Island Soldier (HIFF 2017) (SAAFF 2018) - Documentary Review

The Documentary: Island Soldier

The Director: Nathan Fitch

The Story: The untold story of Micronesian citizens fighting America's wars. Through the personal odyssey of the Nenas, one family experiences the consequences of military service, as they represent a pristine Pacific island on the brink of economic collapse.

Game Night - Movie Review

The Movie: Game Night

The Director: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein

The Cast: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Sharon Horgan, Billy Magnussen, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Jesse Plemons, Michael C. Hall, Danny Huston, Chelsea Peretti, Camille Chen

The Story: A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery.

TwoOhSix Picks - 2018 Seattle Asian American Film Festival

The 2018 Seattle Asian American Film Festival promises to be the biggest and best event yet for this Seattle based, volunteer led organization. Over the four days of the festival, there will be feature films, documentaries, short films, and special events all presented across multiple venues including the Northwest Film Forum, the Broadway Performance Hall, Rhein Haus, and the Wing Luke Museum. Below you will find a list of films that have been specially chosen as this year's TwoOhSix Picks.

Detective Chinatown 2 - Movie Review

The Movie: Detective Chinatown 2

The Director: Sicheng Chen

The Cast: Baoqiang Wang, Haoran Liu, Yang Xiao, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Yuxian Shang, Xun Wang, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Michael Pitt, Brett Azar, Bai Ling

The Story: When the case of New York Chinatown godfather Uncle Qi’s missing son turns into a murder investigation, the detective duo Tang and Qin team up again to hunt down the killer - this time with some help from the International Detective Alliance.

The 15:17 to Paris - Movie review

The Movie: The 15:17 to Paris

The Director: Clint Eastwood

The Cast: Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone, Judy Greer, Jenna Fischer

The Story: Three Americans discover a terrorist plot aboard a train while in France.

The Cloverfield Paradox - Movie Review

The Movie: The Cloverfield Paradox

The Director: Julius Onah

The Cast: Daniel Brühl, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris O'Dowd, Ziyi Zhang, David Oyelowo, John Ortiz, Aksel Hennie, Roger Davies

The Story: After a scientific experiment aboard the space station involving a particle accelerator has unexpected results, the astronauts find themselves isolated. Following their horrible discovery, the space station crew must fight for survival.

12 Strong - Movie Review

The Movie: 12 Strong

The Director: Nicolai Fuglsig

The Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Navid Negahban, Trevante Rhodes, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, Austin Hébert, Austin Stowell, Ben O'Toole, Kenny Sheard, Jack Kesy, Rob Riggle, William Fichtner, Elsa Pataky, Nate Boyer

The Story: 12 Strong tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11; under the leadership of a new captain, the team must work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban.

Mudbound - Movie Review

The Movie: Mudbound

The Director: Dee Rees

The Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Carey Mulligan, Jason Clark, Jason Mitchell, Jonathan Banks, Rob Morgan, Mary J. Blige, Kerry Cahill, Dylan Arnold, Lucy Faust, Kelvin Harrison Jr.

The Story: Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.

Winchester - Movie Review

The Movie: Winchester

The Directors: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

The Cast: Helen Mirren, Sarah Snook, Jason Clarke, Angus Sampson, Bruce Spence, Laura Brent, Eamon Farren, Finn Scicluna-O'Prey, Tyler Coppin

The Story: Eccentric firearm heiress believes she is haunted by the souls of people killed by the Winchester repeating rifle.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure - Movie Review

The Movie: Maze Runner: The Death Cure

The Director: Wes Ball

The Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Will Poulter, Jacob Lofland, Rosa Salazar, Giancarlo Esposito. Patricia Clarkson, Aiden Gillen, Barry Pepper, Nathalie Emmanuel, Katherine McNamara, Walton Goggins

The Story: Young hero Thomas embarks on a mission to find a cure for a deadly disease known as the "Flare".

The Post - Movie Review

The Movie: The Post

The Director: Steven Spielberg

The Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Alison Brie, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Pat Healy, Sarah Paulson, Tracy Letts

The Story: A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.

Den of Thieves - Movie Review

The Movie: Den of Thieves

The Director: Christian Gudegast

The Cast: Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O'Shea Jackson Jr., 50 Cent, Meadow Williams, Maurice Compte, Brian Van Holt, Evan Jones, Mo McRae, Kaiwi Lyman, Dawn Olivieri, Eric Braeden, Cooper Andrews

The Story: A gritty crime saga which follows the lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.

2018 Slamdance Film Festival Recap

This was my first year covering the Slamdance Film Festival and was really impressed with the quality of the films I was able to see and with how well the whole thing was run from start to finish. My final tally for the seven day festival was eight movies including five feature narrative films, two short films, and one feature documentary but only one would earn the title of TwoOhSix Festival Favorite.

