dallas international film festival 2018 recap

Although I've attended as both a ticket- and pass-holder in the past, this was my first year covering the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) with a press pass! To be perfectly honest, it's not all that different from having a regular pass. There is something cool about presenting it to the volunteers managing each theater, though, and having them mark you down as 'press'. It just sounds so official, doesn't it?

This year the festival was shorter than usual, taking up only one weekend rather than two, and relocated to a single theater. Usually they host screenings at several theaters around the city, which I preferred. I've watched movies at this year's host theater for at least 15 years now; I love it! But unfortunately the space is simply too small to accommodate large crowds of people who are expected to show up early and wait in lines for a screening. I can understand the marketing reasons for committing to one venue in the middle of a popular shopping district, but logistically it was a pain at times.

The shorter schedule meant fewer films and I'll admit that on opening night, I wasn't expecting to love many of them. Thankfully I had judged too soon and ended the festival blown away by a few of the movies I saw! I already plan to see a couple of them during their theatrical runs later this year. Speaking of which, all of the films featured below already have U.S. distributors! Which means they'll at least see a limited theatrical run with streaming, DVD, and/or on-demand options most likely in the works as well.

dust motes: march 2018

Dust Motes is a monthly post featuring mini-reviews of new film releases, as well as new-to-me movies, that I've watched over the past month.

This month I watched a total of 13 new and new-to-me movies and TV series; this brings my total for the year to 51 new watches. My viewing habits continue to decline as I've been prioritizing my reading habits. This is also a time of year where there are relatively few movies I need to see in theaters compared to the build up to awards season, which cuts down on my numbers. Film festival season will be here before I know it, though, so I won't complain about the lull just yet!

MARCH 2018 VIEWING HABITS

My one new television show for the month is The Terror, about two British ships that become trapped in the Arctic Sea while searching for the Northwest Passage. It's still early in the ten episode run so I chose not to select it for a mini-review, but I'm enjoying it quite a lot so far!

film review: love, simon

Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) lives the perfect, upper middle class suburban life. He has two loving parents and a good relationship with his younger sister. On his sixteenth birthday he got a car, which he now uses to carpool with his three best friends to their senior year of high school. An enviable life, weighed down by the secret Simon has held close for four years: he’s gay. Not a single friend, family member, or stranger knows the truth. Until the day an anonymous poster confesses on a school gossip blog that he too is in the closet.

Nick Robinson as Simon and Katherine Langford as Leah in Love, Simon

Overwhelmed, Simon creates a dummy e-mail account of his own and reaches out. Going by the pseudonym “Jacques”, he and the other boy (“Blue”) start sharing more about their lives. Simon quickly becomes enamored, engaging for the first time in a relationship where he doesn’t feel the need to lie or skirt around the truth of his sexuality. He compulsively checks the anonymous account, even in the school library where it’s discovered by the resident loudmouth, Martin (Logan Miller).

dust motes: february 2018

Dust Motes is a monthly post featuring mini-reviews of new film releases, as well as new-to-me movies, that I've watched over the past month.

This month I watched a total of 16 new and new-to-me movies and TV series; this brings my total for the year to 38 new watches. Although I saw fewer movies in February, I read more books in exchange. This has always been a give-and-take relationship for me: some months I want to make progress on my Netflix queue, others I stick closer to my bookshelves. Unfortunately, that means I missed a couple of theatrical releases that came and went in the blink of an eye—Hostiles and The Death Cure were particularly disappointing to miss on the big screen.

FEBRUARY 2018 VIEWING HABITS

Overall I was happy with what I picked out in February, although I'd like to shift the balance a little more in favor of what I want to watch rather than screeners. This may have more to do with my reading-over-watching mood the last few weeks, so I'm sure it will adjust over time!

film review: red sparrow

Spies lead sexy and dangerous lives, a mainstay Hollywood conceit that Red Sparrow makes sure you won’t forget. After an injury forces prima ballerina Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) to seek help from her politically connected uncle, a distasteful favor escalates into bloodshed she wasn’t meant to witness. Uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts) gives her a choice: die to protect the secret or enroll at State School #4, otherwise known as “Sparrow School”, and train as an intelligence agent. Fearing for the care of her ailing mother, Dominika chooses the latter.

