By now you have seen the trailer, read my thoughts from the world premiere at TIFF, and heard how “Dear Evan Hansen” has been drug through the social-media mud all before hitting theaters. That begs the question, is the film adaptation of the Tony Award Winning “Dear Evan Hansen” really that bad? The answer will […]
The film captures an unusual coming-of-age story based in Sri Lanka, where the Tamils and the Sinhalese are at war with one another, a schism that reflects the one in families who firmly believe in dichotomous categorization of sexuality, making any other manifestation illegal. Arjie (played by Nand and Ingram as younger and older) seems to
When the film opens on Beanie Feldstein (“Lady Bird,” “Booksmart”) sitting alone in a library wearing virtually the same schoolgirl uniform from her last two films, you are already disappointed that she isn’t trying something different. She does, however, have a British accent for this coming of age story. We watch her experience growing pains
Director Hans Petter Moland has adapted Per Petterson’s dense novel of the same name into a film that’s cinematically ornamental. Internationally, the film is being sold as a Stellan Skarsgård vehicle, despite the fact he’s a minor character in the story. Narratively framed similar to The Reader, Out Stealing Horses exists almost entirely in flashback.
Olivia Wilde’s directorial feature debut could have easily been the gender-flipped version of “Superbad” with lame jokes and crude humor. However written by four females who understand what teenage comedies have been missing, inject “Booksmart” with wit, savvy, and quotable dialogue. As an actress Wilde has been hit or miss when it comes to comedy,
Name me the last skater film you saw… Now name the last skater film you saw about female skateboarders. There are none, making “Skate Kitchen” something of a rarity. Crystal Moselle makes her feature film directorial debut here on a script she also wrote, based on her short film of the same topic with the same
After focusing on people in their twilight years in films like “I’ll See You in My Dreams” and “The Hero,” promising new writer/director Brett Haley has shifted his focus. “Hearts Beat Loud” is first and foremost a father/daughter “dramedy.” It is also a film about music and a story about difficult choices. Haley and screenwriting
It doesn’t take much for actor Simon Baker’s directorial debut to sweep you off your feet. His vintage surf drama overwhelms the senses with sight and sound. Based on the novel of the same name, “Breath” is a coming of age story which uses the rugged Western Australian coast as a setting for bravery and
Love, Simon has been called a Disney-fied version of Call Me By Your Name. That’s both unfair (this is 20th Century Fox, and they have done a great marketing job) and expected. It’s from the team that made millions with The Fault in Our Stars, and a savvy director, televisions Greg Berlanti (The Flash, Arrow),
Topping last years, A Bigger Splash, Italian director Luca Guadagnino has created nothing short of a masterpiece in adapting André Aciman’s novel of the same name. In a screenplay by James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name is one of the most honest coming of age stories I’ve ever witnessed. The entire film is anchored