For her directorial and screenwriting debut, actor Kristin Scott Thomas retreats to tried and tired formulas in My Mother’s Wedding to tell an autobiographical story. Luckily for Thomas, she’s been blessed with star-power who can not only sell this routine family dramedy, but can also make the movie out to be a matinee must-see. Thomas also co-stars as bride-to-be Diana. Diana, twice widowed by men who both served in the Royal Navy, is excited to…
Michael Angarano’s coming-of-age road movie Sacramento is a tragicomedy of sorts, though it’s more easygoing than that sounds. Rickey (Angarno) and Glenn (Michael Cera of Superbad and Dream Scenario) are intermittent pals, though Glenn is always suspicious of Rickey’s freewheeling personality and motives. Glenn is not only reluctant, but also highly anxious in general. Often comforted by his wife Rosie (Academy Award nominee Kristen Stewart) as she carries their first born, Rosie encourages her hubby to break…
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.
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 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 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”.