1986 - 2020 Slamdance Movie Review

The Movie: 1986

The Director: Lothar Herzog

The Cast: Aleksey Filimonov, Khelga Filippova, Vitaliy Kotovitskiy

The Story: Elena is a student in Minsk, Belarus. When her father is arrested, she has to continue his illegal business.

The Rhythm Section - 2020 Movie Review

The Movie: The Rhythm Section

The Director: Reed Morano

The Cast: Blake Lively, Jude Law, Sterling K. Brown,

The Story: A woman seeks revenge against those who orchestrated a plane crash that killed her family.

Sanzaru - 2020 Slamdance Movie Review

The Movie: Sanzaru

The Director: Xia Magnus

The Cast: Aina Dumlao, Justin Arnold, Jayne Taini, Jon Viktor Corpuz

The Story: As dementia engulfs her employer, a fragile home health aide begins to question her own sanity.

The Wind: A Documentary Thriller - 2020 Slamdance Documentary Review

The Documentary: The Wind: A Documentary Thriller

The Director: Michal Bielawski

The Story: The halny wind is the most unpredictable element in the Polish mountains. It comes in cycles, in every spring and autumn. One never knows if or when it turns into a destructive gale.

Beware of Dog - 2020 Slamdance Movie Review

The Movie: Beware of Dog

The Director: Nadia Bedzhanova

The Cast: Marina Vasileva, Buddy Duress, Paula Knüpling, Marina Prados, Kevin Iso, Pavel Tabakov

The Story: Three dramatic tales of people dealing with mental health interwoven in a way that shows how we are all the same in both our struggles and our triumphs.

Shoot to Marry - 2020 Slamdance Documentary Review

The Documentary: Shoot to Marry

The Director: Steve Markle

The Story: A heartbroken documentary filmmaker focuses his camera on interesting women with hopes of meeting the love of his life.

Jasper Mall - 2020 Slamdance Documentary Review

The Documentary: Jasper Mall

The Director: Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb

The Story: A year in the life of a dying shopping mall.

Troop Zero - Movie Review

The Movie: Troop Zero

The Director: Katie Ellwood and Amber Templemore-Finlayson

The Cast: Mckenna Grace, Viola Davis, Jim Gaffigan

The Story: In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl dreams of life in outer space. When a competition offers her a chance to be recorded on NASA's Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troop of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime.

Color Out of Space - Movie Review

The Movie: Color Out of Space

The Director: Richard Stanley

The Cast: Nicolas Cage, Q'orianka Kilcher, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Tommy Chong, Julian Hilliard, Elliot Knight, Brendan Meyer, Melissa Nearman

The Story: A town is struck by a meteorite and the fallout is catastrophic.

TwoOhSix Picks - 2020 Slamdance Film Festival

The Slamdance Film Festival always features a fresh and original slate of programming making it the perfect way to kick off the new year. After digging into the roster of available films, I was very excited to once again see a true independent spirit embedded throughout making it no easy task to compile my list of the 10 films that stood out from the pack as this year's "TwoOhSix Picks."

Bad Boys for Life - Movie Review

The Movie: Bad Boys for Life

The Directors: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah

The Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Paola Nuñezm, Alexander Ludwig, Vanessa Hudgens, Joe Pantoliano, Charles Melton, Kate del Castillo,

The Story: The Bad Boys Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are back together for one last ride in the highly anticipated Bad Boys for Life.

Ashfall / 백두산 - Movie Review

The Movie: Ashfall / 백두산

The Director: Lee Hae-jun, Kim Byung-seo

The Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Ha Jung-woo, Ma Dong-seok, Suzy aka Bae Su-ji, Jeon Hye-jin

The Story: Stagnant since 1903, at an elevation of 2,744 m, a volcano erupts on the mythical and majestic Baekdu Mountain.

Just Mercy - Movie Review

The Movie: Just Mercy

The Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

The Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Rafe Spall, Tim Blake Nelson, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Rob Morgan, Darrell Britt-Gibson

The Story: World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.

Underwater - Movie Review

The Movie: Underwater

The Director: William Eubank

The Cast: Kristen Stewart, T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick, Vincent Cassel, John Gallagher Jr., Mamoudou Athie, Gunner Wright

The Story: A crew of aquatic researchers work to get to safety after an earthquake devastates their subterranean laboratory.

