Bad Hair - Movie Review

The Movie: Bad Hair

The Director: Justin Simien

The Cast: Elle Lorraine, Vanessa Williams, Lena Waithe, Laverne Cox, Jay Pharoa, Kelly Rowland, Blair Underwood, James Van Der Beek, Usher Raymond 

The Story: In 1989 an ambitious young woman gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career may come at a great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.

Synchronic - Movie Review

The Movie: Synchronic

The Directors: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

The Cast: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Katie Aselton, Ally IIoannides

The Story: Two New Orleans paramedics' lives are ripped apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - Movie Review

The Movie: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

The Director: Jason Woliner

The Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Irina Novak, Luenell 

The Story: Follow-up film to the 2006 comedy centering on the real-life adventures of a fictional Kazakh television journalist named Borat.

On the Rocks - Movie Review

The Movie: On the Rocks

The Director: Sofia Coppola

The Cast: Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, Marlon Wayans, Jenny Slate, 

The Story: A young mother reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York.

A Ghost Waits - Movie Review

The Movie: A Ghost Waits

The Director: Adam Stovall

The Cast: MacLeod Andrews, Natalie Walker, Sydney Vollmer, Amanda Miller

The Story: Jack's job is to fix up the house. Spectral agent Muriel's eternal task is to haunt it. They should be enemies, but they become fascinated by one another.

Bullets of Justice - Movie Review

The Movie: Bullets of Justice

The Director: Valeri Milev

The Cast: Danny Trejo, Timur Turisbekov, Yana Marinova, Dessy Slavova, Doroteya Toleva, Ester Chardaklieva

The Story: In the post-apocalyptic aftermath of World War 3, an army of half-human half-pig super-soldiers takes over the world.

Death of Nintendo - 2020 LAAPFF Movie Review

The Movie: Death of Nintendo

The Director: Raya Martin

The Cast: Noel Comia Jr., Agot Isidro, Moi Marcampo, John Vincent Servilla, Mailes Kanapi, Nikki Valdez, Elijah Alejo, Kim Chloe Oquendo

The Story: In the early 1990s, a teenager and his gang of friends enjoy their summer playing games as they grow up.

The Old Ways - Movie Review

The Movie: The Old Ways

The Director: Christopher Alender

The Cast: Brigitte Kali Canales, Andrea Cortés, Julia Vera, Sal Lopez, AJ Bowen

The Story: When a Mexican American reporter returns to her ancestral homeland of Veracruz chasing a story on witchcraft and faith healers, she becomes the subject of her own story.

The Interview:

The Queen of Black Magic / Ratu Ilmu Hitam - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: The Queen of Black Magic / Ratu Ilmu Hitam

The Director: Kimo Stamboel

The Cast: Ario Bayu, Hannah Al Rashid, Adhisty Zara, Ari Irham, Muzakki Ramdhan, Shenina Cinnamon, Giulio Parengkuan, Tanta Ginting, Miller Khan, Salvita Decorte, Imelda Therinne, Ade Firman Hakim, Sheila Dara Aisha, Ruth Marini, Yayu A.W. Unru, Putri Ayudya, Gisellma Firmansyah

The Story: An orphanage is home to some pretty dark secrets and, when former residents make a return visit, a reckoning of sorts begins to take shape.

 

In Case of Emergency - Documentary Review

The Documentary: In Case of Emergency

The Director: Carolyn Jones

The Story: Follows emergency nurses and their patients in seven unique settings across the U.S from urban to rural, shedding light on some of the biggest health care crises facing Americans today.

A Thousand Cuts - 2020 LAAPFF Documentary Review

The Documentary: A Thousand Cuts

The Director: Ramona S. Diaz

The Story: A look at how Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte uses social media to spread disinformation.

The Mortuary Collection - Movie Review

The Movie: The Mortuary Collection

The Director: Ryan Spindell

The Cast: Clancy Brown, Christine Kilmer, Caitlin Fisher, Jacob Elordi, Barak Hardley, Sarah Hey 

The Movie: On the cusp of retirement, an eccentric mortician recounts several of the strangest stories he's encountered in his long career, but things take a turn for the phantasmagorical when he learns that the final story - is his own.

Finding YingYing - 2020 LAAPFF Documentary Review

The Movie: Finding YingYing

The Director: Jiayan 'Jenny' Shi

The Story: After a young Chinese student goes missing on an American university campus, her family travels to the U.S. for the first time, hoping to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.

TwoOhSix Podcast - S02/E06 - New Directions in Film with Van Ditthavong

Welcome to New Directions in Film, a TwoOhSix Podcast Series.

Season 02, Episode 06 featuring director Van Ditthavong

Evil Eye - Movie Review

The Movie: Evil Eye

The Directors: Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani

The Cast: Sarita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, Omar Maskati, and Bernard White

The Story: A superstitious mother is convinced that her daughter's new boyfriend is the reincarnation of a man who tried to kill her 30 years ago.

