Road to the Lemon Grove is at its best when it indulges fully in its love affair with Sicily. Montages of food in market stalls, picturesque coastlines, narrow streets, fruit trees, donkeys – these are the most pleasurable moments in the film. Unfortunately, they are all too frequently interrupted by a forced plot, underdeveloped characters, and an awkward premise.
Furie, the highest grossing Vietnamese movie of all time, took North America’s digital platform by storm last month. What’s perhaps even more notable is how the vehicle has propelled Veronia Ngo to action heroine status. Ngo (Bright, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) stars as provoked mother Hai Phuong who will do anything (and fight anyone) to save her kidnapped daughter.
Directed and Written by Katherine Jerkovic, Roads in February is a beautifully shot and immersive film that explores the relationship between a young Hispanic Canadian named Sara (Arlen Aguayo-Stewart), and her grandmother (Gloria Demassi).
Jerry G. Angelo wears many hats in American Warfighter. Not only did he direct the film and write the original screenplay, but he also performs as Rusty “Wolfman” Wittenburg, a Navy SEAL haunted by his experiences of battle. I wish I could say that Angelo’s efforts have resulted in an impressive film, but the truth is that American Warfighter isn’t just lackluster, it’s downright bad.
Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable is a slow burn. Directed by Sasha Waters Freyer, the documentary focuses on photography legend Garry Winograd whose unique approach to street photography captured the spirit of American life in the 1960s in New York and later, through the 1970s and 1980s, in Texas and California. As the film emphasizes, Winogrand’s method could be considered ahead of his time in that he shot using analogue technology without regard for…
Jasmin Mozaffari’s first feature length film is aptly named. Firecrackers is an explosive and mesmerizing journey that follows two teenage friends, Lou (Michaela Kurimsky) and Chantelle (Karena Evans), as they attempt to break free of their small town. Their plans to run away from it all are complicated by mundane jobs, poverty, abusive boyfriends, and drug-addicted parents.
Inventing Tomorrow, Laura Nix’s uplifting documentary about teenage scientists competing at the Intel ISEF (the science fair to end all science fairs), is a much-needed antidote to the cynicism that seems to be increasingly present everywhere we look.
Almost Almost Famous is high energy and often kind of cheesy – much like the performers it follows. While the film certainly isn’t terrible and there are a handful of moments that feel honest and genuine, this is a documentary that never quite manages to find its footing.
Directed by Tom Volf, Maria by Callas examines the life and art of one of the twentieth century’s greatest opera singers, Maria Callas. Through archival footage of Callas on stage, her personal correspondence to friends, and interviews with the singer recorder at various points throughout her career, the film attempts to show the personal, intimate side of a woman that was the subject of much media attention during her lifetime.
