Saturday, October 31, 2020

Memories of Murder / 살인의 추억 - Movie Review


The Movie: Memories of Murder살인의 추억

The Director: Bong Joon-ho

The Cast: Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha, Park Hae-il, Byun Hee-bong

The Story: In a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.

Hall - Movie Review


The Movie: Hall

The Director: Francesco Giannini

The Cast: Carolina Bartczak, Yumiko Shaku, Mark Gibson, Bailey Thain, Julian Richings

The Story: When a debilitating sickness spreads across a long hotel hallway, a few scattered victims fight for survival, and try to escape from the dark narrow stretch of isolated carnage.

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Come Play - Movie Review


The Movie: Come Play

The Director: Jacob Chase

The Cast: Azhy Robertson, Gillian Jacobs, John Gallagher Jr.

The Story: A monster named Larry that manifests itself through smart phones and mobile devices.

Bad Hair - Movie Review


The Movie: Bad Hair

The Director: Justin Simien

The Cast: Elle Lorraine, Vanessa Williams, Lena Waithe, Laverne Cox, Jay Pharoa, Kelly Rowland, Blair Underwood, James Van Der Beek, Usher Raymond 

The Story: In 1989 an ambitious young woman gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career may come at a great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Synchronic - Movie Review


The Movie: Synchronic

The Directors: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

The Cast: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Katie Aselton, Ally IIoannides

The Story: Two New Orleans paramedics' lives are ripped apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - Movie Review


The Movie: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

The Director: Jason Woliner

The Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Irina Novak, Luenell 

The Story: Follow-up film to the 2006 comedy centering on the real-life adventures of a fictional Kazakh television journalist named Borat.

On the Rocks - Movie Review


The Movie: On the Rocks

The Director: Sofia Coppola

The Cast: Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, Marlon Wayans, Jenny Slate, 

The Story: A young mother reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York.

Monday, October 19, 2020

A Ghost Waits - Movie Review


The Movie: A Ghost Waits

The Director: Adam Stovall

The Cast: MacLeod Andrews, Natalie Walker, Sydney Vollmer, Amanda Miller

The Story: Jack's job is to fix up the house. Spectral agent Muriel's eternal task is to haunt it. They should be enemies, but they become fascinated by one another.

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Bullets of Justice - Movie Review


The Movie: Bullets of Justice

The Director: Valeri Milev

The Cast: Danny Trejo, Timur Turisbekov, Yana Marinova, Dessy Slavova, Doroteya Toleva, Ester Chardaklieva

The Story: In the post-apocalyptic aftermath of World War 3, an army of half-human half-pig super-soldiers takes over the world.

Death of Nintendo - 2020 LAAPFF Movie Review



The Movie: Death of Nintendo

The Director: Raya Martin

The Cast: Noel Comia Jr., Agot Isidro, Moi Marcampo, John Vincent Servilla, Mailes Kanapi, Nikki Valdez, Elijah Alejo, Kim Chloe Oquendo

The Story: In the early 1990s, a teenager and his gang of friends enjoy their summer playing games as they grow up.

Saturday, October 17, 2020

The Old Ways - Movie Review


The Movie: The Old Ways

The Director: Christopher Alender

The Cast: Brigitte Kali Canales, Andrea Cortés, Julia Vera, Sal Lopez, AJ Bowen

The Story: When a Mexican American reporter returns to her ancestral homeland of Veracruz chasing a story on witchcraft and faith healers, she becomes the subject of her own story.

The Interview:


The Queen of Black Magic / Ratu Ilmu Hitam - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review



The Movie: The Queen of Black Magic / Ratu Ilmu Hitam

The Director: Kimo Stamboel

The Cast: Ario Bayu, Hannah Al Rashid, Adhisty Zara, Ari Irham, Muzakki Ramdhan, Shenina Cinnamon, Giulio Parengkuan, Tanta Ginting, Miller Khan, Salvita Decorte, Imelda Therinne, Ade Firman Hakim, Sheila Dara Aisha, Ruth Marini, Yayu A.W. Unru, Putri Ayudya, Gisellma Firmansyah

The Story: An orphanage is home to some pretty dark secrets and, when former residents make a return visit, a reckoning of sorts begins to take shape.
 

