By William Engel “The Rebound” takes us through the lives of the Miami Heat Wheels, a wheelchair basketball team on the verge of going to the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) National Tournament. The film delves into the genesis of the league, the personal lives of several of the teammates, and what they have to go through in order to qualify for the nationals. What … Continue reading “The Rebound” Rolls With The Punches Of Life
By William Engel “Letter from Masanjia” tells the story of Sun Yi, a Chinese man who spent years detained in a prison camp for taking part in Falun Gong, a spiritual practice outlawed by the Chinese government. In the camp, he and the other detainees were forced to make cheap products to export to the United States. It was here that Sun Yi spied an … Continue reading “Letter from Masanjia” Shows an Inexorable Resolve In The Face Of Adversity
By William Engel “Surviving Home” takes us through the lives of four different veterans, each of whom fought in a different war – Richard Green, a World War II veteran, Claude Thomas, a Vietnam war veteran, Robert “Bobby” Henline, a Gulf War veteran, and Tracey Cooper Harris, an Iraq War veteran. The film alternates between the four veterans’ lives, demonstrating the struggles that each of … Continue reading “Surviving Home” A Fascinating Look at What It Means To Be A Veteran
By William Engel “3 Years in Pakistan: The Erik Audé Story” documents the story of a Hollywood stuntman who got roped into a drug smuggling operation in Pakistan, leading to him being placed on death row for a crime he wasn’t responsible for. We’re taken though his desperate struggle to survive and prove his innocence to a court who seems determined to find him … Continue reading “3 Years in Pakistan: The Erik Audé Story” Is An Pulse Pounding Suspense Thriller Documentary
By William Engel “Virgin Blacktop: A New York Skate Odyssey” is a documentary chronicling the genesis, peak and dissolution of The Wizards, a team of nine New York teenagers united by their passion for skateboarding. The film is comprised of footage, news articles and stories spanning more than thirty years, compiled by Charlie Samuels, one of the Wizards’ most prominent members. The film has … Continue reading The Documentary “Virgin Blacktop: A New York Skate Odyssey” Is A Chronicle Of Passion, Life And Skateboarding
By William Engel Told with great simplicity and power, “Bridget and Iain” is a heart wrenching story of a mother and son who have a wedge driven between them by the latter’s drug addiction. The film begins with the mother, Bridget, visiting her son, Iain, in rehab. The two of them have a tense conversation about Iain’s current financial and residential situation. Iain claims that … Continue reading “Bridget and Iain” Displays The Impact The Walls Of Addiction Has On Family
By William Engel The PBS broadcast of “The Chinese Exclusion Act”, was a daring, sobering documentary about the titular law that prevented Chinese-Americans from being recognized as citizens for more than half a century. Through multiple accounts and both primary and secondary sources, the film provides an in-depth look at the history of the Chinese in America, beginning in the early 19th century with the … Continue reading “The Chinese Exclusion Act” Shows The true Cost And Exploitation Of The Chinese Immigrants
By William Engel “Regionrat”, based on the Richard Laskowski novel of the same name, follows Ray (Connor Williams), a broke and lonely young man who spends six months trying to make it in Seattle before deciding to move back to his hometown to finish high school. He runs into trouble before long, however, when the high school cutie Erin (Natassia Halabi) starts to hit on … Continue reading “Regionrat” Tragic Consequences Of High School Drama
By William Engel It is a world that proves to be more intricate, more fascinating and even more disturbing than it appears on the surface. The film focuses on Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer, one of the most accomplished and notorious trolls in the history of the net. The prodigious provocateur has, to date, publicly revealed a flaw in AT&T’s programming that allowed him to leak … Continue reading With “Troll Inc.”, Filmmaker George Russell Gives Us A Provocative Tour Of The World Of Internet Trolling
By William Engel After years of building up a reputation as one of the industry’s top special effects gurus, Hiroshi Katagiri made his feature length directorial debut with the premiere of c. I’m happy to report that it succeeds not only as a horror film, but as a harrowing drama that casts a damning light on the consequences of colonization. In the film, a Real … Continue reading Top Special Effects Gurus, Hiroshi Katagiri Creates A terrifyingly Brilliant Horror Film For His Directorial Debut
