By: Addison Wylie Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, and Hannah Hart are three charismatic personalities who have found impressive fame through YouTube. Each actress has found their calling (whether its through video blogging, cooking, or both) and have deservedly garnered lots of attention for it, which has then followed with more victories (Hannah now has a cook book, Helbig hosts her own show on E!, and Mamrie is a writer who earns steady work). What’s important…
By: Addison Wylie 88 is proof a film can go feral. It’s a version of Memento that’s been influenced by exploitation schlock and left out in the sun for too long. It’s fun for a bit, but the film runs out of steam. The rowdy trashy energy sends the film to a place of no return – fandom purgatory. April Mullen has appeared in front of the camera in various supporting roles, and has now…
By: Addison Wylie One half of Christian Petzold’s Phoenix is an arresting period drama about redefining oneself after a devastating tragedy. The other half is a mystery consisting of drawn-out contrivances. The viewer feels one heck of a tug-o-war as they vary between liking Phoenix and becoming fed up with it. Even when Phoenix derails itself with unconvincing misunderstandings, the film never loses the captivating performances. Petzold’s cast fits seamlessly within the post-WWII backdrop with…
By: Addison Wylie Henry Hobson has been given a one-of-a-kind opportunity to showcase Arnold Schwarzenegger’s never-before-seen tender side with Maggie. I welcome my readers to send in examples of other low-key films the Terminator star has acted in, but I expect to receive no tips. The post-apocalyptic film also hands the filmmaker a chance to re-imagine zombie movies that star “the infected”. Screenwriter John Scott 3 has crafted a story concerning the rights of the…
By: Shannon Page You could be forgiven for feeling like you’ve seen Adult Beginners before – you probably have. Directed by Ross Katz, the film follows 30-something entrepreneur Jake (Nick Kroll) as he loses everything on the eve of his company’s launch and is forced to move in with his somewhat estranged and pregnant sister Justine (Rose Byrne) and brother-in-law Danny (Bobby Cannavale)in the suburbs. Desperate to stay away from Manhattan and his former business…
Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi (DIR. Neil Broffman) By: Shannon Page If you own a computer, have a Facebook account, frequent Twitter, or read the news – basically, if you interact with information and technology at all – you should watch Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi. The emotional and thoughtful film, directed by Neil Broffman, tells the story of a Brown University student who went missing one month prior to the Boston Marathon bombings and…
By: Mark Barber Prolific documentarian Alex Gibney’s latest film is an insightful–if perhaps overlong–two-hour reminder of the controversial Church of Scientology. Based on and working extensively off of Lawrence Wright’s 2013 book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Gibney traces Scientology’s history from its very beginnings with its erratic and odd founder L. Ron Hubbard to the assimilation of Hollywood celebrities into the cult. Perhaps most distressingly, however, is Gibney’s chosen slate…
By: Addison Wylie Many associate angst with Kurt Cobain. The feeling is riddled throughout his musical work and how he presented Nirvana to the world. With Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, documentarian Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) has peeled back the musician’s enigmatic career to find the origin behind his hurt and disassociation. Cobain is respectfully represented as someone who was robbed out of an upbringing he wished he had growing up…
Live From New York! (DIR. Bao Nguyen) By: Trevor Jeffery How do you describe a forty-year “New York institution” in 90 minutes? Live From New York! explores both the mythos and the cultural significance of the longest running sketch comedy series, Saturday Night Live (SNL). The documentary covers a lot of ground: the rise (and fall and rise); behind the scenes; cultural impact; and the ongoing issues with race and gender dynamics. While each topic…
By: Addison Wylie Mercy Rule is merciless. The film does feature a restrained Kirk Cameron aiming to be more tolerable than he’s ever been before, but I’m just trying to find the silver lining within this family film that’s been conceived by blind incompetence. Cameron is an actor devout to his personal beliefs, and has been known to carry those views through faith-based flicks. I have to give credit where credit is due, and at…