Like a Boss - Movie Review

The Movie: Like a Boss

The Director: Miguel Arteta

The Cast: Rose Byrne, Tiffany Haddish, Salma Hayek

The Story: Two friends with very different ideals start a beauty company together. One is more practical while the other wants to earn her fortune and live a lavish lifestyle.

2019 Recap - Favorite Films and Performances

2019 has been a very interesting year for the TwoOhSix having watched and reviewed more movies than ever before (210), going global with film festival coverage including virtual stops in Toronto and the UK, joining the prestigious ranks of the Seattle Film Critics Society, earning a press credential from Allied Global Marketing, and debuting the The TwoOhSix podcast that will be reloaded and relaunched in 2020.

Before we move into the new year, it's time to recap what we saw this year and create lists of our favorite films and performances. For those of you that know me or have followed my website over the years, you know that my favorite lists are usually quite different from the typical lists, nominees, and winners of awards season accolades so be prepared for a few unexpected films to either be included or excluded from my lists and of course, have fun exploring my perspective on a year's worth of cinema.

Ip Man 4: The Finale - Movie Review

The Movie: Ip Man 4: The Finale

The Director: Wilson Yip

The Cast: Donnie Yen, Kwok-Kwan Chan, Scott Adkins,

The Story: The Kung Fu master travels to the U.S. where his student has upset the local martial arts community by opening a Wing Chun school.

Black Christmas (2019) - Movie Review

The Movie: Black Christmas

The Director: Sophia Takal

The Cast: Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O'Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, Cary Elwes, Simon Mead, Madeleine Adams

The Story: A group of female students are stalked by a stranger during their Christmas break.

Queen & Slim - Movie Review

The Movie: Queen & Slim

The Director: Melina Matsoukas

The Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine

The Story: A couple's first date takes an unexpected turn when a police officer pulls them over.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Movie Review

The Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The Director: J.J. Abrams

The Cast: Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Ian McDiarmid, Kelly Marie Tran, Billy Dee Williams, Joonas Suotamo, Lupita Nyong'o, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Greg Grunberg, Richard E. Grant

The Story: The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.

2019 Seattle Film Critics Society Awards

The has been a banner year for The TwoOhSix with a record number of movies watched and reviews posted, global expansion of film festival coverage, and all of it capped off by being accepted into the Seattle Film Critics Society. One of the duties as a member of the SFCS is to participate in voting for the year end awards which have now officially been posted for everyone to see.

1917 - Movie Review

The Movie: 1917

The Director: Sam Mendes

The Cast: Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Andrew Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Adrian Scarborough, Daniel Mays, John Hollingworth, Richard McCabe

The Story: Two young British privates during the First World War are given an impossible mission: deliver a message deep in enemy territory that will stop 1,600 men, and one of the soldier's brothers, from walking straight into a deadly trap.

The Irishman - Movie Review

The Movie: The Irishman

The Director: Martin Scorsese

The Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci

The Story: A mob hitman recalls his possible involvement with the slaying of Jimmy Hoffa.

Bombshell - Movie Review

The Movie: Bombshell

The Director: Jay Roach

The Cast: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Kate McKinnon, Mark Duplass, Allison Janney, John Lithgow, Malcolm McDowell, Rob Delaney

The Story: A group of women decide to take on Fox News head Roger Ailes and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network.

Dolemite is My Name - Movie Review

The Movie: Dolemite Is My Name

The Director: Craig Brewer

The Cast: Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Wesley Snipes, Craig Robinson, Titus Burgess, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Snoop Dogg, Ron Cephas Jones, T.I., Luenell, Tasha Smith, Chris Rock

The Story: Eddie Murphy portrays real-life legend Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer who proved naysayers wrong when his hilarious, obscene, kung-fu fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a 1970s Blaxploitation phenomenon.

Apollo 11 - Documentary Review

The Documentary: Apollo 11

The Director: Todd Douglas Miller

The Story: A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

Honeyland - Documentary Review

The Documentary: Honeyland

The Directors: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov

The Story: The last female bee-hunter in Europe must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland, when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood.

