Category: Movie Review

Movie Review

LA Documentary “East LA Interchange” in 2 LA Film Festivals

  By:  Austin Winter-Chase “I came back because I am who I am because of the community I grew up in.” –will.i.am, The Black Eyed Peas Besty Kalin’s award winning documentary and Audience Award Winner for Best Documentary “East LA Interchange” to screen at the New Urbanism Film Festival and the Highland Park Independent Film Festival. In a country where freedom and equality goes hand … Continue reading LA Documentary “East LA Interchange” in 2 LA Film Festivals

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Movie Review

The 2015 L A Film Festival Review: “Maiko: Dancing Child”

  By: Vernon Nickerson Norwegian Writer and Director Ase Svenheim Drivenes has crafted a beautiful tone poem of an artist risking all for the love of her chosen profession – prima ballerina – in his film “Maiko: Dancing Child”. It is easy to see why it was nominated as Best Documentary at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival. We are introduced to this story of … Continue reading The 2015 L A Film Festival Review: “Maiko: Dancing Child”

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Movie Review

The 2015 L A Film Festival Review: “Sweet Mickey for President”

By: Vernon Nickerson Director Ben Patterson and Writer Pras Michel (member of the Fugees) have combined forces to bring us a vivid and vibrant 21st Century snapshot of life in Haiti in their documentary, “Sweet Mickey for President”. The film focuses on the post 2010 earthquake campaign of Haitian pop music icon and populist and activist Michel Martelly (aka Sweet Mickey) as he seeks to become … Continue reading The 2015 L A Film Festival Review: “Sweet Mickey for President”

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Movie Review

The 2015 L A Film Festival Review: “In Football We Trust”

  By; Vernon Nickerson For the love of the game or for the power and fame? This is one question directors Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn address by telling the stories of 4 Polynesian football players struggling to overcome gang violence and poverty in a world where a contract to play football in the NFL is the only endgame in town as depicted in the documentary … Continue reading The 2015 L A Film Festival Review: “In Football We Trust”

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Movie Review

2015 Dances With Films Review: “Barn Wedding” Directed by Shaun Benson

  By: Ellexia Nguyen Shot in Guelph, Ontario, “Barn Wedding” is a dramedy that shows the unexpected surprises leading up to the wedding day of Fashion Blogger Emma (played by Emily Coutts) and her longtime boyfriend Colin (played by Brett Donahue). After finding out that she has to move her summer wedding up six months, Emma is set on having her wedding in a barn … Continue reading 2015 Dances With Films Review: “Barn Wedding” Directed by Shaun Benson

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Movie Review, Social Issues

2015 New Media Film Festival Documentary Review: “Counter Histories – Rock Hill”

By:  Ellexia Nguyen Counter Histories: Rock Hill, is a moving documentary that combines re-enactments and candid interviews to tell the story of nine African-American men, known as the Friendship 9, who sat at McCrory’s lunch counter and were mistreated because of their race. They asked for a cup of coffee and were denied service. The incident unfolded in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on January 31st, … Continue reading 2015 New Media Film Festival Documentary Review: “Counter Histories – Rock Hill”

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Movie Review

Dances With Films 18 Film Review: “Karl Manhair, Postal Inspector” Delivers a Splash of Dark Humor

  By Ellexia Nguyen “Karl Manhair, Postal Inspector” premiered at the 2015 Dances With Films Midnight Shorts. It is a short film that tells the story of a man who feels that his job as a Postal Inspector (played by Geoffrey Cantor) no longer matters to anyone. Plagued with a sense of irrelevance, Karl acts upon the advice of his life coach (played by Amy … Continue reading Dances With Films 18 Film Review: “Karl Manhair, Postal Inspector” Delivers a Splash of Dark Humor

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Movie Review

Dances With Films Review: “Harry and The Snowman”, A Seemingly Happy Ending Story Includes Challenges Not Seen Publicly Till Now…

By: James E. Groth Woven within the triumph of turning a slaughter bound horse into an international show jumping champion is the personal story of Harry deLeyer. This full-length documentary initially traces how a Dutch immigrant working as a riding instructor at the Knox School in Long Island, New York recognizes the spirit left in an Amish plow horse on a truck heading to the … Continue reading Dances With Films Review: “Harry and The Snowman”, A Seemingly Happy Ending Story Includes Challenges Not Seen Publicly Till Now…

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Movie Review

Dances With Films Review: “Ablution”, A Family Conflicted And In Turmoil

By: Kareem Williams “Ablution” is a great movie with a story line that will blow you away. I believe we as humans have the struggle of being pure when it comes to religion; when at the end of the day, nobody is pure. “Ablution” is about a Muslim family, who have lost their father figure in the home, leaving the mother, AFSANEH (Nina Nayebi) upset with … Continue reading Dances With Films Review: “Ablution”, A Family Conflicted And In Turmoil

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Movie Review

A Tale Of Life’s Journey In The Twilight Years: A Review of “I’ll See you I My Dreams”

  By Lacy Darryl Phillips As one gets older, one tends to say that their life is over. We  forget how to live a full and meaningful life as we age with time. In the wonderfully done film “I’ll See You In My Dreams” it shows that life actually gets better as you get older. There are ups and downs with loss and mistakes, but there … Continue reading A Tale Of Life’s Journey In The Twilight Years: A Review of “I’ll See you I My Dreams”