by William Engel Who’s “Jenna?” is very Funny, daring, and surprisingly intense. The film follows Jonathan Burke (Bill Sorvino), a financial advisor who starts dating a lawyer named Jenna Casey (Tracey Birdsall) after meeting her at a bar. His best friend, Andy Roma (Joseph D’onofrio) notes that she bears a striking resemblance to a prolific porn star, leading both of them to suspect that … Continue reading Who’s “Jenna?” Is A Thoroughly Enjoyable Romp
by William Engel If there’s any doubt in your mind that synchronized swimming is a legitimate sport, that doubt will be extinguished upon viewing “Perfect”, a spellbinding documentary about one of the athletic world’s most under-appreciated pursuits. “Perfect” gives us an inside look at the Canadian synchronized swimming team as they prepare for the national tryouts – which will qualify them for the 2016 … Continue reading “Perfect” Mesmerizing And Tragic
By William Engel “Fear, Love and Agoraphobia” is a sobering, poignant story of two people struggling to break free from their respective prisons – one confined by mental illness, the other by grief. The film follows two different people, whose lives converge about one-third through. The first, a man named Chet (Dustin Coffey), suffers from severe agoraphobia, or fear of sunlight and going outside. … Continue reading “Fear, Love and Agoraphobia” A Distressing Yet Refreshing Look At The Default Difficulties Of Life
By William Engel “Russian Doll” follows Viola Ames (Melanie Brockmann Gaffney), a veteran police detective who’s assigned to investigate the disappearance of a woman who stumbled upon a murder plot behind the scenes of an upcoming play called The Russian Doll. As opening night draws closer and closer, Viola and her partner, EJ (Sarah Hollis) are tasked with unraveling a twisted thread that will lead … Continue reading “Russian Doll” Film Review
By William Engel The film follows Jimmy Percer (Kogon), an aging tap dancer who seeks to enter an international dancing competition. On one hand, he has plenty of people in his corner, including his wife, Tess (Beverly Mitchell), his boss, Mr. Dalyrmple (Jim O’Heir), and his niece, Kit (Hayley Shukiar). On the other hand, a few obstacles stand in his way; for one thing, the … Continue reading Stephen Kogon Is Set To Make His Film Debut As The Star Of “Dance Baby Dance” A Charming – Albeit A Bit By-The-Numbers – Inspirational Story
By William Engel A powerful story of one man’s task to clear his family name and save his family’s property. The film follows Nohea Kanekoa (Moronai Kanekoa), a one-legged war veteran who finds himself in a desperate bid to save his ancestral homeland. His ailing grandmother (Marlene Sai) owes thousands of dollars in property taxes, and a predatory real estate mogul named Victor Coyle (Stefan … Continue reading Intense, Powerful and Suspenseful, Kuleana Is A Spellbinding Tale
By William Engel Bare tells the harrowing yet uplifting story based on the short story written by Rebecca Hall (a friend of the filmmaker Kerith Lemon), who’s own devastating breast cancer diagnosis at age drastically 25 changed the course of her life. The story is of a woman (Aurora Perrineau) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctor prescribes chemotherapy, which unfortunately means that she is likely going to … Continue reading The 2018 Pasadena International Film Festival Review Of “Bare”: A Gripping, Heart Wrenching Story Of Illness And The Perception Of Beauty
By William Engel Santiago Rizzo made his directorial debut last year with the striking “Quest”. One of the reasons filmmaker Santiago Rizzo made his 2018 Slamdance Film Festival narrative feature “Quest” was to fulfill a promise to his life-changing mentor and friend, Tim Moellering. Moellering was a humble Berkeley, California middle school teacher and football coach who took Rizzo under his wing and helped him … Continue reading “Quest” Flim Review: A Flawed But Nonetheless Evocative Tale of Adversity And Second Shances
by William Engel What does it take to build a world-class French restaurant? What if the staff is almost entirely men and women just out of prison? What if most have never cooked or served before, and have barely two months to learn their trade? The message of the Oscar-nominated documentary “Knife Skills” is a bitter pill to swallow; for ex-convicts, change is possible, … Continue reading “Knife Skills” Is A Bitter Pill To Swallow
by William Engel Nominated for an Academy Award®, Edith+Eddie is a film by Laura Checkoway (LUCKY) is a devastating film about the country’s oldest interracial newlyweds Edith + Eddie provides us with an unflinching look at the disrespect and condescension with which we treat the elderly, forcing them to relinquish their lives to third parties with no emotional connection to them. The documentary short … Continue reading Edith And Eddie Review
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