Jennifer Lawrence as Dominika Egorova in Red Sparrow

Sparrows must hone more than their wits; the Matron (Charlotte Rampling) instructs them in the finer points of seduction and results to sexual humiliation when necessary to make a point. After the discomforting nature of their education is made abundantly clear, Dominika receives her first assignment. Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), a CIA operative in Moscow, has resurfaced in Budapest after fleeing the country to protect an asset known only as “Marble”. She must get close to Nash and secure the name of his source in the Russian government, by any means necessary.

film review: oh lucy!

In the opening minutes of Oh Lucy!, a stranger on a crowded platform whispers goodbye into Setsuko Kawashima’s ear and leaps in front of a train. This jarring incident sets both her (Shinobu Terajima) and the audience off-balance, a sobering start to what’s billed as a comedy-drama. Setsuko lives a largely unfulfilled and lonely life in the bustle of Tokyo; she enjoys neither her job nor her co-workers and fills her small apartment to the brim with meaningless clutter—a substitute, perhaps, for the void left when her boyfriend fell in love with and married her sister, Ayako (Kaho Minami), many years ago.

Shinobu Terajima as Setsuko Kawashima in Oh Lucy!

While the two siblings are somewhat estranged, Setsuko maintains a relationship with her niece Mika (Shioli Kutsuna). It isn’t surprising, then, when the younger woman calls and asks to meet for lunch. Finding herself in a bind for cash, Mika hopes that her aunt will buy out the last six months of an English speaking course she’s enrolled in. Setsuko tentatively agrees to a trial class where she meets John (Josh Hartnett), the outgoing instructor. He insists on hugs as greetings and has Setsuko select an English name—Lucy—and put on a blonde wig during class. These unorthodox methods make her uncomfortable at first, yet by the end of the lesson she seems a little smitten and agrees to pay Mika for the remaining six months.

Just enough money for Mika to quit her waitressing job and run away to America with John.

film review: the boy downstairs

We’ve all heard the story before: Girl meets boy. Girl leaves boy. Girls runs into boy several years later. Complications ensue. It’s a simple formula that allows for endless variation, with good and not-so-good results. The Boy Downstairs, the feature-length debut of writer/director Sophie Brooks, falls maddeningly into the middle ground between the two. Its capable if clichéd script allows enough room for the main players to find a little magic, before the disappointing denouement undoes their hard work.

Zosia Marmet and Matthew Shear in The Boy Downstairs

The film shifts between present day and four years in the past. Currently, Diana (Zosia Mamet) has just returned to New York after two years abroad. With no place but a friend’s couch to sleep, she jumps at the opportunity to move into an apartment owned by Amy (Deirdre O'Connell), a motherly former actress and widow who didn’t want to let go of a home with so much family history. What Diana doesn’t know when she signs the lease is that her ex-boyfriend Ben (Matthew Shear) lives in the basement apartment. They met four years earlier, before her move to London, bonding over a shared sense of humor and artistic aspirations. As present-day Ben and Diana adjust to their new and unplanned proximity, we also watch their relationship blossom, then wither, in the past.

film review: permission

If you’ve only been romantically involved with one person your entire life, is it possible to know that they’re your perfect mate? It’s a question posed to Anna (Rebecca Hall), in crasser terms, over a birthday dinner shared with her boyfriend Will (Dan Stevens) and fellow couple Heron (Raúl Castillo) and Hale (David Joseph Craig). She and Will have shared every relationship “first” with one another but, after 10 years together, the drunken suggestion that they may be missing out scuttles Will’s plans for a romantic proposal that night. Instead they decide, with no shortage of trepidation, to experiment with other partners.

dust motes: january 2018

Dust Motes is a monthly post featuring mini-reviews of new film releases, as well as new-to-me movies, that I've watched over the past month.

This month I watched a total of 22 new and new-to-me movies and TV series; keeping up that current pace, I would be on track to watch a total of 264 for the year. In 2017, the first year I started tracking what I watched, I saw a total of 234 new and new-to-me movies and TV series.

JANUARY 2018 VIEWING HABITS

I don't have any set goals about matching or exceeding last year's number. Instead, I'm most interested in breaking down my viewing habits by platform to see if there are any mediums I prefer over time. Keeping up with films and movies are hobbies that both have the potential to add up quickly; although I'm not worried about cutting back, necessarily, I'm curious to find out at the end of the year if I'm spending money on subscriptions I don't utilize as much as I should for the cost.