Funny Story (Slamdance 2018) - Movie Review

The Movie: Funny Story

The Director: Michael J. Gallagher

The Cast: Matthew Glave, Emily Bett Rickards, Jana Winternitz, Nikki Limo, Lily Holleman, Jessica Diggins, Pete Gardner, Reginald VelJohnson

The Story: A tragic comedy about a well-intentioned father who inadvertently wreaks havoc on the life of his estranged daughter.

Fish Bones (Slamdance 2018) - Movie Review

The Movie: Fish Bones

The Director: Joanne Mony Park

The Cast: Joony Kim, Cristina Tamez-Rodriguez, Christopher Kim, Borah Ahn

The Story: During winter break, a young woman struggles with her sexuality as she's torn between family expectations and her own desires.

Fake Tattoos aka Les Faux Tatouages (Slamdance 2018) - Movie Review

The Movie: Fake Tattoos aka Les Faux Tatouages

The Director: Pascal Plante

The Cast: Anthony Therrien, Rose-Marie Perreault, Lysandre Nadeau, Brigitte Poupart, Nicole-Sylvie Lagarde, Léona Rousseau, Rémi Goulet, Lauren Mallais-DeLuca, Anyjeanne Savaria, Maxime-Olivier Potvin

The Story: Theo spends his 18th birthday alone, getting drunk at a brutal punk rock show. There, he meets Mag, a marginal teenager who invites him to spend the night at her place. A love story unfolds between them, but Theo has to move at the end of the summer in a small town, far away from a painful past.

Flatbush Misdemeanors: Episode One (Slamdance 2018) - Short Film Review

The Movie: Flatbush Misdemeanors: Episode One

The Directors: Dan Perlman and Kevin Iso

The Cast: Dan Perlman, Kevin Iso, Kareem Green, Jeffrey Joseph, Keturah Wright

The Story: Dan and Kevin, longtime friends, adjust to their new surroundings in the brash environment of Flatbush, Brooklyn.

The Troubled Troubadour (음유시인) (Slamdance 2018) - Short Film Review

The Movie: The Troubled Troubadour (음유시인)

The Directors: Sébastien Simon and Forest Ian Etsler

The Cast: Kasuga "Hachi" Hirofumi, Tetsu Kono, Lee Hwajin, Kang Saneh

The Story: An embittered old musician embarks on a journey which becomes the outward manifestation of his inner landscape.

TwoOhSix Pick "Pick of the Litter" Picked by Sundance Selects

So happy to announce that one of my preview picks for the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival has been picked up by Sundance Selects! It took less than 24 hours after it's opening night premiere for this highly anticipated documentary film to find a buyer and everyone involved is extremely excited. Pick Of The Litter screened on Friday January 19th, as part of Slamdance’s Special Screenings lineup. The encore screening is Tuesday January 23rd at 12:45pm.

Human Affairs (Slamdance 2018) - Movie Review

The Movie: Human Affairs

The Director: Charlie Birns

The Cast: Dominic Fumusa, Kerry Condon, David Harbour, Julie Sokolowski

The Story: This richly earnest drama follows Geneviève, a surrogate who must reckon with her ambivalence about the pregnancy and her precarious feelings for the parents-to-be.

Phantom Thread - Movie Review

The Movie: Phantom Thread

The Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

The Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville, Brian Gleeson

The Story: Set in 1950's London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.

Circus Ecuador (Slamdance 2018) - Documentary Review

The Documentary: Circus Ecuador

The Directors: Ashley Bishop, James Brassard

The Story: Circus Ecuador follows the story of two, young filmmakers as they uncover murders, aliens, land rights issues, gold smuggling operations, and human trafficking while filming the construction of a primary school for the children of an indigenous community.

Rock Steady Row (Slamdance 2018) - Movie Review

The Movie: Rock Steady Row

The Director: Trevor Stevens

The Cast: Heston Horwin, Diamond White, Logan Huffman, Allie Marie Evans, Larry Miller

The Story: Rock Steady Row centers around a young college freshman who, after his bike is stolen, lands on a college campus and is compelled to take action against the reigning fraternities and ultimately the dean.

Proud Mary - Movie Review

The Movie: Proud Mary

The Director: Babak Najafi

The Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Billy Brown, Jahi Di'Allo Winston

The Story: Mary is a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad.

Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人) - Movie Review

The Movie: Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人)

The Director: Takashi Miike (100th film)

The Cast: Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sōta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Chiaki Kuriyama, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Ichikawa Ebizō XI, Min Tanaka, Tsutomu Yamazaki

The Story: A highly skilled samurai gains unwanted immortality from an 800 year old witch after winning a legendary battle that would have otherwise been his demise. He now must protect a young girl, who reminds him of his sister that died in the same battle, on her quest for revenge.