Friday, October 16, 2020

In Case of Emergency - Documentary Review


The Documentary: In Case of Emergency

The Director: Carolyn Jones

The Story: Follows emergency nurses and their patients in seven unique settings across the U.S from urban to rural, shedding light on some of the biggest health care crises facing Americans today.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

A Thousand Cuts - 2020 LAAPFF Documentary Review



The Documentary: A Thousand Cuts

The Director: Ramona S. Diaz

The Story: A look at how Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte uses social media to spread disinformation.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

The Mortuary Collection - Movie Review


The Movie: The Mortuary Collection

The Director: Ryan Spindell

The Cast: Clancy Brown, Christine Kilmer, Caitlin Fisher, Jacob Elordi, Barak Hardley, Sarah Hey 

The Movie: On the cusp of retirement, an eccentric mortician recounts several of the strangest stories he's encountered in his long career, but things take a turn for the phantasmagorical when he learns that the final story - is his own.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Finding YingYing - 2020 LAAPFF Documentary Review



The Movie: Finding YingYing

The Director: Jiayan 'Jenny' Shi

The Story: After a young Chinese student goes missing on an American university campus, her family travels to the U.S. for the first time, hoping to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.

TwoOhSix Podcast - S02/E06 - New Directions in Film with Van Ditthavong


Welcome to New Directions in Film, a TwoOhSix Podcast Series.

Season 02, Episode 06 featuring director Van Ditthavong

Evil Eye - Movie Review


The Movie: Evil Eye

The Directors: Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani

The Cast: Sarita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, Omar Maskati, and Bernard White

The Story: A superstitious mother is convinced that her daughter's new boyfriend is the reincarnation of a man who tried to kill her 30 years ago.

Monday, October 12, 2020

Nocturne - Movie Review


The Movie: Nocturne

The Director: Zu Quirke 

The Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Madison Iseman, Jacques Colimon, Ivan Shaw

The Story: An incredibly gifted pianist makes a Faustian bargain to overtake her older sister at a prestigious institution for classical musicians.

Sunday, October 11, 2020

An Unquiet Grave - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review



The Movie: An Unquiet Grave

The Director: Terence Krey

The Cast: Jacob A. Ware, Christine Nyland

The Story: A year after the death of his wife, a man enlists her sister to help him bring her back.

Dinner in America - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review


The Movie: Dinner in America

The Director: Adam Rehmeier

The Cast: Kyle Gallner, Emily Skeggs, Griffin Gluck, Pat Healy, Mary Lynn Rajskub, David Yow, Hannah Marks, Nick Chinlund, Lea Thompson

The Story: An on-the-lam punk rocker and a young woman obsessed with his band unexpectedly fall in love and go on an epic journey together through America's decaying Midwestern suburbs.

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Anything for Jackson - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review



The Movie: Anything for Jackson

The Director: Justin G. Dyck

The Cast: Sheila McCarthy, Julian Richings, Konstantina Mantelos, Josh Cruddas, Yannick Bisson

The Story: A bereaved Satanist couple kidnap a pregnant woman so they can use an ancient spellbook to put their dead grandson's spirit into her unborn child but end up summoning more than they bargained for.

Bloody Hell - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review



The Movie: Bloody Hell

The Director: Alister Grierson

The Cast: Ben O'Toole, Caroline Craig, Matthew Sunderland, Travis Jeffery, Jack Finsterer, Meg Fraser, Ashlee Lollback

The Story: A man with a mysterious past flees the country to escape his own personal hell - only to arrive somewhere much, much worse.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

The War with Grandpa - Movie Review


The Movie: The War with Grandpa

The Director: Tim Hill

The Cast: Oakes Fegley, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Cheech Marin, Laura Marano, Jane Seymour

The Story: Upset that he has to share the room he loves with his grandfather, Peter decides to declare war in an attempt to get it back.

