The Art of Self-Defense takes a dry comedic look at the toxic masculinity that plagues our environment today.  This is a film that blends comedic moments with unsettling realities of today’s society. After being attacked at random on the street, Casey (Jesse Eisenberg) enlists at a local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself. Jesse Eisenberg gives his best…

          Sabrina Carpenter proves she is one of Hollywood’s brightest up-and-coming actresses in The Short Story of the Long Road, a quiet little road movie about finding your place in the world. Teenage Nola (Carpenter) has grown up living out of a van with her charismatic father, Clint (Steven Ogg); two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone. She’ll need…

      Pink Wall plays like the cousin to Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine in that it is a dark, sad look a couple’s relationship told through non-linear storytelling.  It is a heartbreaking look at a reality that we all face in our life at least once. Pink Wall looks at the relationship between Leon (Jay Duplass) and Jenna (Tatiana Maslany).  The film is broken down into six scenes, with each scene being a year in the…

        Since its premier at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, Booksmart has been touted as “female Superbad“.  Now while the plots are similar (a duo of unpopular teens try to get to a party while testing their friendship) and Booksmart being just as funny – which is incredibly high praise coming from someone who thinks Superbad is an all-time comedy – the movies are incredibly different.  Booksmart isn’t “female Superbad“.  Booksmart is its own movie…

This reviewed was originally published for Vents Magazine.  Link HERE.           Aladdin is the latest Disney classic to get the live-action treatment and it is further proof that Disney is doing something right with these remakes.  This is a loud, colorful, exciting film featuring a show-stopping performance from Will Smith. Aladdin doesn’t deviate far from the original story, as good hearted street rat Aladdin (Mena Massoud) finds a magical lamp with…

          Blinded by the Light is a movie that slaps a smile on your face from frame one and won’t leave until the credits roll.  This is a fun, sweet, funny, beautiful love note to Bruce Springsteen, family, and growing up. Based on a true story, the film is set in 1987 Great Britain, where and young teen named Javed (Viveik Kalra, in his debut film role) learns to live life,…

        Cold Case Hammarskjöld is a movie that if told as a narrative you would have a hard time believe it were true.  This documentary is a masterclass in investigative journalism, showing what happens when you dig deep enough and long enough for a story. Danish director Mads Brügger and Swedish private investigator Göran Björkdahl are trying to solve the mysterious death of Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations who’s…

        Monos is the best movie I have seen at this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival.  A Lord of the Flies-esque crime drama that shows the horror of war through the eyes of teenagers. On a mountaintop that carries above the clouds in South America, eight teenagers, all wielding semi-automatics, watch over a prisoner of war.  When their camp gets ambushed and they are forced to move to the jungle, the bond between…

          Wild Rose is like a country 8 Mile by way of Glasgow.  It’s an inspirational, gritty musical about the struggles of following your dream versus the responsibilities of real life featuring one of the year’s best performances. Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is a talented, charismatic, aspiring country music singer.  Fresh out of prison and reunited with her son and daughter, all she wants is to get out of Glasgow and…

        When you are someone who seems as many movies as I do, you tend to know the path certain movies are going to go.  You let the movie play out and eventually, you can figure out what is going to happen beat for beat.  Being surprised in a movie is not something that happens as often as I would like it to, which is what makes Richard Shepard’s The Perfection so special. …