Sticky post

Fusing Art, Community, and Social Responsibility to Create a Brighter Future

Dreamweaverarts is thrilled to announce its participation in the upcoming Giving Tuesday event on November 28, 2023. We are honored to be a part of this wonderful initiative. The Dreamweaverarts’s mission is to create a community platform that promotes art while addressing pressing issues of our time, such as food, housing, education, health, environmental, and job insecurities. At Dreamweaverarts, we truly believe that art can … Continue reading Fusing Art, Community, and Social Responsibility to Create a Brighter Future

These Wise Guys in ‘Jersey Bred’ Don’t Think Change is Funny, But it is

“Jersey Bred” Rating: 8/10 Writer and Director: Greg Russo Style: Crime/ Action / Drama Time: 1 hour 31 minutes Review by Mike Szymanski Change in the mob game isn’t always a good thing. When the gangsters like those from the days of “The Godfather” (and all the violence involved) get mixed up in online gambling and crypto-currency, some people can’t give up their old ways. … Continue reading These Wise Guys in ‘Jersey Bred’ Don’t Think Change is Funny, But it is

A Wild and Crazy Take on ‘The Take Out Move’ 

The Take Out Move Rating: 7/10 Director and Writer: Andrew Simonian Style: Comedy Time: 74 minutes Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV2stp7Md6s Rating: R Review by Mike Szymanski This clever comedy is like a small-scale “Animal House” where two guys try to fulfill some assignments to get into a fraternity. It’s rife with all the dick jokes you can handle, and as juvenile as that may sound to you at … Continue reading A Wild and Crazy Take on ‘The Take Out Move’ 

You Should Look Forward to ‘An Egypt Affair

An Egypt Affair Rating: 8/10 Director: Marlin Darrah Writers: Will Patching, Eric Weinstock Style: Adventure Thriller Rated: PG-13 Time: 1 hour and 23 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a66fUIli24 Review by Mike Szymanski A languid trip down the Nile turns into a sensual nightmare as an unexpected couple boards the boat. With a steamy cast, twisting plot and a stunning backdrop, “An Egypt Affair” is one affair you won’t … Continue reading You Should Look Forward to ‘An Egypt Affair

Fencesitter Films Creates a Unique Film Festival for All Shades

By Mike Szymanski All kinds of film festivals exist: those focused on vampires, or cannabis, or veganism. Filmmaker Kyle Schickner’s has dreamt for the past three decades to have a festival of movies that cater to his specific interests: telling stories that focus on women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ communities. Of course, some quite prominent individual film festivals exist for each of those, … Continue reading Fencesitter Films Creates a Unique Film Festival for All Shades

A Strong Dose of ‘Effigy — Poison And The City’ is Well Worth it

Effigy — Poison And The City Rating: 7/10 Director: Udo Flohr Writers: Peer Meter, Udo Flohr, Antonia Roelle Style: Historical Crime Drama Rated: PG-13 Time: 1 hour and 24 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sIi_eniA6c Review by Mike Szymanski Female serial killers aren’t common in historical reality or in fiction. So, a film about one of the earliest known real-life murderess is unique and fascinating. Director Udo Floor put together this … Continue reading A Strong Dose of ‘Effigy — Poison And The City’ is Well Worth it

The Golden Age of Hollywood: MGM Turns 100 and A Little Girl Turns 97

By Mike Szymanski (all photos by Mike except as noted) It’s a true Hollywood story. On April 19, 1935, MGM Studio chief Louis B. Mayer had a brainstorm and celebrated the joint birthdays of the studio’s youngest star Cora Sue Collins along with one of the oldest stars May Robson. It was to be a great publicity stunt with every major star on the lot … Continue reading The Golden Age of Hollywood: MGM Turns 100 and A Little Girl Turns 97

You Don’t Want to Let These ‘Sleeping Dogs’ Lie — It’s an Unforgettable Noir Thriller

Sleeping Dogs Rating: 8/10 Director: Adam Cooper Writers: Adam Cooper and Bill Collage Based on: “The Book of Mirrors” by E.O. Chirovici Style: Action Crime Thriller Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes Rating: R Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2S9unF0f-s Review by Mike Szymanski A noir thriller these days generally consists of stark, dark indy gritty movies with simple, but clever plots, and a big-name star who normally wouldn’t do … Continue reading You Don’t Want to Let These ‘Sleeping Dogs’ Lie — It’s an Unforgettable Noir Thriller

Hallelujah! ‘The Reverend’ Proves Without a Doubt He is the Minister of Music

The Reverend Rating: 7/10 Director and Writer: Nick Canfield Style: Music Biography Time: 1 hour and 26 minutes: Review by Mike Szymanski Very few documentaries are as inspiring and joyful as this one. Religious or not, spiritual or not, a believer or not, you will be inspired by “The Reverend,” just like his band mates who are not reverent at all! “The Reverend” features a … Continue reading Hallelujah! ‘The Reverend’ Proves Without a Doubt He is the Minister of Music

The Secrets in this ‘Detained’ Mystery Don’t Hold Back

· Detained Rating: 8/10 Director: Felipe Mucci Writers: Jeremy Palmer and Felipe Mucci Style: Thriller Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes: Review by Mike Szymanski Buckle-up for a dark and mysterious ride that takes you on a rollercoaster ride of deception and intrigue. Noirish and simple, this thriller is continuously enjoyable and unpredictable. Abbie Cornish (from “Jack Ryan”) plays a seemingly befuddle woman named Rebecca … Continue reading The Secrets in this ‘Detained’ Mystery Don’t Hold Back

A Miraculously Impressive Movie About the First American Saint Mother ‘Cabrini’ Is a Masterpiece

