Tag: movie reviews
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2023 at Tribeca
The 21st Tribeca Film Festival kicked off on June 7th. The New York City cinema gathering spools a mixture of indie and mainstream titles. What I like about this festival is the slick production values of entries or debut directors can have well-known performers. I do not review Marvel films because Superhero works are review…
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When Mail Was FUN!
Before Amazon and shopping online, mail order catalogs dominated the long distanced retail landscape. Buyers browsed pages for merchandise before purchasing. Specialty catalogs rose from the advent of targeting certain customers. International Male was one such catalog. The menswear label from INTERNATIONAL MALE launched in 1976 from a beach shack in San Diego. Founder Gene…
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Personal Favs From The Berlinale
After the announcements of the main awards of this year’s Berlinale, other films also deserve recognition. In the Encounters section, The Klezmer Project was directed by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann. Although it did not win (Here, by Bas Devos, took the prize), The duo’s work deserves stand-alone appraisal. Leandro, a frustrated Jewish wedding cameraman…
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Benetonville Fest Highlights
For its eighth annual edition, the Bentonville Film Festival once again purported to be all-inclusive. Its tagline reads: ‘Championing Women and Diverse Voices’. Academy Award winner Geena Davis chairs this festival in Arkansas State. Physical events took place from June 22nd-26th, with virtual events running to July 3rd. The Competition Narrative entry The Unknown…
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IFFR 2022 Impressions
A bit of mixed year for the International Film Festival Rotterdam. I have not been WOWED by the selections this year, perhaps the lock downs along with production chain problems have affected entries. Still, I managed to find some nice surprises. Stay tuned for a more complete rundown. The IFFR runs until February 6th.
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The Compellingly Divine
A seemingly straightforward two-hour documentary of Pope Francis, Francesco otherwise manages to compel. Directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, the film is noteworthy for mostly competent direction and production values. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1936. He is the first Pope to be born outside Europe since Gregory III (731–741). As the…
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Is This Indie Flick Worth The Trip?
Pooling to Paradise Indie Road Flick Pooling to Paradise is an engaging and often fun critique on contemporary living. Married mum and step-mother Jenny (Lynn Chen) plans to travel to Las Vegas for a professional Blogger conference. Involuntarily she chooses the Car Pool option on her app. This means she will subsequently miss her flight.…
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Bentonville 2021 Picks
I have been covering the Bentonville Film Festival this year, virtual of course. Not being familiar with the event, perspective or type of works to expect, my expectations were toned down Celebrating Diversity, underrepresented storytellers is the Arkansas based fests theme. 75% of the films selected were made by women. The 2021Winners: Narrative Film Award:…
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Crossing Genres With Mixed Results
At the Tribeca Film Festival this year there were the obligatory premieres. Despite the natural anticipation some program choices were questionable. Take for example the Wyatt Rockefeller directed Settlers. For its world premiere at Tribeca, expectations were good. After all, it is a Sci-Fi Western film from a debut director with an interesting cast. “Johnny…
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Bentonville Fest
Our first Bentonville Film Festival. The Arkansas event started in 2015 continues it’s tradition of championing diversity and inclusion in the cinema field. Keep checking back here for news and reviews.