Having already won an Academy Award for his short film “Helium,” director Anders Walter makes a strong feature film debut with I Kill Giants, a reasonably touching, visually captivating adaptation of Joe Kelly’s comic book series of the same name. The story centers around Barbara (Madison Wolfe, “The Conjuring 2”), a tenacious fifth grader who’s…
Directed by Shaul Schwarz (“Aida’s Secrets”) and Christina Clusiau, Trophy is a riveting but often difficult to watch documentary which examines the issue of trophy hunting and species preservation from the point of view of hunters, breeders, farmers, and wildlife conservationists. The subject became a leading news story in June 2015 when Minnesota dentist Walter…
As you’ve grown up, have you ever been ostracized from other children, for whatever reason? Maybe you were the kid who smelled, or wore thick glasses. Maybe you simply liked things that weren’t cool enough for elementary school status quo. Children generally have little-to-no sense of empathy when they’re that young, and so school can…
Time Share (Tiempo Compartido) is set in an oppressive, claustrophobic time share community called Vistamar, a vacation spot owned and operated by Everfields International. The latter is a phantom company purportedly headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, perhaps a nod to the very American-style promise of fun and restoration that the community promises its guests. However, the…
Dawson City, British Columbia is a place where dreams began and dreams ended. Located about 350 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Dawson City was established in 1896 with 3,500 residents and was home to the native Hän speaking people who lived along the Yukon River, harvesting salmon and hunting caribou. As boatloads of gold…
The story of A Woman’s Life (original title “Une vie”) centers around Jeanne Le Perthuis des Vauds (Judith Chemla, “In the Name of My Daughter”). Like most women of her time and place (19th-century France), she exists only to suitably and fruitfully marry. She spends her days reading or playing backgammon with her parents, engaging…
History is determined by whoever holds the pen, be it religious context, political misconduct, or something as simple as creative rights. Anyone who knows me personally knows I’m a huge comic book fan, for Batman especially. Much like “The Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened,” Batman & Bill is something I’ve been following for a…
