“When sky and sea came together like two lips touching, for that’s no small thing, no. To have lived through one solitude to arrive at another, to feel oneself many things and recover wholeness.” — Pablo Neruda As Americans we love the idea of ordinary people rising from obscurity to become heroes celebrated for their…
Written and directed by Brian Crano, Permission is a unique take on modern romance that deserves more attention than it’s gotten, particularly for its wide array of truly likable characters. Set in Brooklyn, the film examines a long-term couple who become interested in expanding their experiences beyond each other, and honestly considers the consequences of…
Mary and the Witch’s Flower, based on the English book “The Little Broomstick” by Mary Stewart, is the first female-led action action fantasy film exploding into theaters in 2018. Originally released in Japan in 2017 this new movie, engineered by some of the directors and animators behind classic cartoon adventures such as “Spirited Away,” “Howl’s…
Anthologies are a kind of a risk/reward endeavor. It’s a great way to keep a series fresh and innovative, especially as age goes against it, but iconography can often ruin those kind of plans. Remember when “Halloween” was supposed to be an anthology series? Not only did “Halloween” become too popular for its own good,…
Those dastardly backwoods are calling again. Based on the well-received 2011 novel by Adam Nevill, David Bruckner’s film, The Ritual, is a competent British-made horror which, after a so-so opening act, gradually mutates into something quite watchable and intense. It starts as a group of old college buddies meet up to plan a reunion trip…
In Icarus, documentarian and amateur cyclist Bryan Fogel sets about a steep undertaking. He is curious to learn whether he can follow a blood-doping program capable of clearing the controls clean and thus placing him in awards contention at France’s Haute Route race, the world’s most prestigious multi-day event for amateur riders. Eager to prove…
In 1906, in San Jose, California, an impressive, intimidating, and haunting construction project is underway — in fact, this never-ending project is worked on 24 hours a day. After the deaths of her husband and infant daughter, Sarah Winchester (Helen Mirren, “Eye in the Sky”) began ordering renovations on the family home. Heiress to the…