Last year was also the first time I wrote reviews for the films I watched, albeit only the advance screeners sent to me by my editor. Although I can accept and reject whichever titles get offered to me, I have no control over what actually winds up in my inbox. More experienced reviewers usually get the blockbuster releases, which means I often get a mixture of great indie finds and astonishingly bad movies. For that reason, I'd like to start sharing my thoughts on movies I picked for myself! This past January had its share of duds, but there were a few titles that stood out:

film review: braven

It’s hardly surprising that Jason Momoa—perhaps most recognizable for his turn as Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones—carved out a sizeable niche for himself in the action genre after appearing on the HBO juggernaut. With an imposing physique, tattooed arms, and rumbling voice, it doesn’t require mental gymnastics to picture him as a film’s resident tough guy. His latest outing in director Lin Oeding’s Braven may not challenge Momoa or the audience to any great extent, but it capitalizes on his strengths to carry off a competent B-movie thriller.

film review: american folk

Everyone in their mid-twenties and older remembers where they were on the morning of September 11, 2001. That day spurred a tectonic shift in American life with very little positive connotation. American Folk challenges the bleakness of those early days following the attacks, though, sending its two leads on a cross-country tour of the spontaneous kindness and warmth that bloomed in response to such devastating hate.

Seated next to one another on a flight from California to New York that morning, strangers Elliott (Joe Purdy) and Joni (Amber Rubarth) find themselves stranded on the West Coast after their plane is grounded. Elliott has an important gig to make in order for his future prospects as a singer to stay afloat and Joni needs to return home to her ailing mother, so when her relative offers them the use of a semi-decrepit Dodge Prospector van, the pair hits the road.

Joe Purdy and Amber Robarth in American Folk

film review: inside

It’s a difficult task to evaluate the remake of a film without making comparisons to the original. Julien Maurey and Alexandre Bustillo’s 2007 French New Wave horror film À l'intérieur packed in some brutal scares in a refreshing take on the home invasion thriller. Considering the success it found with horror fans, an Americanized remake was all but inevitable. This Spanish/American co-production from director Miguel Ángel Vivas follows most of the same story beats (albeit with less bite) as its predecessor, then descends into a disappointing series of clichés for the final act.

Single mother-to-be Sarah (Rachel Nichols) is spending Christmas Eve alone, still mourning the death of her husband in a car accident several months prior. As night falls and a storm moves in, a stranger knocks at her door insisting to be let in. The unknown woman (Laura Harring) knows Sarah’s name and that her excuse of a sleeping husband is a lie. Rattled, Sarah calls the police, who find no one during their initial search but promise to return later on a wellness check. When the stranger reappears she manages to break into the house, terrorizing Sarah and a succession of concerned visitors as she fixates not on the mother, but the child she’s carrying.

Rachel Nichols as Sarah in Inside

film review: freak show

Bullies are omnivorous creatures. Not even kids who expend so much time and energy on blending in are exempt from their attention. They have a sinister intuition when it comes to pinpointing a victims deepest insecurities and a deadly accuracy in their attacks. And what about the classmates who don’t want to blend in? Who relish and amplify what makes them unique, daring the small-minded to frame their features as flaws? Unfortunately, that confidence can make them the most tempting targets of all.

Billy Bloom (Alex Lawther) has no shortage of confidence. From the first time he tried on her slingback pumps, Billy’s mother (Bette Midler) encouraged him to embrace what made him happy no matter what others thought. He loses that support system, though, when she heads to rehab and Billy goes to live with his wealthy, emotionally estranged father (Larry Pine) in Florida. From the first day at his new school, Billy’s flamboyant wardrobe, and accompanying attitude, earn scorn from his peers. The jocks and a gaggle of ultra-conservative Christians led by Lynette (Abigail Breslin) particularly relish the abuse. Only two students bother reaching out in friendship: a talkative girl (AnnaSophia Robb) whose name Billy never catches, and the star of last year’s football team, Flip (Ian Nelson).

Alex Lawther as Billy Bloom in Freak Show

film review: blame

With all its inherent drama, high school has proven a popular setting for the reimagining of classic literature. Some popular examples include Emma (Clueless), The Scarlet Letter (Easy A), and Twelfth Night (She’s the Man). On the decidedly darker—but no less enjoyable—side is Blame, the debut film from writer/director Quinn Shephard which draws heavily on Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible.

best of 2017: film

Hollywood had a rough start and even rougher end to 2017. It's strange to think that ten months ago, a flubbed Best Picture announcement at the Oscars constituted a days-long scandal. The results of last year's election inspired some pointed speeches during and after awards season. Now we're finally having a long-overdue conversation about sexual harassment in the film industry and beyond. The politicization of Hollywood is nothing new; some of us just have shorter memories than others. It can make going to the movies feel like more of a statement than an escape, but this list is meant to be entirely the latter. While several of my picks inspire contemplation (and hopefully all of them entertain!) watching and discussing them should only bring us closer together. After all, that's what the movies are all about, right?

