Film Review: “In the Summers”

Contemplative film captures joy, pain of growing up

Vicente (René Pérez Jogla) has fun with his two daughters, Violeta (Dreya Renae Castillo, l,) and Eva (Luciana Quinonez).

That In the Summers is being widely released today, just at the start of fall, as long summer days become distant memories, is appropriate. The film is a quietly moving, often profound meditation on the passage of time and the peculiar way it seems to move in slow motion for children, whose awakening to the imperfections of their parents can take years. Colombian-American filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s remarkable first feature-length film earned her both the Grand Jury Prize and the dramatic directing award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. More awards are sure to come for this affecting, unforgettable film, which is one of the year’s best.

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Film Feature: Preview #1 of the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival

The 47th Mill Valley Film Festival will take place Oct 3 – Oct 13, 2024, with screenings at theaters across the North and East Bay.

For a full view of special awards, spotlights, and centerpiece films, check out the complete festival guide. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Below is a preview of the festival, featuring brief looks at six films:

1.) MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE
(USA, 2023. 101 min.)

Writer/Director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’s feature debut is an emotional and thoughtfully comical story about family and the debilitating effects of PTSD. The stellar cast is led by Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery) and Natalie Morales (Parks & Rec) and supported by silver screen legends Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. My Dead Friend Zoe was inspired by Hausmann-Stoke’s army experience in Iraq, and he has infused his film with charm, humor, and heartbreak to tell a timely story about the epidemic of suffering among US Military veterans after returning home.

Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., Oct. 5th, 7:00pm at the CinéArts Sequoia
– Sun., Oct. 6th, 11:30am at the CinéArts Sequoia

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Film Review: “The Substance”

Bonkers film skewers Hollywood’s obsession with youth and beauty

Elisabeth (Demi Moore) picks up a special package at a mysterious location.

Anyone who thinks Hollywood has no original stories left should immediately go see The Substance. It’s one of the most unique, startling, and unforgettable films you’ll see this year. It also happens to be one of the most insane, visceral, and downright gory pictures in recent memory, so if you’re at all squeamish, this movie isn’t the best choice for your Friday night cinema outing.

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Film Review: “Transformers One”

Transformers One relaunches the franchise with high-octane action and surprising emotion

Good franchise reboots are easy to remember: Batman Begins, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Casino Royale, just to name a few. When a lucrative intellectual property gets tiresome or outdated, it’s common for the owners to seek a fresh take on popular characters to spark a new film or TV series (yes, ultimately to make money). After seven live-action films starting in 2007, with an uneven mixture of fun but mostly embarrassing results, the Transformers franchise is rebooting with Transformers One, an attempt to reset the cinematic dial on Hasbro’s iconic brand with animated pizzazz. Transformers One is the first CG-animated Transformers film, featuring an A-list voice cast and a surprisingly strong emotional core. It sets a fun and exciting tone for the series to build on moving forward. Continue reading “Film Review: “Transformers One””

Film Review: “Winner”

Entertaining whistleblower story offers strong performances, few insights

NSA contractor Reality Winner (Emilia Jones) makes a crucial decision as she leaves work for the day.

Whether you think she’s a traitor or a hero, you can’t argue that Reality Winner’s story is the stuff of Hollywood screenplays. Last year HBO premiered Reality, a docudrama based on a 2022 play that featured actual dialogue from FBI transcripts. Now Winner, a fictionalized, far less serious but no less entertaining take on the young woman’s story drops on streaming services. The picture may be a bit too blithe for its own good, but if you’re at all fascinated by Winner–and it’s hard not to be–you should give it a watch.

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Film Review: “Between the Temples”

Schwartzman and Kane are a winning combo in thoughtful, appealing film

Cantor Ben (Jason Schwartzman) and bat mitzvah student Carla (Carol Kane) form an unlikely friendship.

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival concluded a few weeks ago, but lucky for you its Centerpiece Narrative film opens widely today. While Between the Temples is without a doubt thematically very Jewish, it’s also very universal. Audiences of all stripes will find moments of humor, grace, and wisdom in this charming film.

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Film Review: “Blink Twice”

Kravitz’s directorial debut is a messy but impressive comic thriller

Let’s get this out of the way – Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice, very closely recalls a similar directorial debut from 2017, Jordan Peele’s Get Out. “It’s Get Out, but for women,” would be an apt headline. This comparison should be considered a compliment, even if it oversaturates the public discourse about the film. All of this shouldn’t take away from Kravitz’s stylish, thrilling, sometimes messy, but thoroughly entertaining thriller. Blink Twice is an imperfect concoction of thrills, laughs, and sinister themes.  Continue reading “Film Review: “Blink Twice””

Film Review: “Sugarcane”

Sugarcane depicts the importance of breaking a generational cycle of trauma and exposing the truth

If you’re unfamiliar with “Indian residential schools,” which were boarding schools run by the Catholic church for Indigenous children in Canada and the United States, their existence marks a horrific chapter in North American history with repercussions still being felt (and investigated) to this day. Sugarcane is a new documentary by co-directors Emily Kassie and Julian Brave Noisecat that brings us into the emotional fold of these repercussions. Sugarcane shines a specific spotlight on the Canadian residential school system and the traumatic impact they’ve had on generations of Indigenous families. It’s a troubling and devastating documentary, but all the more important viewing for the strength and resilience it represents. Continue reading “Film Review: “Sugarcane””

Film Review: “Twisters”

Powell’s charm almost saves lackluster Twister follow up 

Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Tyler (Glen Powell, middle) and Javi (Anthony Ramos) survey the weather.

Director Lee Isaac Chung, who garnered well deserved attention and a Best Director Oscar nomination for his affecting indie family drama Minari back in 2020, tries his hand at a big summer blockbuster with Twisters, a sequel of sorts to Twister, the box-office success that opened way back in 1996. Lee should stick to indie fare. Twisters is at best a serviceable piece of entertainment, and, at worst, an uninspired and unimaginative virtual reboot of the original.

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Film Review: “Touch”

Wistful love story deftly captures the ephemeral nature of time

Miko (Kôki)) and Kristófer (Palmi Kormákur) fall in love after meeting at her father’s restaurant.

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, known for his edge-of-your seat survival adventure pictures like Everest and Adrift, might not be the first name you’d think of to adapt a romantic mystery for the big screen. But with Touch, his adaptation of fellow Icelander Olaf Olasson’s 2022 novel of the same name, Kormákur proves he’s just as skilled at plumbing the depths of the human heart as he is the drive of the human spirit.

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