Unplugging
By: Jolie Featherstone Unplugging is a good-natured movie about a married couple trying to divorce themselves from their electronic devices during a country holiday getaway.
Vertical Entertainment
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
As much as I liked The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, I find it incredibly difficult to endorse because its strengths lie deep beneath its surface. Frequent filmmaking collaborators Hans Canosa and Gabrielle Zevin (Conversations with Other Women, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac) have made an adaptation of Zevin’s novel of the same name that’s neither plot or character driven. Instead, just like a layered and schmaltzy book, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry has…
Alice
Alice has been inspired by interesting stories of enslaved black Americans making an escape and discovering what era they’re currently living in. For the titular Alice (Keke Palmer), the same exposure happens when she runs away from her plantation and is startled when she doesn’t recognize the environment around her. With her “master” Paul (Jonny Lee Miller) hot on her heels, she meets working-class driver Frank (Oscar-winning musician Common) who takes her in and realizes…
The Surprise Visit
The Surprise Visit features a small ensemble of actors who seem to be challenging each other. Only they’re not inspiring each other, they’re competing against each other for who can exaggerate the most. And director Nick Lyon is letting his cast “duke it out”.