Nocturne - Movie Review

The Movie: Nocturne

The Director: Zu Quirke 

The Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Madison Iseman, Jacques Colimon, Ivan Shaw

The Story: An incredibly gifted pianist makes a Faustian bargain to overtake her older sister at a prestigious institution for classical musicians.

An Unquiet Grave - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: An Unquiet Grave

The Director: Terence Krey

The Cast: Jacob A. Ware, Christine Nyland

The Story: A year after the death of his wife, a man enlists her sister to help him bring her back.

Dinner in America - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: Dinner in America

The Director: Adam Rehmeier

The Cast: Kyle Gallner, Emily Skeggs, Griffin Gluck, Pat Healy, Mary Lynn Rajskub, David Yow, Hannah Marks, Nick Chinlund, Lea Thompson

The Story: An on-the-lam punk rocker and a young woman obsessed with his band unexpectedly fall in love and go on an epic journey together through America's decaying Midwestern suburbs.

Anything for Jackson - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: Anything for Jackson

The Director: Justin G. Dyck

The Cast: Sheila McCarthy, Julian Richings, Konstantina Mantelos, Josh Cruddas, Yannick Bisson

The Story: A bereaved Satanist couple kidnap a pregnant woman so they can use an ancient spellbook to put their dead grandson's spirit into her unborn child but end up summoning more than they bargained for.

Bloody Hell - 2020 Nightstream Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: Bloody Hell

The Director: Alister Grierson

The Cast: Ben O'Toole, Caroline Craig, Matthew Sunderland, Travis Jeffery, Jack Finsterer, Meg Fraser, Ashlee Lollback

The Story: A man with a mysterious past flees the country to escape his own personal hell - only to arrive somewhere much, much worse.

The War with Grandpa - Movie Review

The Movie: The War with Grandpa

The Director: Tim Hill

The Cast: Oakes Fegley, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Cheech Marin, Laura Marano, Jane Seymour

The Story: Upset that he has to share the room he loves with his grandfather, Peter decides to declare war in an attempt to get it back.

Spontaneous - Movie Review

The Movie: Spontaneous

The Director: Brian Duffield

The Cast: Katherine Langford, Charlie Plummer, Hayley Law, Piper Perabo, Rob Huebel, Yvonne Orji.

The Story: Get ready for the outrageous coming-of-age love story about growing up...and blowing up. When students in their school begin exploding (literally), seniors Mara and Dylan struggle to survive in a world where each moment may be their last.

Yellow Rose - Movie Review and Podcast Interview

The Movie: Yellow Rose

The Director: Diane Paragas

The Cast: Eva Noblezada, Princess Punzalan, Dale Watson, Libby Villari and Lea Salonga

The Story: Rose, an undocumented 17 year old Filipina, dreams of one day leaving her small Texas town to pursue her country music dreams. Her world is shattered when her mom suddenly gets picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Verdict:

Yellow Rose is a beautiful movie that has a ton of heart, is filled with memorable songs, and features a knock out performance from Eva Noblezada. Diane Paragas' message of hope and resilience strikes right into the heart of our current political climate while taking nothing away from the experience of great cinematic storytelling.

Black Box (2020) - Movie Review

The Movie: Black Box

The Director: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour

The Cast: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Charmaine Bingwa, Troy James 

The Story: After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.

The Lie - Movie Review

The Movie: The Lie

The Director: Veena Sud

The Cast: Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard, Joey King, Cas Anvar, Devery Jacobs, Brittany

Nicholas Lea, Patti Kim

The Story: A father and daughter are on their way to dance camp when they spot the girl's best friend on the side of the road. When they stop to offer the friend a ride, their good intentions soon result in terrible consequences.

TwoOhSix Podcast - S02/E05 - New Directions in Film with So Yun Um

Welcome to New Directions in Film, a TwoOhSix Podcast Series.

Season 02, Episode 05 featuring filmmaker So Yun Um

TwoOhSix Picks - Nightstream Film Festival

The Nightstream virtual film festival will take place October 8th through the 11th and is the combined efforts of five different film festivals that have been unable to enjoy their normal festival experience due to 2020 being a big pile of poo. Everyone is hoping that film festivals will be able to resume the in person experience at some point next year although for now, we can still gather virtually to enjoy some wonderful genre films.

The Devil All the Time - Movie Review

The Movie: The Devil All the Time

The Director: Antonio Campos

The Cast: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson

The Story: Sinister characters converge around a young man devoted to protecting those he loves in a postwar backwoods town teeming with corruption and brutality.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Movie Review

The Movie: The Trial of the Chicago 7

The Director: Aaron Sorkin

The Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron Cohen, Daniel Flaherty, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch, Eddie Redmayne, Noah Robbins, Mark Rylance, Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong

The Story: The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

12 Hour Shift - Movie Review

The Movie: 12 Hour Shift

The Director: Brea Grant

The Cast: Angela Bettis, Chloe Farnworth, Nikea Gamby-Turner, David Arquette, Kit Williamson,
Mick Foley

The Story: Bodies start to pile up when a drug-user nurse and her cousin try to find a replacement kidney for an organ trafficker.

