Tag: Movie Review

Movie Review

It’s One Stuck-up ‘Country Club’ You Won’t Mind Visiting

The Country Club Rating: 7/10 Director: Fiona Robert Writers: Fiona and Sophie Robert Style: Comedy Time: 89 minutes Trailer: https://vimeo.com/773459022/82f7860869?share=copy Review by Mike Szymanski You’ve driven past those snooty country clubs with those grand estates, high bushes, elite dress codes, impenetrable cliques and membership fees that mere mortals cannot afford. Maybe you’ve even eaten at the overpriced, over-rated restaurants at the club (there’s even a joke … Continue reading It’s One Stuck-up ‘Country Club’ You Won’t Mind Visiting

Mike Szymanski
Movie Review

Put Your Hands in the Air for ‘One for All: The DJ Chris Villa Story’

One for All: The DJ Chris Villa Story Rating: 9/10 Director: Jeremy A. Lopez Style: Documentary Time: 110 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkNlfTSmjRc Review by Mike Szymanski You can figure out how most documentaries will end. There may be facts that surprise and motivate you, but you generally know the slant of the doc and how it’s all going to end up. This is a documentary that … Continue reading Put Your Hands in the Air for ‘One for All: The DJ Chris Villa Story’

Mike Szymanski
Arts, Movie Review

‘Boonie Bears: Back to Earth’ is Out of This World

Boonie Bears: Back to Earth Rating: 8/10 Director: Huida Lin Writers: Lin Jiang, Qin Wan and Rachel Xu Style: Animation/ Family/ Sci-Fi Time: 97 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9HdOW8Og3c Review by Mike Szymanski How did I not know about the Boonie Bears? Of course, if you don’t have toddler-to-elementary school-aged children, you may not keep up with children’s shows, but the Boonie Bears are going to be an … Continue reading ‘Boonie Bears: Back to Earth’ is Out of This World

Mike Szymanski
Cultural Arts, Cultural issues, Healthy Living, Movie Review

Take a Big Bite Out of ‘Love Charlie, The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter’

Love Charlie, The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter Rating: 6/10 Director and Writer: Rebecca Halpern Style: Documentary Time: 96 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2gVkngEg2M You may never have ever heard of Charlie Trotter (I know I didn’t) but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a fascinating documentary subject. He created a great deal of masterful culinary pieces of art that other great chefs rave about, but he … Continue reading Take a Big Bite Out of ‘Love Charlie, The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter’

Mike Szymanski
Movie Review

You Don’t Need to Speak about ‘Alchemy of Spirit’

Alchemy of Spirit Rating: 6 /10 Director: Steve Balderson Writers: Steve Balderson Style: Horror Time: 135 minutes Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHo73DC5gZs Official website: dikenga.com/alchemy-of-the-spirit It’s all underneath, it’s all buried within. Haunting, bubbling and frustrating all at once, this movie has very little dialogue and a lot of visual artistry. A man wakes up to find his wife dead next to him, and what he decides to do after … Continue reading You Don’t Need to Speak about ‘Alchemy of Spirit’

Mike Szymanski
Movie Review

A Bit of Gender Trickery in a Youth Classic Come to Film through the ‘Rickshaw Girl’

Rickshaw Girl Rating: 7/10 Director: Amitabh Reza Chowdhury Writer: Shabari Z. Ahmed Style: Adventure, Family Drama Time: 101 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2gVkngEg2M Review by Mike Szymanski The vibrant colors in this movie about the slums of Bangladesh make the bleakness of the story so much more palatable. There is beauty, color, vibrance. There are original native costumes in every scene, naturalistic paintings on every wall and beauty … Continue reading A Bit of Gender Trickery in a Youth Classic Come to Film through the ‘Rickshaw Girl’

Mike Szymanski
Cultural issues, History, Movie Review, Social Issues

‘Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend’ is the Greatest Basketball Player You’ve Never Seen 

Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend Rating: 7/10 Directors and Writers: Ryan Polomski and Dean Prator Style: Documentary Time: 82 minutes Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NzNpikx070 Review by Mike Szymanski Los Angeles is definitely a city of secrets and after more than three decades here, I’m constantly finding out more about the people and potential stars that came from the city, but never made it as a household name. For example, … Continue reading ‘Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend’ is the Greatest Basketball Player You’ve Never Seen 

Mike Szymanski
Action and Adventure, Movie Review

Bruce Willis Gets Redeemed in One of his Final Films: ‘Detective Knight: Redemption’

Detective Knight: Redemption Rating: 8/10 Director: Edward John Drake Writers: Edward John Drake and Corey Large Style: Action/Crime Thriller Time: 93 minutes Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXMbkKzvpHY Rated: R Review by Mike Szymanski This second in the Detective Knight trilogy, perhaps Bruce Willis’s last film role, is called “Redemption.” In the first part, “Rogue,” the celebrated Willis’s character Detective Knight is in prison for murdering the bad guys, Winna … Continue reading Bruce Willis Gets Redeemed in One of his Final Films: ‘Detective Knight: Redemption’

Mike Szymanski
Artist on the Rise, Arts, Cultural Arts, Drama, Movie Review

A Washed-Up Rock Star Hiding from the World Realizes He’s ‘Lost Inside’

Lost Inside Rating: 8/10 Director: Jeff Hindenach Writer: Jeff Hindenach Style: Drama Time: 95 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ipVr5C6Yws Review by Mike Szymanski “Lost Inside” delves into the feelings of isolation and loneliness we all get, whether famous or never famous. It’s labeled a drama, but it’s very funny, too. We’ve all dealt with isolation during these years of the pandemic, but for this movie it’s more than … Continue reading A Washed-Up Rock Star Hiding from the World Realizes He’s ‘Lost Inside’

Mike Szymanski
Arts, Movie Review

Dramatic Steps to Tell ‘An American Ballet Story’ No One Knows

An American Ballet Story Rating: 7/10 Director and Writer: Leslie Streit Style: Documentary Time: 94 minutes Trailer: vimeo.com/672952777 Review by Mike Szymanski Even if you are a dance aficionado you may not have heard of Harkness Ballet. Even if you are — or were — a professional dancer (and I know more than just a few) you probably never heard of Rebekah Harkness, who founded that … Continue reading Dramatic Steps to Tell ‘An American Ballet Story’ No One Knows

Mike Szymanski
Arts, Movie Review

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Flies Higher Than The Original

Top Gun: Maverick Rating: 10/10 Director: Joseph Kosinski Writer: Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie Style: Drama Time: 137 minutes Rated: PG-13 By Mike Szymanski Sequels are usually never better than the first. In fact, most of them pale in comparison to the original film.Some notable exceptions may be the second “Alien” movie (“Aliens”), or “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” and many saythey loved … Continue reading ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Flies Higher Than The Original

Dreamweaverarts2 Comments
Arts, Movie Review

If You Dream of Getting into The Industry, This is a Must-See: ‘Movie Money CONFIDENTIAL

Movie Money CONFIDENTIAL Rating: 10/10 Director and Writer: Rick Pamplin. Style: Documentary Time: 101 minutes by Mike Szymanski This is a subject I know a lot about. Not only have I taken a lot of classes about the film industry, and have two bookcases full of dusty books about breaking into the business, but I’ve watched the plethora of how-to documentaries that parse out secrets … Continue reading If You Dream of Getting into The Industry, This is a Must-See: ‘Movie Money CONFIDENTIAL

Dreamweaverarts
Arts, Movie Review

We Are All One Step Away from ‘One Road to Quartzsite

One Road to Quartzsite Rating: 7/10 Director and Writer: Ryan Maxey Written by: Ryan Maxey, Josh Polon, Sophie Hardeman Style: Documentary Time: 105 minutes Official Site: https://www.facebook.com/quartzsitefilm By Mike Szymanski I loved the 2021 Best Picture winner “Nomadland” partly because it was a bit frightening. It came out while the world was quarantined and in the middle of the pandemic, and I felt like I … Continue reading We Are All One Step Away from ‘One Road to Quartzsite

