Monthly Archives: April 2015

Editorial, Feature, Film, Film Features, StbS Column

Best of the Chicago Latino Film Festival & Interviews

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Excerpt: The Chicago Latino Film Festival (CLFF) has come and gone again this year, but it has left a lasting impression. Even at its 31st year, it is still as strong as ever, bringing together films from around the world (and a few from here at home) that we would have otherwise missed out on. With over 120 films and shorts, there was a little bit for everyone, and each film is a masterpiece all its own. That being said, like the audience who voted, I also had my pick of favorites for the festival. It should be noted that CLFF is not a competitive festival, but it does  allow the audience to cast their vote on their favorite films in order to win the Audience Choice Award. The 31stChicago Latino Film Festival Audience Choice Award winners are:

To read my full article and listen to my interviews, go to The Young Folks!

Feature, Television, TV Features, TV Reviews

Netflix’s Daredevil: Season One Review

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Excerpt: Final Thoughts: I can say with absolute confidence that this show is the epitome of all comic book shows. This will now be the standard every DCU or MCU show should be based on. There is a perfect mix of action and vulnerability, along with great development of the heroes back-story. It goes one step further and also develops the often overlooked villain, giving Kingpin depth and dimension, which only makes him just that much more terrifying. If this is a glimpse at what is to come with the Marvel/Netflix television universe, than DC has something to be afraid of.

To read my full, episode by episode review, go to PopJunk!

Feature, Film, Film Reviews

Review: “Little Boy” Is A Tall, Twisted Tale

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Excerpt: The film is full of strained sweet moments and tactless tenderness. The crisp, vibrancy of the cinematography gives the film less of a humble Leave It To Beaver feel and more of comic book universe tint. It makes the film nice to look at, but without a competent story, you’re better off looking at a still life. With perhaps the exception of Kevin James (who plays the city’s doctor), the rest of the cast does an adequate job at their roles. Jakob is able to play up Pepper’s adorable, childlike naiveté to completion, but any good impressions he may have made are squandered when the film ties in his nickname to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and everyone in the film praises him for that coincidence. Also, it might just be a 1940’s cultural disconnect, or the term no longer has any negative meaning for my generation, but any dramatic effect that was supposed to be created when all the other children call Pepper “little boy” falls completely flat. Why? Because he is, in fact, a little boy like all the other little boys calling him that.

RATING: ★★(2/10 stars)

To read my full review, go to The Young Folks!

Feature, Film, Film Reviews

Review: “The Water Diviner” Digs Its Own Watery Grave

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Excerpt: The story might be about war, but the true battle pits Russell Crowe “the actor” against Russell Crowe “the director”. Russell Crowe, the actor, we know too well. He is always a powerful presence and delivers a strong, scene-stealing performance, even if he is forced to sing (not in this film though). Crowe, the actor, is one of the few assets The Water Diviner, and it uses his tender/tough guy persona and signature pensive-stare-into-oblivion gaze. Russell Crowe the director is new to the scene, but you can tell he has picked up some cinematic tricks from his acting alter ego. Unfortunately, all of the techniques he employed have been overused–even in films he’s starred in, but some techniques were just completely misused.

RATING: ★★★★(4/10 stars)

Read my full review at The Young Folks!

Feature, Film, Film Reviews

Review: “True Story” Could Have Used Some Fiction

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Excerpt: The only reason that I can attribute this film’s cinematic failure to is that perhaps it was a little too true for it’s own good. Normally I would applaud this, but sticking to the exact sequence of events was a great detriment to this film. The potentially great performances by the cast remained untapped because the story’s narrative never rose to the emotional heights that the subject matter demanded. Usually, when murder (especially multiple child murders) is involved in court cases, people are the opposite of placid. The mostly even-tempered nature of the characters seemed out of place for everyone except Franco, whose character called for it, being a sociopath and all.

RATING: ★★★(3/10 stars)

Read my full review at The Young Folks!

Feature, Film, Film Reviews

Review: You’ll Want to Disconnect Everything After “Unfriended”

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Excerpt: Unfriended uses its subtle development of suspense to create genuine, well-earned scares, even if there are only a few. As a byproduct, this film serves as an effective anti-bullying PSA and as a means to connect with most of the audience through the use of all of the popular social media outlets. All except Twitter, but that is probably because ghosts aren’t fond of the 140 character limit.

RATING: ★★★★★★(6/10 stars)

To read my full review, go to The Young Folks

 

Feature, Film, Film Reviews

Review: “Clouds of Sils Maria” Floats Above Itself

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Excerpt: We don’t always notice the specific changes we go through, whether they’re physical, emotional, or even metaphysical. Cloud of Sils Maria takes a look at all of the past stages of Maria’s life, like ghosts coming back to haunt her on the eve of her transition. This metatheater film uses beautiful, natural scenery to parallel how natural change is, even if you try to rage against it. With inspired performances for three powerhouse females, this film shows us that no matter at what age, a great performance is timeless.

RATING: ★★★★★★★★★(9/10 stars)

To read my full review, go to The Young Folks

Feature, Film, Film Reviews

Review: “Kill Me Three Times” is Tedious Overkill

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Excerpt: This film is full of missed opportunities, regrets, and bad decisions, and I’m not just talking about the characters in this half-cocked story. The story suffers from a conflux of narratives, each unstably stacking on top of each other until you get a tiered wreck. The entire cast is squandered as they endeavor to go through the motions and make it through this banal calamity. Even the genres seemed muddled, trying to be a mystery and suspense film, by being too predictable to keep up with any intrigue or uncertainty. The odd part is that this film feels like it’s courting comedy, but never really lands any punchlines. Which is a shame really, because if the film had gone all out assassin spoof, it would have faired better, especially where some of the cast is concerned.

RATING: ★★(2/10 stars)

To read my full review, go to The Young Folks

Feature, Film, Film Reviews

Review: “Desert Dancer” Is Rythmic, But Predictable

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Excerpt: Desert Dancer has beauty and truth in it, but it lies exclusively in the chemistry between the two leads and the stylized dancing. That said, these instances were too few in a film that could have greatly benefited from being an entire interpretative dance performance. The story of freedom from oppression and freedom of expression in Iran is a somber and ruthless one, but you’d never know the true extent of it by seeing this film.

RATING: ★★★★(4/10 stars)

To read my full review, go to The Young Folks

Feature, Film, Film Reviews

Review: “White God” Has Both Bark and Bite

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Excerpt: White God has all the moralistic themes and allegorical elements to make the film evergreen when applied to almost any social, political or socio-economic conflict. The quality of the canine choreography and acting is beyond reproach, even when compared to the skillful performances on the human side. An added side effect of this film is that you will want to go immediately home and give that special pet in your life a big treat. Maybe even invest in a jugular guard or two.

RATING: ★★★★★★★★★(9/10 stars)

To read my full review, go to The Young Folks