Darkest Hour - Movie Review

The Movie: Darkest Hour

The Director: Joe Wright

The Cast: Gary Oldman, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn, Ronald Pickup, Stephen Dillane

The Story: During the early days of World War II, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler, or fight on against incredible odds.

The Greatest Showman - Movie Review

The Movie: The Greatest Showman

The Director: Michael Gracey

The Cast: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson

The Story: Inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

Pitch Perfect 3 - Movie Review

The Movie: Pitch Perfect 3

The Director: Trish Sie

The Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Hailee Steinfeld, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Gregnar, Chrissie Fit, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins, John Lithgow, Matt Lanter, Buy Burnet, Alexis Knapp, DJ Khaled,

The Story: Following their win at the world championship, the now separated Bellas reunite for one last singing competition at an overseas USO tour.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - Movie Review

The Movie: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

The Director: Jake Kasdan

The Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Rhys Darby, Bobby Cannavale, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Ser'Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner

The Story: Four teenagers discover an old video game console and are literally drawn into the game's jungle setting, becoming the adult avatars they choose.

The Shape of Water - Movie Review

The Movie: The Shape of Water

The Director: Guillermo Del Toro

The Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones, David Hewlett, Nick Searcy, Stewart Arnott, Nigel Bennett

The Story: In a 1960s research facility, a mute janitor forms a relationship with an aquatic creature.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Spoiler Free First Thoughts

The Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Director: Rian Johnson

The Cast: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, Laura Dern, Benicio Del Toro, Kelly Marie Tran, Lupita Nyong'o, Warwick Davis, Anthony Daniels, Joonas Suatamo, Veronica Ngo

The Story: Having taken her first steps into the Jedi world, Rey joins Luke Skywalker on an adventure with Leia, Finn and Poe that unlocks mysteries of the Force and secrets of the past.

Jigsaw - Movie Review

The Movie: Jigsaw

The Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig

The Cast: Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie, Hannah Emily Anderson, Clé Bennett, Laura Vandervoort, Paul Braunstein, Mandela Van Peebles, Brittany Allen

The Story: Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for ten years.

Roman J. Israel, Esq. - Movie Review

The Movie: Roman J. Israel, Esq.

The Director: Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)

The Cast: Denzel Washington, Carmen Ejogo, Colin Farrell

The Story: Roman J. Israel, Esq., a driven, idealistic defense attorney, finds himself in a tumultuous series of events that lead to a crisis and the necessity for extreme action.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Movie Review

The Movie: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

The Director: Martin McDonagh

The Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Zeljko Ivanek, Peter Dinklage, John Hawkes, Samara Weaving

The Story: A mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.

Trailer Debut - Avengers: Infinity War

No words necessary, just watch and enjoy.

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Coco - Movie Review

The Movie: Coco

The Directors: Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina

The Cast:  Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Edward James Olmos, John Ratzenberger

The Story: Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to work out the mystery.

Wonder - Movie Review

The Movie: Wonder

The Director: Stephen Chbosky

The Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin, Noah Jupe, Bryce Gheisar, Elle McKinnon, Daveed Diggs, Millie Davis, Ali Liebert, Danielle Rose Russell

The Story: Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

Justice League - Movie Review

The Movie: Justice League

The Director: Zack Snyder

The Cast: Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Ciarán Hinds, Amber Heard, Joe Morton

The Story: DC Comics super heroes band together to save the planet from certain destruction.

2017 Hawaii International Film Festival Recap

While I wasn't able to attend the 2017 Hawaii International Film Festival, I was able to check out a few of the films and what I saw was pretty darn good. The festival took place at several different venues and featured a very diverse schedule filled with feature films, short films, documentaries, and special events all of which were in some way connected to regions around the Pacific Rim.

Zan (HIFF 2017) - Documenatry Review

The Documentary: Zan

The Director: Rick Grehan

The Story: This film follows imageMILL’s Yu Kisami as he brings us on a journey of discovery, aided by NGO NACJS. We meet the people who are working tirelessly to protect this beautiful part of the world, a natural heritage for Japan.

Mon Mon Mon Monsters (報告老師! 怪怪怪怪物!) (HIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Mon Mon Mon Monsters (報告老師! 怪怪怪怪物!)

The Director: Giddens Ko

The Cast: James Lai, Meng Tao, Yu-Kai Deng, Kent Tsai, Eugenie Liu

The Story: A man-eating monster hunts down a group of high school bullies who have captured and are torturing her little sister.

Lady Bird (HIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Lady Bird

The Director: Greta Gerwig

The Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lois Smith, Odeya Rush

The Story: The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year.

Bad Genius (ฉลาดเกมส์โกง) (HIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Bad Genius (ฉลาดเกมส์โกง)

The Director: Nattawut Poonpiriya

The Cast: Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Chanon Santinatornkul, Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Eisaya Hosuwan

The Story: Inspired by actual events, a group of high school students hatch a plan to profit off of their brains by selling the answers to standardized exams.

2017 Portland Film Festival Recap

The 2017 Portland Film Festival has come and gone and, from everything I've seen, heard, and read, it was yet another smashing success! I am very happy to have once again had the opportunity to see a few of the films that were presented during the festival and have collected my reviews here for easy access. You will also find a list of films that took home awards from this year's festival as well as my own "Festival Favorite" pick for this year.

Fake Blood (PDXFF 2017) - Movie Review

Movie Review: Fake Blood

Director: Rob Grant

The Story: Rob Grant and Mike Kovac receive a disturbing fan video inspired by their previous horror movie Mon Ami, motivating them to investigate the responsibility of filmmakers in portraying violence in movies. In their pursuit of the truth they are unwittingly introduced to the real world of violent criminals and their victims.

Break the Chain (PDXFF 2017) - Documentary Review

The Movie: Break the Chain

The Directors: Laura E. Swanson and Kirk Mason

The Story: The film chronicles two survivors of Human Trafficking - providing a detailed look at how trafficking goes unnoticed within our backyards. Kwami, a child survivor of Labor Trafficking, was enslaved for nearly five years with three other children in Ypsilanti, Michigan before anyone noticed. Debbie, a survivor of Sex Trafficking, takes us through her experience of being sold for sex around the Detroit-Area between the ages of 13 and 18. - BreakTheChainFilm.com

Secret Santa (PDXFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Secret Santa

The Director: Adam Marcus

The Cast: A Leslie Kies, Michael Rady, Michelle Renee Allaire, Pat Destro, Drew Lynch, Curtis Fortier, John Gilbert, Nathan Hedrick, Megan Helbing, Petra Areskoug, Ryan Leigh Seaton, Debra Sullivan, Michelle Allair, Freddy John James, Eddie Jordan III

The Story: A dysfunctional Christmas party turns deadly when an unexpected gift brings out the evil in everyone and turns the yuletide festivities into a fight for survival.