Dreamweaverarts
Movie Review

The Heart-Ache in ‘Stay Awake’ Focuses on How Two Brothers Deal with It

Stay Awake Rating: 8/10 Director & Screenwriter: Jamie Sisley Style: Family Drama Time: 94 minutes By Mike Szymanski Although the disease of addiction is rampant throughout small communities throughout America, very few films have truly captured the pain and angst of what it does inside a family than in “Stay Awake.” The frustrations of the two brothers in the movie are issues that anyone can … Continue reading The Heart-Ache in ‘Stay Awake’ Focuses on How Two Brothers Deal with It

Dreamweaverarts
Arts

A True Story About A Mother’s Fight for her Child is Featured in ‘Three Corners of Deception’ (Movie Review)

Three Corners of Deception Director: Meleeka Clary Style: Drama, Docu-Feature Rating: 8/10 By Mike Szymanski This is a most fascinating docu-drama. This movie called “Three Corners of Deception” records the true-life story of Dr. Maleeka Clary who also is the screenwriter, director and actress in the movie. Maleeka got into a nasty marriage and lost custody of her son by what she says is a … Continue reading A True Story About A Mother’s Fight for her Child is Featured in ‘Three Corners of Deception’ (Movie Review)

Dreamweaverarts
Movie Review

Try Harder Film Review

By: Vernon Nickerson At Lowell High School, the top-ranked public high school in San Francisco,the seniors are stressed out and I can can relate. “Try Harder” shows the unbelievable pressure students are under to achieve their dream, but sometimes it’s not their dream but their parents. There is a parallel of what these students went through and what I went through in my earlier academic … Continue reading Try Harder Film Review

Dreamweaverarts
Arts, Movie Review, Social Issues

Review of Days of Rage:Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol | Visual Investigations

Rarely does a k-12 Social Studies certificated education professional dual-credentialled ( in-progress) in Special Education have the honor of reviewing  a documentary that has a current mainstream narrative. I am grateful that the stars aligned– Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol | Visual Investigations is the documentary; I am the teacher. Based upon a six-month-long investigative process which yielded never-before-seen footage, … Continue reading Review of Days of Rage:Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol | Visual Investigations

Dreamweaverarts
Movie Review

A Simple Indie Film Filled with Tears, Drama and Silence in “Lotawana”

By Mike Szymanski Sometimes a true “Film” is about filmmaking, not the dialogue. A lot of silence permeates this moody, picturesque film that’s an impressive first feature by Trevor Hawkins. Every scene, every camera shot, every moment is a piece of art, framed in nature and natural surroundings as we follow this couple who live on a sailboat, and take life where the wind send … Continue reading A Simple Indie Film Filled with Tears, Drama and Silence in “Lotawana”

Dreamweaverarts
Movie Review

Inheritance Italian Style

By Mike Szymanski Think of “Inheritance Italian Style” as like a dark comedy melodrama with wacky characters, over-the-top acting, and unpredictable liaisons all set in a beautiful countryside estate. It’s enjoyable, heart-felt, ridiculous, sad, and funny. Five sisters come together to discuss the dividing up of the family furniture well before their parents are gone in a large villa in Sicily. The countryside and the … Continue reading Inheritance Italian Style

Dreamweaverarts
Arts

Squirrel Me Bad A Rock band For Today and Their Music Video “The World’s Gone Nutz” Review

By Vernon Nickerson Animator Daniel Robert Cohn who thrives when expressing through creativity has brought together the most famous metaphor of and for the Twenty-first Century, The World’s Gone Nutz to technicolor life on the silver screen. Cohn’s creative mind went into overdrive, writing and recording an anthem song for 2020 called “The World’s Gone Nutz” and creating an epic music video to go with it. … Continue reading Squirrel Me Bad A Rock band For Today and Their Music Video “The World’s Gone Nutz” Review

Dreamweaverarts