#ChadGetsTheAxe - Movie Review

The Movie: #ChadGetsTheAxe

The Director: Travis Bible

The Cast: Spencer Harrison Levin, Michael Bonini, Taneisha Figueroa, Cameron Vitosh, Brandon Doyle, Shun Hagins

The Story: Four social media influencers live stream their trip to Devil's Manor, former home to a satanic cult.

Oppenheimer - Movie Review

The Movie: Oppenheimer

The Director: Christopher Nolan

The Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey, Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh

The Story: The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.

Shortcomings - Movie Review

The Movie: Shortcomings

The Director: Randall Park

The Cast: Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki, Debby Ryan, Tavi Gevinson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jacob Batalon, Timothy Simons

The Story: A trio of young Bay Area urbanites--Ben Tanaka, Miko Hayashi, and Alice Kim--as they navigate a range of interpersonal relationships, traversing the country in search of the ideal connection.

Barbie - Movie Review

The Movie: Barbie

The Director: Greta Gerwig

The Cast: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell

The Story: Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.

Liquor Store Dreams - Documentary Review

The Documentary: Liquor Store Dreams

The Director: So Yun Um

The Story: The autobiographical documentary follows two Korean American children of liquor store owners in Los Angeles who must reconcile their own dreams with those of their immigrant parents.

Joy Ride (2023) - Movie Review

The Movie: Joy Ride

The Director: Adele Lim

The Cast: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ronny Chieng, Meredith Hagner, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Timothy Simons, Desmond Chiam, Baron Davis, Lori Tan Chinn, Alexander Hodge, Chris Pang

The Story: Follows four Chinese-American friends as they bond and discover the truth of what it means to know and love who you are, while they travel through China in search of one of their birth mothers.

The Childe / 귀공자 - Movie Review

The Movie: The Childe / 귀공자

The Director: Park Hoon-jung

The Cast: Kim Seon-ho, Kang Tae-ju, Kim Kang-woo, Go Ara

The Story: In a desperate attempt to secure funds for his mother’s surgery, an amateur boxer searches for the wealthy estranged father he’s never met. But after a lead takes him from the Philippines to Korea, he is relentlessly pursued by a quirky yet highly dangerous man.

Mad Heidi - Movie Review

The Movie: Mad Heidi

The Director: Johannes Hartmann, Sandro Klopfstein

The Cast: Alice Lucy, David Schofield, Casper Van Dien, Katja Kolm, Kel Matsena, Almar G. Sato, Max Rüdlinger, Werner Biermeier, Pascal Ulli, Rebecca Dyson-Smith, Milo Moiré, Yves Wüthrich

The Story: Swiss mountain girl Heidi is abducted by brutal government troops and must defend herself and fight a war against a cheese-fueled machinery of hate.

Past Lives - Movie Review

The Movie: Past Lives

The Director: Celine Song

The Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro, Moon Seung-ah, Leem Seung-min

The Story: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. 20 years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse - Movie Review

The Movie: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse

The Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

The Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, Oscar Isaac

The Story: Miles Morales catapults across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. When the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles must redefine what it means to be a hero.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Movie Review

The Movie: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

The Director: Steven Caple Jr.

The Cast: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez, Dean Scott Vazquez, Tobe Nwigwe, Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy, John DiMaggio, David Sobolov, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pete Davidson, Cristo Fernández, Tongayi Chirisa

The Story: During the '90s, a new faction of Transformers - the Maximals - join the Autobots as allies in the battle for Earth.

The Boogeyman (2023) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Boogeyman

The Director: Rob Savage

The Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, Marin Ireland, Madison Hu, LisaGay Hamilton, David Dastmalchian

The Story: Adapted from a short story by Stephen King.

Fast X - Movie Review

The Movie: Fast X

The Director: Louis Leterrier

The Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jason Momoa, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, John Cena, Jason Statham, Sung Kang, Alan Ritchson, Daniela Melchior, Scott Eastwood, with Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno

The Story: Dom Toretto and his family are targeted by the vengeful son of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.

Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3

The Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3

The Director: James Gunn

The Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Maria Bakalova

The Story: Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own - a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful.

The Little Mermaid (2023) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Little Mermaid

The Director: Rob Marshall 

The Cast: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem, Melissa McCarthy

The Story: A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.

Next Sohee / 다음 소희 - 2023 SIFF Capsule Review

The Movie: Next Sohee / 다음 소희

The Director: Jung Ju-ri

The Cast: Bae Doona, Kim Si-eun

The Story: High school student Sohee starts job training at a call center, but she faces pressure of greedy company which leads to her death. Detective Oh Yu-jin, who has something in common with Sohee starts to follow traces to reveal the truth.

Adolfo - SIFF 2023 Capsule Review

The Movie: Adolfo

The Director: Sofia Auza

The Cast: Juan Daniel Garcia Treviño, Rocio de la Mañana

The Story: When Momo, Hugo and his cactus, Adolfo meet one night, they are heading in opposite directions. Their encounter will not only magically change the course of their lives, but also encourage them to embrace the beauty of the unexpected.

Chile ‘76 - 2023 SIFF Capsule Review

The Movie: Chile '76

The Director: Manuella Martelli

The Cast: Aline Küppenheim, Nicolás Sepúlveda, Hugo Medina, Alejandro Goic

The Story: Chile, 1976. Carmen heads off to her beach house. When the family priest asks her to take care of a young man he is sheltering in secret, Carmen steps onto unexplored territories, away from the quiet life she is used to.

Irati - 2023 SIFF Capsule Review

The Movie: Irati

The Director: Paul Urkijo Alijo

The Cast: Eneko Sagardoy, Edurne Azkarate, Itziar Ituño, Elena Uriz, Kepa Errasti

The Story: Follows Irati, a young girl who will guide a group of christian and muslim warriors through a journey in an ancient mythological world where everything that has a name exists, in an attempt to recover a lost treasure.

A Disturbance in the Force - 2023 SIFF Capsule Review

The Documentary: A Disturbance in the Force

The Directors: Jeremy Coon, Steve Kozak

The Story: Investigating the infamous The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) with the behind-the-scenes story of how it got made.