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Spontaneous - Movie Review


The Movie: Spontaneous

The Director: Brian Duffield

The Cast: Katherine Langford, Charlie Plummer, Hayley Law, Piper Perabo, Rob Huebel, Yvonne Orji.

The Story: Get ready for the outrageous coming-of-age love story about growing up...and blowing up. When students in their school begin exploding (literally), seniors Mara and Dylan struggle to survive in a world where each moment may be their last.

Yellow Rose - Movie Review and Podcast Interview


The Movie: Yellow Rose

The Director: Diane Paragas

The Cast: Eva Noblezada, Princess Punzalan, Dale Watson, Libby Villari and Lea Salonga

The Story: Rose, an undocumented 17 year old Filipina, dreams of one day leaving her small Texas town to pursue her country music dreams. Her world is shattered when her mom suddenly gets picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Verdict:
Yellow Rose is a beautiful movie that has a ton of heart, is filled with memorable songs, and features a knock out performance from Eva Noblezada. Diane Paragas' message of hope and resilience strikes right into the heart of our current political climate while taking nothing away from the experience of great cinematic storytelling.

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Black Box (2020) - Movie Review


The Movie: Black Box

The Director: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour

The Cast: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Charmaine Bingwa, Troy James 

The Story: After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.

The Lie - Movie Review


The Movie: The Lie

The Director: Veena Sud

The Cast: Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard, Joey King, Cas Anvar, Devery Jacobs, Brittany
Nicholas Lea, Patti Kim

The Story: A father and daughter are on their way to dance camp when they spot the girl's best friend on the side of the road. When they stop to offer the friend a ride, their good intentions soon result in terrible consequences.

TwoOhSix Podcast - S02/E05 - New Directions in Film with So Yun Um


Welcome to New Directions in Film, a TwoOhSix Podcast Series.

Season 02, Episode 05 featuring filmmaker So Yun Um

Monday, October 5, 2020

TwoOhSix Picks - Nightstream Film Festival


The Nightstream virtual film festival will take place October 8th through the 11th and is the combined efforts of five different film festivals that have been unable to enjoy their normal festival experience due to 2020 being a big pile of poo. Everyone is hoping that film festivals will be able to resume the in person experience at some point next year although for now, we can still gather virtually to enjoy some wonderful genre films.

Sunday, October 4, 2020

The Devil All the Time - Movie Review


The Movie: The Devil All the Time

The Director: Antonio Campos

The Cast: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson

The Story: Sinister characters converge around a young man devoted to protecting those he loves in a postwar backwoods town teeming with corruption and brutality.

Saturday, October 3, 2020

The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Movie Review


The Movie: The Trial of the Chicago 7

The Director: Aaron Sorkin

The Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron Cohen, Daniel Flaherty, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch, Eddie Redmayne, Noah Robbins, Mark Rylance, Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong

The Story: The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

Thursday, October 1, 2020

12 Hour Shift - Movie Review


The Movie: 12 Hour Shift

The Director: Brea Grant

The Cast: Angela Bettis, Chloe Farnworth, Nikea Gamby-Turner, David Arquette, Kit Williamson,
Mick Foley

The Story: Bodies start to pile up when a drug-user nurse and her cousin try to find a replacement kidney for an organ trafficker.

The Antenna - Movie Review


The Movie: The Antenna

The Director: Orçun Behram

The Cast: Ihsan Önal, Gül Arici, Levent Ünsal, Isil Zeynep, Murat Saglam, Elif Çakman, Mert Toprak Yadigar, Eda Özel

The Story: In a dystopian Turkey, the Government installs new networks throughout the country to monitor information. The installation goes wrong in a crumbling apartment complex and Mehmet, the building intendant, will have to confront the evil entity behind the inexplicable transmissions that threaten the residents.