Every once in a while something really astonishing and fresh comes along and Thunder Road is both astonishing and fresh. It blew my mind! Jim Cummings deserves every accolade and more for this wonderful little micro-budget indie film. I'm a sucker for a good movie about mental illness. If you add in an element about parent/child bonds, family, or parenting alone then you've got me and I'll watch that movie. Thunder Road tackles loss, addiction, mental illness, masculinity, family bonds, and the stress of being a single-working parent, and yet somehow is a hilarious comedy. And it does all this without ever laughing at Officer Jim's mental breakdown. This film is filled with earnest love and pain and it balances all the feels and tackles tricky issues effortlessly. This is not a cringe comedy, it's all heart and soul. 5/5 MUST SEE! |
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Sonita is a very powerful documentary about a teenage girl living illegally as an Afghan refugee in Iran who is facing being sold into marriage. Instead, she breaks the law (women cannot sing) and she becomes a Hip Hop artist. Sonita's bravery is astonishing. I'm a big fan of Iranian cinema and this is no different. I'm a fan. This is an excellent documentary. Show your sons and daughters. 5/5 Dope is Dope. I very much enjoyed this clever little coming-of-age dramedy. It's a breath of fresh air. It's fun! Dope is about a self-proclaimed geek, Malcolm, and his two geeky friends who are high school seniors in Inglewood California. The trio ends up being tricked into moving a package of MDMA for a drug dealer. Hijinks ensue. 5/5 Wake Up! Chiraq is a fantastic new Spike Lee joint. This star-studded satirical musical comedy is a modern retelling of Lysistrata by Aristophanes set in South Chicago. It's been a while since I've seen a Spike Lee joint. I'm a fan. Chiraq stars Jennifer Hudson, Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, John Cusack and, rounding it out, Samuel L Jackson. Here, Lysistrata convinces an army of women to vow chastity until there is world peace. It's extremely relevant and timely taking on gun violence, poverty, racism, sexism, and crime in the US. I loved this film! It's bold and new. I thought Samuel L Jackson was great as the narrator/Greek chorus and I thoroughly enjoyed the bold rhyme scheme. 4/5 I was delighted to catch Victor Victoria on TCM last night. I hadn't seen it in a good 20 years but I remember loving it when I was a kid. Victor Victoria is a Blake Edwards' musical comedy starring Julie Andrews and James Garner. It's the remake of a 1930s German film about a down-on-her-luck Cabaret performer in Paris who finds success pretending to be a male female-impersonator. When a straight mobster (played by Garner) falls for Victor/Victoria things get complicated. Essentially, this is a love story about a straight male mobster who falls for a straight female--who passes as a gay male (and female impersonator). The mobster wants the female to quit the cabaret and become a "good" woman (marry him and stay home) but she wants to enjoy her success, career, and her subsequent, new found male privilege even though it means living as a gay male. Victor Victoria is of the era of Tootsie and Cruising, but does things so much better. Tootsie doesn't hold up very well and Cruising has its own problems. Here, gender and sexuality are playfully complicated and confused. While gender could easily be made a running gag, Edwards' avoids reducing drag to a schtick. I was surprised at how progressive the narrative and dialogue was since the film feels like a 1960s Hollywood musical set in the 1930s with adult content from the 1980s. It's fun and funny, and doesn't feel dated. Overall, the films' treatment of gender and sexuality is remarkably thoughtful. Andrews and Garner are incredible, and Alex Karras as "Squash" Bernstein gives a stand-out performance--he's utterly delightful. Victor Victoria was nominated for 7 Oscars and won for Best Music. 5/5 I was very fortunate to see the Premiere of He Named Me Malala introduced by Malala's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai. The love, total awe, and admiration that he expressed that he has for his daughter was extremely moving. This is a documentary film about Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for speaking out for girls' and womens' right to education. After the failed murder attempt, Malala was not silenced. Rather, she became, and is now, a leading advocate for children's rights and she recently was named the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. This is an inspirational documentary. If you have kids, check it out with them. 5/5 |
LindseyHere is where I post new reviews as I see films throughout the year. Archives
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