Focus on Film & Television Reviews and writings about these subjects. As well as Pop Culture at times. With a bit of an edge and some color
Directed By: Mick Jackson
Written By: Barry Hines
Cinematography: Andrew Dunn & Paul Morris
Editor: Donna Bickerstaff & Jim Latham
Cast: Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, David Brierley, Rita May, Nicholas Lane, Jane Hazlegrove, Harry Beety
Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long running effects of nuclear war on civilization.
Directed By: Abdellatif Kechiche
Written By: Abdellatif Kechiche & Ghalia Lacroix
Adapted from: the comic book “Le Bleu est une couleur chaude” by: Julie Maroh Cinematography By: Sofian El Fani
Editor: Sophie Brunet, Ghalia Lacroix, Albertine Lastera, Jean-Marie Lengelle & Camille Toubkis
Cast: Lea Seydoux, Adele Exarchopoulus, Salim Kechiouche, Aurellen Recoing, Catherine Salee, Benjamin Siksou, Alma Jodorosky
*Please note that some trivia and facts have been republished from imdb among other sources In this review
Adèle is a high school student who is beginning to explore herself as a woman. She dates men but finds no satisfaction with them sexually, and is rejected by a female friend who she does desire. She dreams of something more. She meets Emma who is a free spirited girl whom Adèle’s friends reject due to her sexuality, and by association most begin to reject Adèle. Her relationship with Emma grows into more than just friends as she is the only person with whom she can express herself openly. Together, Adèle and Emma explore social acceptance, sexuality, and the emotional spectrum of their maturing relationship
Written & Directed By: Chris Kelly
Cinematography By: Brian Burgoyne
Editor: Patrick Colman
Cast: Jesse Plemmons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, Maude Apatow, June Sqibb, Paula Pell, Matt Walsh, Paul Dooley, Kerri Kenney, Zach Woods, Mike Mitchell, Lynne Marie Stewart, Nicole Byer, Lennon Parham
Follows David as he moves back home to be with his mother for the year between her giving up her fight against cancer and slowly dying. David’s relationship with his family is, at best, strained (especially in regard to his father) because of an apparent difficulty in accepting his homosexuality. Although the subject matter is genuinely distressing, his mothers death ultimately helps restore his familial bonds and become an integrated part of the family unit again.
Directed By: Daniel Di Grado
Written By: Daniel Di Grado, Kerstin Gezelius & Alexander Onofri
Based on the Graphic Novel By: Kim W. Andersson
Cinematography By: Simon Olsson
Editor: Linda Jildmalm
Cast: Amalia Holm, Molly Nutley, Felice Jankell, Rebecka Nyman, Fanny Klefelt
When Alena arrives at her new elite boarding school, Filippa and the other girls start to harass her. But Alena’s best friend Josefin won’t let her take anymore beating. If she won’t strike back, Josefin will do it for her. Hard.
Written & Directed By: Tayarisha Poe
Cinematography: Jomo Fray
Editor: Kate Abernathy
Cast: Lovie Simone, Jharrel Jerome, Celeste O’Connor, Ana Mulvoy Ten, Jesse Williams, Gina Torres, Nekhebet Kum Juch, Evan Roe, Francesca Noel, Henry Hunter Hall
Five factions run the underground life of the prestigious Haldwell boarding school. At the head of the most powerful faction – The Spades – sits Selah Summers. By turns charming and callous, she chooses whom to keep close and whom to cut loose, walking the fine line between being feared and loved.
Written & Directed By: Numa Perrier
Cinematography: Brent Johnson
Editor: Brittany Lyles
Cast: Tiffany Tenille, Numa Perrier, Stephen Barrington, Bobby Field, Zoe Tyson, Rockwelle Dortch, Charlie Taylor
In the last days of her mother’s life, 19 year old Tiffany crashes with five family members in a Las Vegas studio apartment. In order to make ends meet, her older sister, a phone sex operator, introduces her to the world of internet fetish cam girls. Tiffany becomes popular as the only “live black model” at the new adult site and soon becomes too close to one of her frequent callers. Dynamics shift in the sister relationship as each woman explores and exploits their sexuality, using their created fantasy worlds as an escape from the realities of their challenging real life circumstances. This bizarre coming of age story depicts sisterhood in a most unusual way.
Written & Directed By: Barry Jenkins
Based on the Novel By: James Baldwin
Cinematography: James Laxton
Editor: Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders
Music By: Nicholas Britell
Cast: Stephen James, KiKi Layne, Regina King, Michael Beach, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Aunjaune Ellis, Diego Luna, Dave Franco, Brian Tyree Henry, Ed Skrein, Emily Rios, Finn Wittrock, Ebony Obsidian
African-American teen sweethearts Fonny and Tish are ripped apart when Fonny is wrongly arrested for the rape of a Puerto Rican woman because of the machinations of a racist cop. While seeking justice for Fonny, a pregnant Tish relies on her Harlem community, including her sister, mother Sharon and future mother-in-law.
Directed By: Darren Aaronfsky
Written By: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin
Based On A Story By: Andres Heinz
Cinematography By: Matthew Libatique
Editor: Andrew Weisblum
CAST: Natalie Portman, Barbara Hershey, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassell, Winona Ryder
Nina is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily, who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side – a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.
Written & Directed By: JB Ghuman Jr.
Cinematography By: Bradley Stonesifer
Edited By: Phillip J. Bartell
Cast: Savannah Sthelin, Sydney Park, Rachel G. Fox, Rodney Eastman, Beth Grant, Elaine Hendrix, Keith David, Yeardley Smith, Chad Allen, Richard Riehle
A colorful and foul-mouthed feature musical comedy. A film about a frizzy-haired, pink-cheeked outcast named Spork who is trying to navigate her way through the annals of junior high. When a school dance show provides a chance for Spork to show up a mean girls gang, her trailer-park neighbor steps up to coach her with some “booty-poppin” moves. Featuring a vintage ’90s soundtrack (that includes 2-Live Crew, JJ Fad’s “SuperSonic,” Dimples T’s “Get It Girl”), a score by Casey James and the Staypuft Kid; and extended school hall dance sequences, Spork is a film about standing out and fitting in.
Written & Directed By: Don Mancini
Based On Characters Created By: Don Mancini
Cinematography By: Vernon Layton
Editor: Chris Dickens
Cast: Jennifer Tilly, Redman, Hannah Spearritt, Brad Dourif, Jason Flemyng, Billy Boyd, John Waters
Chucky and Tiffany are resurrected by their innocent son, Glen, and hit Hollywood, where a movie depicting the killer dolls’ murder spree is underway.
Cut To The Chase 