are seen on-screen. To its credit, there’s a heightened mood created when there is such a deep pool of potential threats.
Read MoreThe Animal Kingdom manifests a present-day landscape where an unexplained divergence of evolution has been causing citizens to gradually metamorphose into animal-human amalgamations. Set in the modernized nation of France, these occurrences over the last two years are being treated and investigated like a disease or contagion. This precariously established environment of mutations puts director Thomas Cailley’s film closer to the disturbing pages of H. G. Wells than some uncanny Marvel comic adventure.
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