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Movie Review

2015 SOHO International Film Festival Review: “Leaves Of The Tree” A Profoundly Inspirational Film

By Monteque Pope-Le Beau There is a line that divides humanity and divinity… In the wake of the ills of life all  depart and fall away leaving no answer to the questions which loom unmercifully like a dark cloud in the sky. A man stands at the crossroads of life waiting as death slowly approaches.  A tree stands in the field of a foreign land … Continue reading 2015 SOHO International Film Festival Review: “Leaves Of The Tree” A Profoundly Inspirational Film

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Movie Review

More Than The Sum of its Parts: A Review of “Dark Star: H. R. Giger’s World”

By: Vernon Nickerson The Acclaimed documentary on H.R. Giger,  “DARK STAR: H.R. GIGER’S WORLD”  will open nationally in theaters beginning May 15.  Writer – Director Brenda Sallin’s exquisitely produced documentary of the life and art of surrealist artist H. R. Giger  (1940–2014) is a rich tapestry of black, white and grayscale images created by Giger during, before and after his “discovery” and Oscar win for the Ridley … Continue reading More Than The Sum of its Parts: A Review of “Dark Star: H. R. Giger’s World”

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Movie Review

2015 Louisiana Film Festival Review: Girl On The Edge Review

By:  Adrienne Vaught Based on a true story “Girl On The Edge” is a film every parent and young adult MUST see! Filmmaker Jay Silverman recounts the very real story of the vulnerable young Hanna Green with unrestricted and unsupervised access to the dangerous world of social media. A parent’s worst nightmares come to life. We find the broken and beautiful girl played exquisitely by  Taylor Spreitler standing … Continue reading 2015 Louisiana Film Festival Review: Girl On The Edge Review

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Cultural issues, Introduction to the Artist, Movie Review

“Boy Meets Girl” A Message Of Unconditional Love: A interview With Director Eric Schaeffer

By: Adrienne Vaught Edited By : Colleen Page “Boy Meets Girl” is a coming-of-age LGBT film in which Director Eric Schaeffer challenges the audience to take their preconceived ideas of the small rural American town, throw it out the window into the gutter where most preconceived notions belong. Combine that with our innate drive to belong to the society and bodies in which we are born and … Continue reading “Boy Meets Girl” A Message Of Unconditional Love: A interview With Director Eric Schaeffer

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Movie Review

The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival Review: Time and Talent Too Beautiful to Lose: A Review of “Better to Live”

By: Vernon Nickerson Linda G. Mills’ gem of a short film, “Better To Live” had its World Premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Plus it was THE OFFICIAL SELECTION of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. “Better To Live” showcases the “heartbeat” of New York City- its creative young adults – even as it provocatively highlights how they speak out to their peers about the complex issues of coming out, … Continue reading The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival Review: Time and Talent Too Beautiful to Lose: A Review of “Better to Live”

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Movie Review

We Have Met The “Frenemy” and IT IS US: A Review of Requiem for the American Dream Which Will Premiere At The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival

By:  Vernon Nickerson The writing and directing team of Peter D. Hutchinson, Kelly Nyks, and Jared P. Scott have  struck pure gold with their new documentary featuring the fact – based reflections of Dr. Noam Chomsky, distinguished linguistics scholar, intellectual and participant observer in the epic history of the United States over the last half – century.  The four years spent filming Professor Chomsky, who … Continue reading We Have Met The “Frenemy” and IT IS US: A Review of Requiem for the American Dream Which Will Premiere At The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival

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Movie Review

WOW! You must run, don’t walk to catch Marco Kalantari’s featured short, “The Shaman” at The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival!

By: Vernon Nickerson Excellent high-quality production values (sets, costumes, 3-d imagery, etc.) combine with a superb cast ably lead by Danny Shayler as the title character and Susanne Wuest as his nemesis, Colossus, to transport us completely to a post apocalyptic 2204 world that has seen 73 years of continuous war. In this dark time, Shaman’s (our heroes) track and convert the souls of their … Continue reading WOW! You must run, don’t walk to catch Marco Kalantari’s featured short, “The Shaman” at The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival!

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Movie Review

Let’s Make A Movie, People! A Review of Max Finnernan’s Feature Film “The Shells” From 2015 The Phoenix Film Festival

    By: Vernon Nickerson The film “The Shells” had its world premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival on Friday, March 27th. It was a little film with quite a few big surprises. Writer/Director/Producer Max Finnernan uses a sexy and comically smarmy male lead, “The Director/Producer Manny” (Erik Heger) to spin an interesting and engaging science fiction yarn involving government-sponsored mind control experiments and a … Continue reading Let’s Make A Movie, People! A Review of Max Finnernan’s Feature Film “The Shells” From 2015 The Phoenix Film Festival

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Movie Review

“Plain Clothes ” The Light And Darkness of the PTSD

By: Austin Winter-Chase   This is a deeply moving and insightful film about PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and the  toll it takes  on one’s life “Plain Clothes” is written and directed by Sam Jaeger (Parenthood, American Sniper) who also stars as Officer Cole. Officer Cole is a person struggling to balance his dark and stressful work with his family life. It is hard but  Officer Cole is doing … Continue reading “Plain Clothes ” The Light And Darkness of the PTSD

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