Annihilation - Movie Review

The Movie: Annihilation

The Director: Alex Garland

The Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, Oscar Isaac, Benedict Wong,

The Story: A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply.

Thoroughbreds - Movie Review

The Movie: Thoroughbreds

The Director: Cory Finley

The Cast: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin

The Story: Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.

Black Panther - Movie Review

The Movie: Black Panther

The Director: Ryan Coogler

The Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Latitia Wright, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis, Florence Kasumba, John Kani

The Story: T'Challa, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.

The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Movie: The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Director: Johannes Roberts

The Cast: Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson, Lewis Pullman

The Story: There wasn't one.

The Hurricane Heist - Movie Review

The Movie: The Hurricane Heist

The Director: Rob Cohen

The Cast: Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten, Ralph Ineson, Melissa Bolona, Ben Cross,

The Story: Thieves attempt a massive heist against the U.S. Treasury as a Category 5 hurricane approaches one of its Mint facilities.

White Sun - Movie Review

The Movie: White Sun

The Director: Deepak Rauniyar

The Cast: Dayahang Rai, Asha Maya Magrati, Rabindra Singh Baniya, Sumi Malla

The Story: Anti-regime partisan Chandra confronts physical, social and political obstacles for his father's funeral. His search for a solution takes him to neighboring mountain villages and encounters with the police and rebel guerrillas. A portrait of post-civil war Nepal during the fragile deadlocked peace process.

2017 Recap - The Movies

Another year in the books and another top 10 list has been completed. It's always interesting to look back over an entire year of films and trying to create some sort of order to the chaos. Throw in the fact that I reviewed more movies this year than any of the previous six years(140!) and making decisions on which ones would make the list was tougher than ever. I hope you have a chance to see all of the movies I have mentioned in this recap, they are each special to me in their own way.

2017 Recap - The Performances

In 2017, I watched more movies than I ever have in a single year which means there are tons of actors and actresses I could choose from to make this list. The most important things to me in my decision making process was how memorable and how affecting the performances were. You may not have heard of some of the people or the movies they are in because they are from film festivals or limited releases so I am hoping u have a chance to see them at some point.

2017 Recap - The Film Festivals

2017 was a big year for TwoOhSix.com as I was able to provide coverage for four different film festivals including a total of 50 movies watched and four interviews conducted. As we gear up for what lies ahead in 2018, let's take a look back at all of those awesome memories including a list of my favorite movies from all of last year's film festivals.

Maineland - Documentary Review

The Documentary: Maineland

The Director: Miao Wang

The Story: Filmed over three years in China and the U.S., Maineland is a multi-layered coming-of-age tale that follows two Chinese teenagers from the wealthy elite, with big American dreams, settle into a boarding school in small-town Maine.

Death Wish (2018) - Movie Review

The Movie: Death Wish

The Director: Eli Roth

The Cast: Bruce Willis, Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Camilla Morrone, Dean Norris, Beau Knapp, Kimberly Elise

The Story: A family man becomes a vigilante killing machine when his family is violently attacked by robbers.

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.