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
Written & Directed By: John Carney
Cinematography By: Yaron Orbach
Editor: Andrew Marcus & Julian Ulrichs
Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Jack Reynor, Ben Carolan, Mark McKenna, Kelly Thornton, Aidan Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Percy Chamburuka, Ian Kenny, Lydia McGuinness, Karl Rice, Conor Hamilton
A boy growing up in Dublin during the 1980s escapes his strained family life by starting a band and moving to London.
Written & Directed By: Woody Allen
Cinematography By: Darius Khondji
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey, Ethan Phillips, Joe Blackely, Robert Petkoff, Sophie Von Haselberg
A new philosophy professor arrives on a small town campus near Newport, Rhode Island. His name, Abe Lucas. His reputation : bad. Abe is said to be a womanizer and an alcoholic. But what people do not know is that he is a disillusioned idealist. Since he has become aware of his inability to change the world, he has indeed been living in a state of deep nihilism and arrogant desperation. In class, he only goes through the motions and outside he drinks too much. But as far as sex is concerned, he is just a shadow of himself now: depression is not synonymous with Viagra! For all that, he can’t help being attracted to one of his students, pretty and bright Jill Pollard. He enters into a relationship with her which remains platonic, even if Jill would not say no to more. The situation remains unchanged for a while until, one day, in a diner, Abe and Jill surprise a conversation that will change the course of their lives dramatically…
Written & Directed By: Rebecca Johnson
Cinematography By: Annemarie Lean-Vercoe
Editor: John Dwelly
Cast: Jessica Sula, Ntonga Mwanza, Lucien Laviscount, Naomi Ryan, Danielle Vitalis, Lauren Johns, Tosin Cole, Savannah Gordon-Liburd
Inspired by true events, it tells a story of fifteen-year-old Layla, who sets up the boy in love with her to be killed. When Troy discards her, Layla is left in ruins. She vows to rebuild herself as a hardened player in order to win him back and Shaun becomes a pawn in her game. Soon the forces she has set in motion are escalating out of control. The first UK urban drama seen from a girl’s point of view, HONEYTRAP is authentically local in its setting but universal in its themes of passion, jealousy and revenge. We have not seen a character like Layla take centre-stage before and it’s time her story to be told.
Written & Directed By: Peter Berg
Based On The Novel By: Marcus Lutrrell & Patrick Robinson
Cinematography By: Tobias A. Schliessler
Editor: Colby Parker Jr.
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, Eric Bana, Yousef Azami, Alexander Ludwig, Jerry Ferrara, Peter Berg
Marcus Luttrell, a Navy Seal, and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd, in late June 2005. After running into mountain herders and capturing them, they were left with no choice but to follow their rules of engagement or be imprisoned. Now Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.
Directed By: Isao Yukisada
Written By: Misaki Setoyama
Based on the Manga By: Kyoko Okazaki
Cinematography: Kenji Maki
Editor: Tsuyoshi Imai
Cast: Fumi Nikiado, Ryu Yoshizawa, Aoi Morikawa, Shuhei Uesugi, Sumire
Haruna is a high school student whose, school-mates, school and life is topsy turvy and often tragic. One of her classmates is the homosexual Ichiro. The boy is often bullied, derided and beaten. He has the scars to show for it. Haruna stands by Ichiro’s side and comes to know Ichiro’s secret. Then they discover a corpse by a river beside the tall grass.
Written & Directed By: Chad Hartigan
Cinematography By: Sean McElwee
Editor: Anne Fabini
Cast: Craig Robinson, Markees Christmas, Carla Juni, Lina Keller
Morris is a 13-year-old African-American who moves to Heidelberg with his dad, who coaches professional soccer. The film explores Morris’s attempts to fit in with German kids. He falls for a girl at a youth club and she encourages him to open up a little and share his rapping.
Directed By: Carl Rinsch
Written By: Chris Morgan & Hossein Amini
Screen Story By: Chris Morgan & Walter Hamada
Based on: Chushinguara
Cinematography By: John Mathieson
Editor: Stuart Baird
Costumes By: Penny Rose
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki, Min Tanaka, Tabanobu Asano, Jin Akanishi, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Rinko Kikuchi, Natsuki Kunimoto
While hunting in the forest, Lord Asano of Ako and his samurai find a young half-breed and take him with them to live in the castle. Several years later, Lord Asano holds a tournament to welcome the Shogun to Ako. The night after the tournament, Lord Asano is bewitched into hurting Lord Kira of Nagato, and is punished into committing seppuku by the Shogun. Realizing that it was a Lord Kira’s evil plot, the samurais and the half-breed sets out for revenge against the Shogun’s order
Written & Directed By: Alex Ross Perry
Cinematography: Sean Price Williams
Editor: Robert Greene
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Adam Horowitz, Analeigh Tipton, Chloe Sevingy, Mary Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Kate Lyn Sheil
An intersectional narrative of two families in Brooklyn and the unraveling of unspoken unhappiness that occurs when a young foreign girl spending time abroad upsets the balance on both sides.
Directed By: Yann Demange
Written By: Andy Weiss, Noah Miller & Logan Miller
Cinematography By: Tat Radcliffe
Editor: Chris Wyatt
Cast: Richie Merritt, Matthew McCognahey, Bel Powley, Bruce Dern, Piper Laurie, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rory Cochrane, Brian Tyree Henry, RJ Cyler, Eddie Marsan, Jonathan Majors, YG
The story of teenager Richard Wershe Jr., who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
Written & Directed By: Adam McKay
Cinematography: Greig Fraser
Editor: Hank Corwin
Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Jesse Plemmons, Alison Pill, Tyler Perry, Eddie Marsan, Justin Kirk, LisaGay Hamilton, Bill Camp, Lilly Rabe, Stephen Aldy Gurgis, Shea Whigham
The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.
