TwoOhSix Picks - 2017 Portland Film Festival

The 2017 Portland Film Festival, one of the "coolest film festivals in the world", is back with a slate of films, events, workshops, and parties that any film fan would fall in love with. After taking a look at this year's lineup, I've put together a selection of movies that have caught my attention and feature genres that I love to watch.

TwoOhSix Picks - Amplify Her at the SIFF Uptown

On Thursday, October 26th, Seattle's very own SIFF Uptown Cinema will be hosting the "Purple Carpet Tour" which features Amplify Her, a mostly local and all female made documentary, graphic novel, and animated motion comic series that explores the rise of female artists in the electronic music scene. It is a collaborative exploration of feminism within corporate culture and shows how women can thrive when creativity and passion is given an opportunity to push through industry constraints.

Award-winning filmmakers Ian MacKenzie and Nicole Sorochan 

This is going to be a fantastic multi media event that will also include an after party with an all female DJ lineup performing at Re-Bar including WALA, one of the women featured in the documentary. Tickets are available exclusively through the Eventbrite ticketing page. General admission tickets are available as well as special VIP tickets that include a copy of the ground breaking graphic novel.

Follow @thetwoohsix

Geostorm - Movie Review

The Movie: Geostorm

The Director: Dean Devlin

The Cast: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, Amr Waked, Adepero Oduye, Andy Garcia, Ed Harris, Zazie Beets

The Story: Disaster threatens the planet after weather controlling satellites are compromised.

Battle of the Sexes - Movie Review

The Movie: Battle of the Sexes

The Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

The Cast: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Natalie Morales, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Fred Armisen, Eric Christian Olson, Martha MacIsaac, Jessica McNamee, Lewis Pullman, Chris Parnell

The Story: The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.

Marshall - Movie Review

The Movie: Marshall

The Director: Reginald Hudlin

The Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Dan Stevens, Kate Hudson, Sterling K. Brown, James Cromwell, Keesha Sharp, Roger Guenveur Smith , John Magaro, Ahna O'Reilly

The Story: About a young Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.

Trailers Are Cool: Star Wars, New Mutants, Thor, Pacific Rim, Black Panther

The last couple weeks has seem some fantastic trailer releases and I can't stop watching them! Okay, so I stopped long enough to compile there here so we can all watch them continuously for hours on end. Which trailer is your favorite? Which movie are you most looking forward to?

Happy Death Day - Movie Review

The Movie: Happy Death Day

The Director: Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones)

The Cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton, Jason Bayle, Rob Mello

The Story: Mean spirited sorority girl must relive the same day over and over until she solves her own murder.

The Foreigner - Movie Review

The Movie: The Foreigner

The Director: Martin Campbell (Casino Royale)

The Cast: Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Rufus Jones, Katie Leung, Charlie Murphy, Orla Brady, Lia Williams, Michael McElhatton, David Pearse, Tao Liu, Ray Fearon, Rory Fleck Byrne

The Story: A humble businessman with a buried past seeks justice when his daughter is killed in an act of terrorism. A cat-and-mouse conflict ensues with a government official, whose past may hold clues to the killers' identities.

Blade Runner 2049 - Movie Review

The Movie: Blade Runner 2049

The Director: Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

The Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, Ana de Armas, David Dastmalchian, Jared Leto, Mackenzie Davis, Dave Bautista, Lennie James, Carla Juri

The Story: A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.

Wasted! The Story of Food Waste - Documentary Review

The Movie: Wasted! The Story of Food Waste

The Directors: Anna Chai, Nari Kye

The Story: Through the eyes of famous chefs, audiences will see how they make the most of every kind of food, transforming what most people consider scraps into incredible dishes that create a more secure food system.

American Made - Movie Review

The Movie: American Made

The Director: Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow)

The Cast: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jesse Plemons, Caleb Landry Jones, Alejandro Edda, Benito Martinez

The Story: The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.

Better Watch Out (SIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Better Watch Out

The Director: Chris Peckover

The Cast: Olivia DeJong, Levi Miller, Dacre Montgomery, Virginia Madsen, Patrick Warburton

The Story: On a quiet suburban street, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from intruders, only to discover it's far from a normal home invasion.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle - Movie Review

The Movie: Kingsman: The Golden Circle

The Director: Matthew Vaughn

The Cast: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Mark Strong, Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, Edward Holcroft, Michael Gambon, Sophie Cookson, Hanna Alström

The Story: When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, the Kingsman's journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US. These two elite secret organizations must band together to defeat a common enemy.

The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One (SIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One

The Director: Shane Abbess

The Cast: Kellan Lutz, Daniel MacPherson, Luke Ford, Isabel Lucas, Temuera Morrison, Rachel Griffiths, Teagan Croft

The Story: Set in the future in a time of interplanetary colonization, an unlikely pair race against an impending global crisis and are confronted by the monsters that live inside us all.

The Tiger Hunter - Movie Review

The Movie: The Tiger Hunter

The Director: Lena Khan

The Cast: Danny Pudi, Jon Heder, Rizwan Manji, Karen David, Sam Page, Iqbal Theba, Parvesh Cheena, Michael McMillian, Kevin Pollak

The Story: A young Indian man relocates to 1970s Chicago to become an engineer, but when his job falls through, resorts to an elaborate charade with misfit friends in order to woo his childhood sweetheart.