Jumanji: The Next Level - Movie Review

The Movie: Jumanji: The Next Level

The Director: Jake Kasdan

The Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Danny Glover, Danny DeVito, Awkwafina, Nick Jonas, Madison Iseman, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, Rhys Darby, Rory McCann

The Story: The gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to rescue one of their own, the players will have to brave parts unknown from arid deserts to snowy mountains, to escape the world's most dangerous game.

2019 Seattle Film Critics Society Awards Nominations

Even though I am nine years into this movie critic thing, this has been my first year as a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society which means I had the honor and privilege of participating in the year end awards nominations process. Over the course of 2019, I have watched and reviewed more movies than ever before so it was quite a task going through all of it to find the best of the best.

Take a look below for the official SFCS press release that contains all the information you could ever want about this year's nominees and stay tuned for the winners to be announced on Monday, December 16th via the SFCS Twitter page (@seattlecritics).

Uncut Gems - Movie Review

The Movie: Uncut Gems

The Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie

The Cast: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett

The Story: A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score, makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime.

Marriage Story - Movie Review

The Movie: Marriage Story

The Director: Noah Baumbach

The Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Merritt Wever, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, Alan Alda, Wallace Shawn, Julie Hagerty, Mark O'Brien, Kyle Bornheimer, Brook Bloom, Azhy Robertson

The Story: Noah Baumbach's incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.

No Time to Die Character Posters

The new James Bond movie, No Time to Die, is on it's way and now we have some character posters to give us a glimpse at who we will be seeing in the new movie. After you are done gazing at these glorious posters, take a look at the teaser trailer for the teaser trailer.

Black Widow Trailer Debut

The first teaser trailer for Marvel's Black Widow movie was released today. This officially kicks off the marketing campaign for the movie and the beginning of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Scarlett Johansson looks better than ever in the role and the cast of characters including Florence Pugh looks super fun. Definitely looking forward to this one.

Waves - Movie Review

The Movie: Waves

The Director: Trey Edward Shults

The Cast: Taylor Russell, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Alexa Demie, Sterling K. Brown, Lucas Hedges

The Story: Traces the journey of a suburban family - led by a well-intentioned but domineering father - as they navigate love, forgiveness, and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.

Arctic - Movie Review

The Movie: Arctic

The Director: Joe Penna

The Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Maria Thelma Smáradóttir, Tintrinai Thikhasuk

The Story: A man stranded in the Arctic after a plane crash must decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his makeshift camp or to embark on a deadly trek through the unknown.

I Lost My Body - Movie Review

The Movie: I Lost My Body

The Director: Jérémy Clapin

The Cast: Hakim Faris, Victoire Du Bois, Patrick d'Assumçao, Hichem Mesbah, Myriam Loucif, Bellamine Abdelmalek

The Story: A story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.

Little Women (2019) - Movie Review

The Movie: Little Women

The Director: Greta Gerwig

The Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep, Louis Garrel

The Story: Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Us - Movie Review

The Movie: Us

The Director: Jordan Peele

The Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop

The Story: A family's serene beach vacation turns to chaos when their doppelgängers appear and begin to terrorize them.

Weathering with You 『天気の子』 - 2019 Hawaii International Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: Weathering with You 『天気の子』

The Director: Makoto Shinkai

The Cast: Kotaro Daigo, Nana Mori, Kentaro Araki, Chieko Baishô and Kana Hanazawa

The Story: A high-school boy who has run away to Tokyo befriends a girl who appears to be able to manipulate the weather.

The Fable / ザ・ファブル - 2019 Hawaii International Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: The Fable / ザ・ファブル

The Director: Kan Eguchi

The Cast: Jun'ichi Okada, Fumino Kimura, Koichi Sato, Mizuki Yamamoto, Ryo Kimura

The Story: An legendary assassin from Tokyo is forced to live as a normal person in Osaka for one year without killing anyone.

Mina-Anud - 2019 Hawaii International Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: Mina-Anud

The Director: Kerwin Go

The Cast: Dennis Trillo, Jerald Napoles, Matteo Guidicelli, Alvin Anson and Mara Lopez

The Story: Paradise is upturned when 3 tons of cocaine wash up on the peaceful shores of a fishing village. Two local surfers must decide if the lure of a richer tomorrow is really worth risking family and freedom.