Richard Vanuk (Daniel Falicki, “Devils in the Darkness”) is a guy who struggles. He’s struggling to pay his rent and keep his landlord’s thug son off his back. You could say he’s struggling to stay sober, but I think it’s more accurate to say he’s struggling to keep enough alcohol in the house to keep…
Climate change’s main drivers coincide with the main drivers of economic growth. We cannot have both, it seems. We do not get to preserve the Earth if we get to develop our economic prosperity in it. This is a dichotomy in all its height, an ill-conceived binary that produces nothing but contradiction and conflict, a…
There’s a scene in Bite in which a young man, frustrated by the actions of his bride to be, takes a gulp of whiskey, stares into the mirror, and then smashes the glass against the wall in angst-filled rage. The man’s anger is not misplaced, because his betrothed appears to be getting cold feet, which…
Choice. Consequence. Color. Cats. These and more make up the palate of Welcome to Happiness, a quirky and charming fable from debut writer-director Oliver Thompson. Blending Wes Anderson-esque quirkiness with a light spiritual touch, Welcome to Happiness uses bright visuals, a likable cast and delightful music to weave its tale about the choices we make,…
“Et tu, Brute?” — William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1 Capitalism came into this world the same way in which every other system has been brought about: Through families. Yes, I know . . . you’re probably thinking that I’m full of shit, that I’m making things up, that I’m falling into gross…
If cinematic quirkiness exists on a spectrum that ranges from charming to obnoxiously grating, then surely try-hard rom-com 3rd Street Blackout is pushing towards the latter end. Every character in the movie speaks and acts as though they know they’re in a quirky indie flick, but there’s no meta subtext at work as a result….
For the sake of curiosity, the only selling point that angsty indie drama One More Time appears to boast is its depiction of Christopher Walken and Amber Heard of all people as father and daughter. That’s an odd pairing right there and while Walken’s shtick is one of the most famous in the business, he’s…