Walking Out (LSFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Walking Out

The Director: Alex Smith and Andrew Smith

The Cast: Matt Bomer, Lily Gladstone, Alex Neustaedter, Bill Pullman

The Story: An urban teenager journeys to Montana to hunt big game with his estranged father. Father and son struggle to connect, until a brutal encounter in the heart of the wilderness changes everything.

Zilla and Zoe (LSFF 2017, PDXFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Zilla and Zoe

The Director: Jessica Scalise

The Cast:  Greg James, Aida Valentine, Sam Kamerman, Kurt Conroyd, Mia Allen

The Story: To win the contest of her dreams, Zoe will have to turn her sister's wedding into a horror film.

Mother! - Movie Review

The Movie - Mother!

The Director: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)

The Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Brian Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson, Jovan Adepo

The Story: A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

TwoOhSix Picks - 2017 "Local Sightings" Film Festival

Northwest Film Forum's Local Sightings Film Festival is celebrating it's 20th year and 2017 promises to be the best and most innovative event yet. From September 22nd through the 30th, attendees will be able to enjoy feature films, short films, workshops, and special programs including VR content that promises to push film making into the future. The four films listed below are my can't miss picks although there is so much more going on, you'll want to check out everything the festival has to offer.

It (2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: It (2017)

2017 Favorite Horror Movie

The Director: Andy Muschietti

The Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff,

The Story: A group of bullied kids band together when a monster, taking the appearance of a clown, begins hunting children.

The Hitman's Bodyguard - Movie Review

The Movie: The Hitman's Bodyguard

The Director: Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3)

The Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayak, Elodie Yung

The Story: The world's top bodyguard gets a new client, a hit man who must testify at the International Court of Justice. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time.

The Villainess (악녀) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Villainess (악녀)

The Director: Jung Byung-gil

The Cast: Kim Ok-bin, Sung, Joon, Shin Ha-kyun, Bang Sung-jun, Kim Seo-hyung

The Story: A woman assassin leaves a trail of bodies behind her as she seeks revenge.

Second Nature - Movie Review

The Movie: Second Nature

The Director: Michael Cross

The Cast: Collette Wolfe, Sam Huntington, Carollani Sandberg, Riley Shanahan, Carolyn Cox

The Story: A woman and man compete in an unusual race for mayor when gender roles magically reverse.

Logan Lucky - Movie Review

The Movie: Logan Lucky

The Director: Steven Soderbergh

The Cast: Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, David Denman, Farrah Mackenzie

The Story: Two brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.

The Adventurers (侠盗联盟) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Adventurers (侠盗联盟)

The Director: Stephen Fung

The Cast: Andy Lau, Jean Reno, Qi Shu, Jingchu Zhang, Eric Tsang, Tony Yo-ning Yang

The Story: The world's top thieves join forces to pull off the heist of a lifetime. But when they find themselves pursued across Europe by a legendary French detective, they'll have to take their game to the next level.

2017 Cinerama 70mm Film Festival

Seattle movie buffs and cinema fans, the Cinerama 70mm Film Festival is back! This exclusive film series is always one of the biggest events of the year as it presents a truly unique theater experience. Nowhere else in the world will you be able to see a collection of films in this format presented with the technical capabilities that the Cinerama has at their disposal.

A Taxi Driver (택시 운전사) (HIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: A Taxi Driver (택시 운전사)

The Director: Jang Hoon

The Cast: Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-jin, Ryu Jun-yeol, Park Hyeok-gwon

The Story: A taxi driver from Seoul, incidentally gets involved in a German journalist's reporting of the events of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, also called the Gwangju Uprising, in 1980.

In This Corner of the World - Movie Review

The Movie: In this Corner of the World

The Director: Sunao Katabuchi

The Cast: Rena Nōnen, Megumi Han, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Natsuki Inaba, Minori Omi, Daisuke Ono

The Story: Set in Hiroshima during World War II, an eighteen-year-old girl gets married and now has to prepare food for her family despite the rationing and lack of supplies. As she struggles with the daily loss of life's amenities she still has to maintain the will to live.

Detroit - Movie Review

The Movie: Detroit

The Director: Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

The Cast: John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith, Will Poulter, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Jack Reynor, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben O'Toole, John Krasinski

The Story: A police raid in Detroit results in one of the largest race riots in United States history. The story is centered around the Algiers Motel incident, which occurred in Detroit, Michigan on July 25, 1967.

Girls Trip - Movie Review

The Movie: Girls Trip

The Director: Malcolm D. Lee (Barbershop: The Next Cut)

The Cast: Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish, Larenz Tate, Mike Colter, Kate Walsh, Kofi Siriboe, Lara Grice, Deborah Ayorinde

The Story: When four lifelong friends travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival, sisterhoods are rekindled, wild sides are rediscovered, and there's enough dancing, drinking, brawling, and romancing to make the Big Easy blush.

Dunkirk - Movie Review

The Movie: Dunkirk

The Director: Christopher Nolan

The Cast: Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, James D'Arcy, Jack Lowden, Fionn Whitehead, Aneurin Barnard, Barry Keoghan, Harry Styles

The Story: Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France are surrounded by the German army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.

TwoOhSix Interviews: Jenny Slate, Abby Quinn, and Gillian Robespierre for "Landline"

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Seattle, Gillian Robespierre, Jenny Slate, and Abby Quinn were in town to promote Landline., their new film which was featured as part of the 2017 Seattle International Film Festival's "Centerpiece Gala" event. Right before the screening, I was given a few minutes to speak with each of them and you could really tell how passionate and excited they were about this new film.