Coco - Movie Review

The Movie: Coco

The Directors: Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina

The Cast:  Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Edward James Olmos, John Ratzenberger

The Story: Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to work out the mystery.

Wonder - Movie Review

The Movie: Wonder

The Director: Stephen Chbosky

The Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin, Noah Jupe, Bryce Gheisar, Elle McKinnon, Daveed Diggs, Millie Davis, Ali Liebert, Danielle Rose Russell

The Story: Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

Justice League - Movie Review

The Movie: Justice League

The Director: Zack Snyder

The Cast: Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Ciarán Hinds, Amber Heard, Joe Morton

The Story: DC Comics super heroes band together to save the planet from certain destruction.

2017 Hawaii International Film Festival Recap

While I wasn't able to attend the 2017 Hawaii International Film Festival, I was able to check out a few of the films and what I saw was pretty darn good. The festival took place at several different venues and featured a very diverse schedule filled with feature films, short films, documentaries, and special events all of which were in some way connected to regions around the Pacific Rim.

Zan (HIFF 2017) - Documenatry Review

The Documentary: Zan

The Director: Rick Grehan

The Story: This film follows imageMILL’s Yu Kisami as he brings us on a journey of discovery, aided by NGO NACJS. We meet the people who are working tirelessly to protect this beautiful part of the world, a natural heritage for Japan.

Mon Mon Mon Monsters (報告老師! 怪怪怪怪物!) (HIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Mon Mon Mon Monsters (報告老師! 怪怪怪怪物!)

The Director: Giddens Ko

The Cast: James Lai, Meng Tao, Yu-Kai Deng, Kent Tsai, Eugenie Liu

The Story: A man-eating monster hunts down a group of high school bullies who have captured and are torturing her little sister.

Lady Bird (HIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Lady Bird

The Director: Greta Gerwig

The Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lois Smith, Odeya Rush

The Story: The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year.

Bad Genius (ฉลาดเกมส์โกง) (HIFF 2017) - Movie Review

The Movie: Bad Genius (ฉลาดเกมส์โกง)

The Director: Nattawut Poonpiriya

The Cast: Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Chanon Santinatornkul, Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Eisaya Hosuwan

The Story: Inspired by actual events, a group of high school students hatch a plan to profit off of their brains by selling the answers to standardized exams.

2017 Portland Film Festival Recap

The 2017 Portland Film Festival has come and gone and, from everything I've seen, heard, and read, it was yet another smashing success! I am very happy to have once again had the opportunity to see a few of the films that were presented during the festival and have collected my reviews here for easy access. You will also find a list of films that took home awards from this year's festival as well as my own "Festival Favorite" pick for this year.

Fake Blood (PDXFF 2017) - Movie Review

Movie Review: Fake Blood

Director: Rob Grant

The Story: Rob Grant and Mike Kovac receive a disturbing fan video inspired by their previous horror movie Mon Ami, motivating them to investigate the responsibility of filmmakers in portraying violence in movies. In their pursuit of the truth they are unwittingly introduced to the real world of violent criminals and their victims.