Strong with the aforementioned wisdom and historical truth channeled through Medina, Los Frikis was unafraid to present the squalor the brothers rose from and, unfortunately, how AIDS would sever and silence any cultural growth or lasting personal legacies. The result is a difficult and no-less-impressive film that smashes the spirited human condition against aspects of fulfilling indepdence people should never take for granted.
Read MoreThe study by image editor experts Remove BG, analyzed IMDb ratings, Rotten Tomatoes scores, and Google user scores for movies filmed throughout the US from 1990 to the present. The scores on these sites were then averaged out each to give a score out of 100, with non-family-friendly movies (anything rated above PG-13) being omitted from the ranking.
Read MoreThe trouble is The Brutalist cannot decide whether to peck at that facade with an awl or swing at it with a sledgehammer. Too often, it hands the wrong figurative tool to the actors for the wrong moments. Appreciably, Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce are formidably locked into their roles and stalwart in their respective characters’ competing visions and varying sins of pride. However, big moments get unsuccessfully needled while small ones get overly demolished, which ultimately betrays more characters than Brody’s and Pearce’s
Read MoreDietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who wouldn’t see his 40th birthday and played by The Golden Glove’s Jonas Dassler, was many things that the movie’s marketing campaign wants to emphasize by using the extra titling of Pastor. Spy. Assassin. However, the more apt descriptor for him would be a dissident. Resistance starts with disagreement before action. Bonhoeffer chronicles how Deitrich Bonhoeffer came to his dissident positions and how he would put those principles into service to honor of his beliefs and the greater good.
Read MoreAltogether, Summer Shelton has composed a pungent expanse of reflective maturity with You & I that puts honesty on the “what if” sliding doors many viewers may feel when comparing their own histories of love. The entirety of this film’s course exudes thoughtful reflection and a wise restraint borne from the romantic predicament on screen. You & I is passionate without being overtly explicit, yet the reverberating echoes of those instinctual feelings are intense and even morose in their own way.
Read MoreBy expanding her own 2020 short film of the same name, Lindy has struck indie film gold creating a wholly original genre amalgamation with these two fresh leads. The mashup of Your Monster works any way you slice it, from a rom-com or behind-the-scenes theater yarn all dashed, slashed, and splashed with a surprise of crimson hemmorage. When this movie says it’s putting on its “happy face,” it’s one crowned by smiling fangs. In doing so with its extremely comedic slant, Your Monster turns growls into howls.
Read MoreEven though a fair share of great liberties were taken to change how the actual Dating Game episode played out, the palpable lift and principled spotlight given to Sheryl’s perspective and struggle raise Woman of the Hour above a plodding true crime story or a period-era costume party. Kendrick hammers the problematic and deadly ordeal home by exploring the evidential threads and dangerous effects of two very different minefields brought together. Stone-cold seriousness hides behind the bright lights and clapping audiences, and any fluff is soaked in effective poison.
Read MoreTitus Kaphar wisely kept the power focused on this single family unit, knowing the enveloping intimacy found there was more than enough to speak volumes of trueness and relatability to anyone watching. Exhibiting Forgiveness is as emphatic and resonating of a father-son conflict as any other in recent memory. For many, it will stick with you and hit home like a sledgehammer. More than everything, all of this hurt is worth every reflective second of the artistically melded experience.
Read MoreDespite so many settings demanding quiet for test-taking, Bad Genius still chooses stumps with plenty of anti-establishment aims to shout about. As Lynn and her classmates come to see it, their attitude is to determine their own futures themselves, especially with the rank socioeconomic and ethnic divisions present between the mix of united people. They don’t want a test to outweigh their own merits and perceived hard work. In their eyes, they deserve the competitive advantages they are bending the rules to seize.
Read MoreFans of sports movies know Hollywood loves inflating unknown underdog stories. For example, most folks never heard of the likes of Rudy Ruettiger or Lane Frost before movies like Rudy or 8 Seconds came along to draw cheers and tears. Their success proves it’s not always the size of the legend that always counts. Even so, the grand style of lionizing hero worship is the farthest thing from director Lee Cipolla’s mind.
Read MoreThe lead actor of Good Bad Things making his feature film debut is Danny Kurtzman. He lives with muscular dystrophy which diminishes most of his physical capabilities. His weakened legs and limited arm strength calls for outside assistance and the required use of a motorized scooter to get around. To say this his and, by extension, his character’s life has challenges is an understatement. Rather than entirely dwell on or define a man by those debilitations, Good Bad Things pleasingly creates a narrative where success and vivacity are not only desirable, but deservedly attainable.
Read MoreUnderneath all of Peak Season’s natural grandeur is an existential simplicity spun by the two fetching leads. The scenarios and dialogue shared between Restrepo and DeBlasis play out in an unrushed and principled fashion. The kinship between them fleshes itself out sweetly and reverently. In different hands, the Peak Season narrative is a lusty paperback romance. Instead, a cooling and appreciable reality keenly replaces any preposterous whimsy or the temptation to ratchet up unearned or unnecessary torrid passion.
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