TwoOhSix Picks - 2018 Slamdance Film Festival

Hello, everyone! This is the first edition of TwoOhSix picks for the Slamdance Film Festival presented by DGA and my first festival coverage for 2018. After digging into the roster of available films, I was very excited to see a true independent spirit embedded throughout with some really interesting and timely topics being covered across the board. Out of this big pile of awesomeness, I have compiled my list of the 10 films (narrative, documentary, and shorts) that stood out from the pack as ones I do not want to miss.

Molly's Game - Movie Review

The Movie: Molly's Game

The Director: Aaron Sorkin

The Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Brian d'Arcy James, Natalie Krill, Stephanie Herfeld

The Story: The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.

All the Money in the World - Movie Review

The Movie: All the Money in the World

The Director: Ridley Scott

The Cast: Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Romain Duris, Timothy Hutton, Charlie Plummer, Andrew Buchan, Giuseppe Bonifati, Marco Leonardi

The Story: The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.

The Battleship Island (군함도) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Battleship Island (군함도)

The Director: Ryoo Seung-wan

The Cast: Hwang Jung-min, Kim Su-an, Lee Jung-hyun, So Ji-seob, Song Joong-ki

The Story: During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island ("Hashima Island") to mine for coal, attempt to escape.

Murder on the Orient Express (2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Murder on the Orient Express

The Director: Kenneth Branagh

The Cast: Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Leslie Odom Jr., Josh Gad, Lucy Boynton, Sergei Polunin, Judi Dench, Olivia Colman

The Story: When a murder occurs on the train he's travelling on, celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case.

The Commuter - Movie Review

The Movie: The Commuter

The Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

The Cast: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson

The Story: A businessman is caught up in a criminal conspiracy during his daily commute home.

Insidious: The Last Key - Movie Review

The Movie: Insidious: The Last Key

The Director: Adam Robitel

The Cast: Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Kirk Acevedo, Caitlin Gerard, Spencer Locke, Bruce Davison, Javier Botet, Ava Kolker, Pierce Pope, Aleque Reid

The Story: Parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet - in her own family home.

Bright - Movie Review

The Movie: Bright

The Director: David Ayer (Suicide Squad)

The Cast: Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Edgar Ramírez, Lucy Fry, Veronica Ngo, Alex Meraz, Margaret Cho, Happy Anderson, Ike Barinholtz

The Story: Set in a world where fantasy creatures live side by side with humans. A human cop is forced to work with an Orc to find a weapon everyone is prepared to kill for.

2017 Recap - The Documentaries

Documentaries are great because, when done right, they are both entertaining and educational. Just like any genre, some are obviously better than others but only one can earn the title of 2017 TwoOhSix Favorite Documentary. Let's take a look and see how this year shook out.

2017 Recap - The Animated Films

So, I only watched five animated films this year which seems kind of weird but the good news is that they were all really, really good. Two of the releases were from Disney's Pixar studios, two were imported from Japan, and the other was a sequel of sorts from the Lego universe. Let's take a look and see how I have them ranked.

2017 Recap - The Horror Films

2017 was a solid year for the horror genre with several really good entries and a few not so good. Below, you will find a list of all the horror movies I saw this year broken into three categories along with the recipient of my favorite horror film of the year.

I, Tonya - Movie Review

The Movie: I, Tonya

The Director: Craig Gillespie (The Finest Hours)

The Cast: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Paul Walter Hauser, Bobby Cannavale, Caitlin Carver, Mckenna Grace

The Story: Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.

Phoenix Forgotten - Movie Review

The Movie: Phoenix Forgotten

The Director: Justin Barber

The Cast: Florence Hartigan, Luke Spencer Roberts, Chelsea Lopez, Justin Matthews

The Story: March 13 1997, lights appear over Phoenix in the "most mysterious UFO sighting ever." 3 teens went looking for the truth. They were never seen again.

Rings (2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Rings

The Director: F. Javier Gutiérrez

The Cast: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki

The Story: A young woman finds herself on the receiving end of a terrifying curse that threatens to take her life in seven days.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Movie Review

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, Justin Theroux, 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.

First They Killed My Father - Movie Review

The Movie: First They Killed My Father

The Director: Angelina Jolie

The Cast: Sareum Srey Moch, Phoeung Kompheak, Sveng Socheata,

The Story: Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung recounts the horrors she suffered as a child under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.

Okja - Movie Review

The Movie: Okja

The Director: Bong Joon-ho

The Cast: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun

The Story: Meet Mija, a young girl who risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a fascinating animal named Okja.