Cabrini Rating: 10/10 Director: Alejandro Monteverde Writers: Rod Barr and Alejandro Monteverde a Style: Bio-pic Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPwnYlJ2L_c DreamweaverArts is quote in the official movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-aA70YJmcQ&t=9s Review by Mike Szymanski Perhaps a story about a nun who becomes a saint is not a movie you’d sit down and care to watch, but this is not that. Maybe you think that … Continue reading A Miraculously Impressive Movie About the First American Saint Mother ‘Cabrini’ Is a Masterpiece

A Clean Sweep of Good, Gritty Story in ‘The Dirty South’

The Dirty South Rating: 8/10 Director & Writer: Matthew Yerby Writer: Matthew Yerby Style: Action/Crime/Drama Time: 1 hour and 47 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hin7Q8ZBT7A Review by Mike Szymanski How far will you go to save the “family farm”? It’s an age-old question where families are constantly struggling to save the house they grew up in, or the farm they tilled for generations, or the business that the … Continue reading A Clean Sweep of Good, Gritty Story in ‘The Dirty South’

This ‘Mid-Century’ House is Filled with Ghosts Alive and Dead

Mid-Century Rating: 8/10 Director: Sonja O’Hara Writer: Mike Stern Style: Fantasy/Horror/Mystery Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes Trailer: https://vimeo.com/672495577 Review by Mike Szymanski You know something is wrong when a woman takes a shovel and dispatches a bird that has flown into a glass wall of a window. She does it without passion or shame. It was the window who killed the bird, not her, she … Continue reading This ‘Mid-Century’ House is Filled with Ghosts Alive and Dead

‘You, Me and Her’ Goes Shows a Funny and Ideal Bisexual Coming Out Experience

You, Me & Her Rating: 10/10 Director: Dan Levy Dagerman Writer: Selina Ringel Style: Comedy, Drama Time: 1 hour and 34 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn7S3J2MAbc Review by Mike Szymanski I have written decades of reviews about coming out experiences, and the most tragic circumstances, (and generally the most unhealthy) revolve around coming out as bisexual. Not here. “You, Me & Her” is a positive story and a … Continue reading ‘You, Me and Her’ Goes Shows a Funny and Ideal Bisexual Coming Out Experience

‘The Shift’ Goes Into High Gear with Sci-Fi Intrigue

The Shift Rating: 7/10 Director: Brock Heasley Writer: Brock Heasley Style: Sci-Fi Time: 1 hour and 55 minutes Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1880606489/?ref_=tt_vi_i_1 Review by Mike Szymanski “This is not my world,” the main character of “The Shift” says over and over again. He seems like he belongs in that world, as he falls out of the sky and then walks out of a lake with full clothes on, … Continue reading ‘The Shift’ Goes Into High Gear with Sci-Fi Intrigue

This Devastating Documentary Shows There’s No ‘Escape from Extinction’

Escape from Extinction Rating: 9/10 Director: Matthew R. Brady Writers: Alex Vincent Blumberg and Peter Meadows Style: Documentary Time: 1 hour and 29 minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-TOSKUZwhU Review by Mike Szymanski Some of my earliest animal activism memories include saving money to send to save Keiko the Killer Whale who was the subject of the movie “Free Willy.” The plan was to release the confined creature into … Continue reading This Devastating Documentary Shows There’s No ‘Escape from Extinction’

A Most Disturbing and Funny Found-Footage Film Yields ‘Young Sexy & Dead’

YOUNG SEXY & DEAD Rating: 7/10 Director and Writer: Philip Alderton Style: Dark Comedy/ Mockumentary Time: 1 hour, 33 minutes Reviewed by Mike Szymanski What a perfect time for a film about the excesses of skinny beauty and being thin — almost as if you were dead. Director and writer Philip Alderton takes a mockumentary look at the world of modeling, photography and image-making, especially when it … Continue reading A Most Disturbing and Funny Found-Footage Film Yields ‘Young Sexy & Dead’

See the Bleak and Scary Future in this Sci-Fi Horror ‘Altered Perceptions

ALTERED PERCEPTIONS Rating: 8/10 Director: Jorge Ameer Writer: Wayne C. Dees Style: Horror/ Mystery/Sci Fi Time: 2 hours Reviewed by Mike Szymanski This is like an updated version of the comedic and prophetic film “Idiocracy” from 2006. That movie is a Mike Judge cult hit film (which was at first a bomb) and it predicted a great deal of what our lives look like now. … Continue reading See the Bleak and Scary Future in this Sci-Fi Horror ‘Altered Perceptions

The Sympathy in ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ Should Be for Nic Cage

Sympathy for the Devil Rating: 4/10 Director: Yuval Adler Writers: Luke Paradise Style: Horror Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Review by Mike Szymanski The sympathy should be for Nic Cage. My how the mighty has fallen.  A youth staple who starred as a heartthrob in “Valley Girl” in 1983 and then went on to win the Best Actor Oscar for “Leaving Las Vegas” has taken … Continue reading The Sympathy in ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ Should Be for Nic Cage

When Your Mental Health Treatment Goes Crazy, it’s ‘Trauma Therapy: Psychosis’

Trauma Therapy: Psychosis Rating: 7/10 Director: Gary Barth Writers: Tom Malloy and David Josh Lawrence Style: Horror-Thriller Time: 1-hour, 22-minutes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq4yJRvKDyg Review by Mike Szymanski This “Trauma Therapy: Psychosis” may scare you away from traditional head-shrinking because these methods start off making sense, but then get a bit extreme. The first movie “Trauma Therapy” (which came out a few years ago) introduced actor Tom Malloy … Continue reading When Your Mental Health Treatment Goes Crazy, it’s ‘Trauma Therapy: Psychosis’