Forrest has gone adrift – literally. Unsure of where he’s heading in life, he’s decided to head nowhere. Retreating to a small sailboat on a big Missouri lake, he meanders, living off his small savings and whatever catfish he can catch. And then he meets a pretty young woman, Everly. And things take a new, […]
Author: Stephen Whitty
Look Away, Look Away
Ah, sleepy, magnolia-scented Dixie. You know, old times there are not forgotten. And maybe that’s the problem. Patrick O’Connor’s documentary Look Away, Look Away takes a cold, clear-eyed look at the Deep South, race relations and cultural warfare. And keeps its focus by narrowing it down to one issue, the Confederate flag, and one place: […]
Implanted
Imagine that little voice from Google Maps lives inside your head. Except, instead of telling you when to turn left, it tells you everything. Go to sleep, Wake up. Eat lunch. Kill that man. Wait, what? That’s the idea behind Implanted, a smart movie from director Fabien Dufils that deftly mixes plausible science-fiction with Bourne […]
Hell or High Seas
Just because you’re out of uniform doesn’t mean you’re out of danger. The sad truth about our men and women in the armed services is that they’re more likely to die at home from suicide than on the battlefield from enemy fire. Every day, more than 20 veterans take their own lives. And that doesn’t […]
The Way
Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage. But they can make a smart idea for a pandemic movie. Limited characters, small settings and lots of alone time – what makes incarceration so soul-numbing can also make a script easier to shoot under Covid restrictions. And not only do those limits […]
Another Girl
In the world of social media, it’s all about authenticity – and learning how to fake it. These days online, it’s not the person who matters, but the persona. That’s one of the main messages of Another Girl, a dark drama from Allison Burnett. Who’s the real person at the other end of a tweet? […]
Seeding Change: The Power of Conscious Commerce
Can a company do well by doing good? According to Seeding Change: The Power of Conscious Commerce, the simple answer is “Yes.” But the way there is a bit complicated. It involves dealing with your suppliers honestly. Respecting the environment, at every stage of the process. And then putting some of your profits to work […]
Overrun
Overrun is an action movie that gets one thing very right. It takes its filmmaking seriously. It doesn’t take itself seriously. Perhaps that’s because a lot of the people making it – behind and in front of the camera – are veteran stunt players. They still remember being kids at recess, and showing off their […]
We Had It Coming
We Had It Coming is a film full of lonely places. Wide stretches of empty Canadian highway. No-name motels with equally anonymous occupants. Places you pass through, without looking, without caring. People you don’t really see. We Had It Coming demands we look, though. Look into the eyes of women, especially – women pushed around […]
Camp Wedding
Having a wedding can be a scream. A tongue-in-cheek tribute to old slasher films, Camp Wedding revolves around Mia – which is only fitting, because she thinks the whole world should revolve around her. A bridezilla on a mission, she’s planned a special destination-wedding for her nuptials. The only problem is, the destination she’s picked […]
When Today Ends
Every day, more than 3000 high school students attempt suicide. When Today Ends is the story of three of them. The suicide crisis among young people is a mental-health epidemic, and one that many novels and movies – like television’s controversial 13 Reasons Why – have explored. Michael Leoni, who directed and wrote this film, […]
6:45
Screams like old times… The horror film 6:45 uses what had been a fresh story-telling gimmick when Groundhog Day did it, but lately has begun to go a little stale: The time loop. Think Source Code, The Final Girls, Edge of Tomorrow, or Happy Death Day. The template is easy: Oh no, someone’s trying to […]
Caged
Sometimes the scariest thing of all is nothing. Literally. No person to talk to. No books to read. No changes, no surprises — nothing. Because that’s what solitary confinement is. And that is why it drives people mad. It’s also the story behind Caged, a taut new film that’s part character study, part mystery, part […]
12 Mighty Orphans
Just because something sounds corny, doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Or isn’t good. 12 Mighty Orphans plays like a lot of other inspirational sports movies. There’s a dedicated coach. A team of underdogs, facing personal challenges and met with public scorn. A drunken old man, a couple of villains and, in the end, some kind […]
Parallel Love: The Story of a Band Called Luxury
For some fans, rock-and-roll replaces religion. For the members of Luxury, it was the other way around. A beloved cult favorite of the early-’90s, the original four musicians — Glenn Black, Chris Foley, and brothers Lee and Jamey Bozeman – fired up fans with driving beats and dreamy lyrics. Then came a car crash. A […]
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This Is Not a War Story
In the movies, war is exciting and chaotic and inspiring, full of adventure and heroism and way-cool weapons. Well, as Talia Lugacy’s film warns us right from the start, This Is Not a War Story. Instead, this is a story about what happens after the war, when veterans come home. Many of them are wounded. […]
Trust
It’s hard to gain. It’s easy to lose. It’s almost impossible to get back. “Trust.” That’s the title, and topic, of a twisty new marital drama featuring Brooke and Owen, an attractive, successful, having-it-all Manhattan couple. He’s a local TV anchor on the rise. She’s just opened her own art gallery and signed a hot […]
Steps
According to the Chinese proverb, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Sometimes, though, the most life-changing journeys begin with 12. The new film Steps, though, isn’t really about Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s a story about conquering addictions, of all kinds. To drugs and alcohol. To rage and violence. To impulsive decisions […]
The Penny Black
Look around the poker table, veteran gamblers like to warn. If you can’t spot the sucker – it’s you. There’s a lot to look at in the mostly intriguing con-man documentary and clearly someone’s being taken for a ride. But who is it? The mysterious Russian on the run who says he has millions of […]
Trust
It’s hard to gain. It’s easy to lose. It’s almost impossible to get back. Trust. That’s the title, and topic, of a twisty new marital drama featuring Brooke and Owen, an attractive, successful, having-it-all Manhattan couple. He’s a local TV anchor on the rise. She’s just opened her own art gallery, and signed a hot […]