Thursday, December 30, 2021

Luca - Movie Review


The Movie: Luca

The Director: Enrico Casarosa

The Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Saverio Raimondo, Maya
Rudolph, Marco Barricelli, Jim Gaffigan, Sandy Martin

The Story: A coming of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.

Slaxx - Movie Review


The Movie: Slaxx

The Director: Elza Kephart

The Cast: Romane Denis, Brett Donahue, Sehar Bhojani, Stephen Bogaert

The Story: When a possessed pair of jeans begins to kill the staff of a trendy clothing store, it is up to Libby, an idealistic young salesclerk, to stop its bloody rampage.

The Tender Bar - Movie Review


The Movie: The Tender Bar

The Director: George Clooney

The Cast: Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Christopher Lloyd, Lily Rabe. Daniel Ranieri

The Story: A boy growing up on Long Island seeks out father figures among the patrons at his uncle's bar.

Tailgate / Bumperkleef - Movie Review


The Movie: Tailgate / Bumperkleef

The Director: Lodewijk Crijns

The Cast: Jeroen Spitzenberger, Anniek Pheifer, Roosmarijn van der Hoek, Liz Vergeer, Willem de Wolf

The Story: A cocksure, road-raging family man finds himself pursued and terrorized by the vengeful van driver he chooses to tailgate.

Friday, December 24, 2021

CODA - Movie Review


The Movie: CODA

The Director: Siân Heder

The Cast: Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin

The Story: As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music by wanting to go to Berkeley and her fear of abandoning her parents.

Thursday, December 23, 2021

The Tragedy of Macbeth - Movie Review


The Movie: The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Director: Joel Coen

The Cast: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, Brendan Gleeson, Kathryn Hunter

The Story: A tale of murder, madness, ambition, and wrathful cunning.

The Power of the Dog - Movie Review


The Movie: The Power of the Dog

The Director: Jane Campion

The Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee

The Story: Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Titane - Movie Review


The Movie: Titane

The Director: Julia Ducournau

The Cast: Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh

The Story: A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys, often used in medical prostheses due to its pronounced biocompatibility.

The Matrix: Resurrections - Movie Review


The Movie: The Matrix Resurrections

The Director: Lana Wachowski

The Cast: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra Jonas

The Story: Return to a world of two realities: one, everyday life; the other, what lies behind it. To find out if his reality is a construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more.

Sunday, December 19, 2021

The Monkey King: Reborn - Movie Review


The Movie: The Monkey King: Reborn

The Director: Wang Yun Fei

The Cast: Bian Jiang, Zhang Lei, Cai Haiting, Su Shangqing, Zhang He, Lin Qiang, Liu Sicen , Wang Chenguang, Baomu Zhongyang, Zhang Bin, Chang Jin, Tute Hameng, Zhang Yaohan, Bai Xuecen, Qiuqiu, Chang Wentao, Li Jiaxiang

The Story: After short-tempered trickster Monkey King is insulted while visiting a temple with his master Tang Monk, he destroys a magical tree and accidentally releases the ancient King of Demons, who kidnaps Tang Monk as revenge for his long imprisonment.

Nightmare Alley - Movie Review


The Movie: Nightmare Alley

The Director: Guillermo del Toro

The Cast: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn

The Story: An ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is.

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Spider-Man: No Way Home - Movie Review


The Movie: Spider-Man: No Way Home

The Director: Jon Watts

The Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei

The Story: With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Changing Directions Interview Series featuring Claudia Sparrow Director of Maxima


Claudia Sparrow joins the Changing Directions Filmmaker Interview Series to talk about Maxima, her award winning documentary that will be released in select theaters and VOD formats on January 11th, 2022.

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Drive My Car / ドライブ・マイ・カー - Movie Review


The Movie: Drive My Car / ドライブ・マイ・カー

The Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

The Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Masaki Okada, Reika Kirishima

The Story: Nishijima Hidetoshi is a stage actor and director happily married to his playwright wife. Then one day she disappears.

West Side Story (2021) - Movie Review


The Movie: West Side Story

The Director: Steven Spielberg

The Cast: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist,
Josh Andrés Rivera, Ana Isabelle, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James and
Rita Moreno

The Story: The classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City.

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Encounter - Movie Review


The Movie: Encounter

The Director: Michael Pearce

The Cast: Riz Ahmed, Octavia Spencer, Rory Cochrane, Janina Gavankar, Lucian-River Chauhan and Aditya Geddada

The Story: Desperate to save his two young sons, Jay and Bobby, from a mysterious threat, decorated Marine Malik Khan packs them in a car and sets off on a perilous journey across the western U.S.

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Changing Directions Interview Series featuring Jessica Rae and Jearnest Corchado for Raise Your Hand


Jessica Rae and Jearnest Corchado join the Changing Directions Filmmaker Interview Series to talk about Raise Your Hand, the debut feature film for both the director and the actor. We take a deep dive into the filmmaking process, their respective careers, and what telling this story meant to each of them.

Raise Your Hand - Movie Review


The Movie: Raise Your Hand

The Director: Jessica Rae

The Cast: Jearnest Corchado, Hanani Taylor, Joel Steingold, Gregory Scott Cummins, DaJuan Johnson

The Story: Gia and her best friend, Lila, try to survive a rough childhood in a neighborhood where every kid has a sad story to tell. As teenagers, their problems become more complicated, and the stakes get raised.

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Wolf (2021) - Movie Review


The Movie: Wolf

The Director: Nathalie Biancheri

The Cast: George MacKay, Lily-Rose Depp, Paddy Considine, Eileen Walsh

The Story: A high-concept arthouse drama about a boy who believes he is a wolf.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

The Hand of God - Movie Review


The Movie: The Hand of God

The Director: Paolo Sorrentino

The Cast: Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Luisa Ranieri, Renato Carpentieri, Massimiliano Gallo, Betti Pedrazzi

The Story: The story of a boy in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s. Sorrentino's most personal film yet is a tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.