Missing Link, Laika’s latest stop-motion animated feature, opens not unlike an Indiana Jones entry. Our protagonist, Sir Lionel Frost (voiced by Hugh Jackman, “ The Greatest Showman”), along with his assistant, attempt to take pictures of the Loch Ness Monster. However, Frost quickly loses control of the situation, and despite his own precision and deftness,…
By the 1950s, Hollywood’s Golden Age was waning, its studio system crumbling in favor of “New Wave” films and younger visionaries. The wholesome names of the 1920s and ’30s were now the distant past, though their legacies would be cemented among Hollywood’s greatest. Nevertheless, pressing on amid this sweeping change were two iconic personalities of…
During times of trouble, we seek a sanctuary. When it comes to craving peace or a place for refuge, religion is not the only outlet. For some, finding peace in life can come through your passion. In the case of three young men from Rockford, Illinois, peace is found through the art of skateboarding. With…
Besides minor adjustments with its story and certain supporting characters, Neil Burger’s (“Limitless”) The Upside is a fairly faithful remake of the popular 2011 French film “The Intouchables.” Both movies are inspired by the real-life friendship of French aristocrat Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his Algerian caretaker Abdel Sellou and each highlight their dynamics of…
Few activities encompass the ominous banality of modern times like scouring the Internetscape; scrolling, swiping, clicking through apps and websites representing our digital lifebloods. Of course, we are all prospectors of that ever-expanding and blindingly confining world that is also, strangely, still very much in its infancy. We’re also constantly learning how to adapt to…
Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri said, “Writing comes partly out of being wounded by life. The need to create art is connected to a need to heal.” Without a market for her books and Isolated from her literary peers, for Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy, “Ghostbusters”) healing has given way to loneliness, alcohol, and deception….
The Last Suit (El Último Traje), the second feature film by writer/director Pablo Solarz (“Intimate Stories”) is an Argentine/Spain production that follows the journey of Abraham Bursztein (Miguel Ángel Solá, “The Impatient Alchemist”) an 88-year-old holocaust survivor who found refuge in Argentina, where he created a life for himself, working as a tailor and raising…
