Once upon a time, Lin-Manuel Miranda set his prodigious sights on Broadway with an inaugural, autobiographical musical that quickly set him up for New York exposure and (eventually) worldwide attention through his obviously ubiquitous follow-up. In the Heights, however, is…
‘The Mitchells vs. the Machines’ review: An imaginative milestone for animation
Every once in a while, and not often enough, a movie comes along to remind adults what it’s like to sit back and get wrapped up in the pure wonder of animation. “To feel like a kid again” doesn’t really…
SXSW 2021 review: ‘The End of Us’ takes a look at quarantine inspired relationship troubles
Infused with charming energy and bolstered by funny and fresh dialogue, The End of Us approaches its take on COVID storytelling through the lens of a recent breakup. Based on a true story and directed by first time feature filmmakers…
76 Days Review: Devastating and Necessary | TIFF 2020
The start of 76 Days, the latest from documentary filmmaker Hao Wu along with Weixi Chen and their anonymous co-director, is something out of a horror movie. First it’s the haunting sobs of a medical worker, obscured completely by a…
Yes, God, Yes Movie Review: A Quietly Touching Coming of Age Story
Natalia Dyer exchanges 80’s spandex for an early 2000’s Catholic school uniform in Karen Maine’s Yes, God, Yes. Maine previously co-wrote Obvious Child, a comedic character study about a childish adult finally having to grow up. While not necessarily as…
The Call of the Wild Movie Review: Misses the point of Jack London’s Novel
There’s something deeply, fundamentally perverse about filming a Jack London story with CGI animals—it’s akin to shooting a film version of James Joyce’s Ulysses on location…in Belfast. Everything that the novel stood for—the ego destruction of modernist man in the…
Herself Review: Clare Dunne unlocks the power of the human spirit in Phyllida Lloyd’s remarkable return to the big screen | Sundance 2020
Sometimes, you can just tell that the leading actor of a film was deeply involved in the creative process, and that is certainly the case for Clare Dunne, who co-wrote and stars in Herself, a new British-Irish hope drama from director…