The Antenna - Movie Review

The Movie: The Antenna

The Director: Orçun Behram

The Cast: Ihsan Önal, Gül Arici, Levent Ünsal, Isil Zeynep, Murat Saglam, Elif Çakman, Mert Toprak Yadigar, Eda Özel

The Story: In a dystopian Turkey, the Government installs new networks throughout the country to monitor information. The installation goes wrong in a crumbling apartment complex and Mehmet, the building intendant, will have to confront the evil entity behind the inexplicable transmissions that threaten the residents.

TwoOhSix Podcast - S02/E04 - New Directions in Film with Nick Naveda

Welcome to New Directions in Film, a TwoOhSix Podcast Series.

Season 02, Episode 03 featuring filmmaker Nick Naveda

And here's the first half of the interview

where we discuss Words on Bathroom Walls

The Glorias - Movie Review

The Movie: The Glorias

The Director: Julie Taymor

The Cast: Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Bette Midler, Janelle Monáe, Lorraine Toussaint, Lulu Wilson, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kimberly Guerrero

The Story: The story of feminist icon Gloria Steinem's itinerant childhood's influence on her life as a writer, activist and organizer for women's rights worldwide.

The Legend of Tomiris - Movie Review

The Movie: The Legend of Tomiris

The Director: Akan Satayev

The Cast: Almira Tursyn, Aizhan Lighg, Adil Akhmetov, Erkebulan Dairov, Berik Aytzhanov, Satybaldy Azamat, Ghassan Massoud

The Story: Based on historical heroine Queen Tomiris of Massagetae and her cadre of female warriors (the real-life 6th century BCE Amazonians who inspired the mythical tales), The Legend of Tomiris recounts the tale of the nomadic ruler who overcame great personal tragedy to repel the powerful Persian empire and unite the Great Steppe. - Well Go USA

Shortcut - Movie Review

The Movie: Shortcut

The Director: Alessio Liguori

The Cast: Jack Kane, Zak Sutcliffe, Andrei Claude, Sophie Jane Oliver, Terence Anderson, Zander Emlano, Emma Giua, Molly Dew

The Story: A group of five classmates is trapped inside their school bus after a mysterious creature invades the road. Time runs and every passing minute decreases their survival chances against the constant threats of that unknown entity.

Warning: Do Not Play / 암전 - Movie Review

The Movie: Warning: Do Not Play / 암전

The Director: Kim Jin-won

The Cast: Seo Ye-ji Jin Sun-kyu Kim Mi-kyeong Narendra Singh Dhami

The Story: A struggling director makes a desperate bid to dig into the urban legend about a film shot by a ghost, at the risk of her own life.

All Roads to Pearla - Movie Review

The Movie: All Roads to Pearla

The Director: Van Ditthavong

The Cast: Alex MacNicoll, Addison Timlin, Corin Nemec, Nick Chinlund, Dash Mihok

The Story: A Texas town awakes when a high school wrestler gets entangled with a drifter and her psychopathic lover. Lives then intertwine and spiral violently out of control once he becomes her escort driver.

TwoOhSix Picks - 2020 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

It is time for the 2020 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival virtual edition and my first year covering what looks like a super fun event. The festival programmers have put together an amazing list of virtual experiences including feature films, short film programs, and several themed interactive online events and gatherings. My coverage will focus on feature films so take a look at the ones I have selected as the ones you do not want to miss.

Kajillionaire - Movie Review

The Movie: Kajillionaire

The Director: Miranda July

The Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Gina Rodriguez, Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger

The Story: A woman's life is turned upside down when her criminal parents invite an outsider to join them on a major heist they're planning.

TwoOhSix Podcast - S02/E03 - New Directions in Film with Diane Paragas

Welcome to New Directions in Film, a TwoOhSix Podcast Series.

Season 02, Episode 03 featuring filmmaker Diane Paragas

The New Mutants - Movie Review

The Movie: The New Mutants

The Director: Josh Boone

The Cast: Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga

The Story: Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.

The Nest - Movie Review

The Movie: The Nest

The Director: Sean Durkin

The Cast: Jude Law, Carrie Coon, Charlie Shotwell, Oona Roche

The Story: Life for an entrepreneur and his American family begin to take a twisted turn after moving into an English country manor.

Possessor (2020) - Movie Review

The Movie: Possessor

The Director: Brandon Cronenberg

The Cast: Christopher Abbott, Andrea Riseborough, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Bean, Rossif Sutherland, Tuppence Middleton

The Story: Possessor follows an agent who works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies - ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.