Son of Monarchs, a feature film written and directed by Alexis Gambis, a microbiologist and film director/screenwriter, is not the type of work likely to be appreciated — or perhaps even tolerated — by moviegoers that prefer tightly constructed, thematically succinct cinema. It is multi-layered in its storyline with a mélange of styles that range…
Trent O’Donnell’s Ride The Eagle has the makings of becoming the next quirky indie darling with its charming aesthetics and top-tier cast. And though it attempts to pick up the mantle from films like “Little Miss Sunshine” and similar fuzzy, off-beat dramedies, deep down, this collaboration between O’Donnell and actor/screenwriter Jake Johnson ultimately severs a…
Britain has a great range of cities, some of which receive extensive cinematic treatment. London is the most iconic, but Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow have also graced the silver screen. But is there a more evocative, romantic, inspiring and fascinating city than that Las Vegas of the United Kingdom, that Dubai of England,…
History lessons don’t have to be boring. But when they are, the problem usually lies with the execution of the presentation of the information. This happens to be the unfortunate circumstance of accomplished writer-director Armando Iannucci’s latest film, The Death of Stalin, which takes a satirical look at the death of Josef Stalin and the…
Somber, unrelenting and ultimately life-affirming, A Fantastic Woman is a powerful portrait of Marina Vidal, an eponymous woman and transgender character played fantastically by transgender actress Daniela Vega (“The Guest”), who must navigate institutional and individual intolerance and discrimination when her lover, Orlando (Francisco Reyes, “Neruda”), dies unexpectedly. The circumstances surrounding Orlando’s sudden death raise…
While no movie can fully capture the madness of what life in a concentration camp must have been like, László Nemes’ Cannes Grand Prize Award winning Son of Saul, his first feature film, may come close to recreating the experience. Written by the director and Clara Royer and shot in 35mm with a 4:3 aspect…
Irving Zisman is an 86-year-old horny, incompetent asshole and probably the last person on Earth you’d want to care for your child. So of course having him care for a kid is at the crux of Bad Grandpa, as the octogenarian has been charged to accompany his eight-year-old grandson across America to be with his…