Now for some bookkeeping! Because ranking these films against one another is a bit of an "apples vs. oranges" debate, I've listed my top picks for 2017 in an unbiased, alphabetical order. There are 15 films in all: eleven made the final cut, with four runners-up that I couldn't let pass without comment.

Best Films of 2017


Autopsy of Jane Doe (dir. André Øvredal): Quietly released at the start of the year, while everyone emerged from holiday shellshock, Jane Doe proved itself one of the best horror films in not-so-recent memory. The two protagonists—father and son coroners—distinguish themselves as some of the smartest leads ever in a horror film, attacking an illogical problem with reason and avoiding every groan-worthy genre mishap. Excellent sound design helps build discomfort and dread right up to the final frame.

Lady Macbeth (dir. William Oldroyd): A portrait of female empowerment that largely progresses via the unsaid. Florence Pugh's powerfully understated performance as Katherine anchors the film. You could call Lady Macbeth the dark mirror of Wonder Woman: chill and bleak where the latter always favors warmth, it shows in no uncertain terms the sheer ruthlessness a young woman indulges in the pursuit of her independence. Impatient viewers may find themselves fidgeting, but this is a film gorgeous in its isolation and horrifying in its implications.

Logan (dir. James Mangold): In my opinion, this year moviegoers enjoyed the highest level of creative freedom in superhero films since their latest resurgence. The first of three on my list, Logan dealt with the heaviest subject matter by far. Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart both gave admirable send-off performances for characters they've embodied for nearly two decades, and the story by which they did so was appropriately grown-up...just like the fans who were only kids when X-Men first hit theaters in 2000. We also got to meet newcomer Dafne Keen, whose on-screen camaraderie with Jackman wrung a few rare tears from my eyes by the end.

Lost City of Z (dir. James Gray): David Grann is one of the best non-fiction authors writing today, and this film adaptation does great justice to his first book about an English cartographer and explorer who becomes obsessed with the story of a lost South American civilization. Grann's research sprawls across continents, decades, and generations; Gray's film condenses all that down to an indulgent but well-paced two hours that doesn't get distracted by a myriad of details. Robert Pattinson has received a lot of praise for his work here (although I would argue he fared even better this year in Good Time), but Charlie Hunnam's immersion into the figure of Percy Fawcett is what gives the movie its considerable emotional weight.

Score (dir. Matt Schrader): Any cinephile will delight in this documentary about the history of music in the movies. Hans Zimmer serves as a guide throughout most of the film, which starts at the use of organists in theaters to accompany silent films and runs all the way up to present day. It never unravels into the overly technical; instead we're treated to masters of their craft gushing over the sometimes ephemeral, sometimes painstakingly technical process of crafting mood and identity through sound.

The Shape of Water (dir. Guillermo del Toro): While this hasn't replaced Pan's Labyrinth as my favorite del Toro movie, it unquestionably deserves the praise being heaped upon it. Water tells an adult fairy tale that captivates on first viewing while demanding several more to suss out the layers inherent to any GDT production. A love letter to classic Hollywood and misunderstood monsters, featuring evil that wears a suit and drives a Cadillac, it addresses the now-grown-up fears whose childhood form we saw in Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth. Color not only catches the eye, but challenges the mind. Doug Jones and Sally Hawkins give award-worthy performances (please, Academy, don't overlook Jones under those prosthetics!), bolstered by stellar support from Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, and Richard Jenkins. If there's one movie on this list you must see on the big screen, make it this one.

Thor: Ragnarok (dir. Taika Waititi): The second superhero entry on my list. Where Logan proved that dramatic gravitas geared towards an adult audience has its place in the MCU, Waititi's outing with the "strongest Avenger" delivered an infectious, non-stop glee. Easily the funniest and cleverest Marvel movie as of yet, Ragnarok also benefited from a strong ensemble that clearly enjoyed making the film as much as audiences did watching it. Mark Mothersbaugh's soundtrack, delightfully 80's-esque, was the perfect psychedelic topper.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (dir. Martin McDonagh): While the trailers may lead you to believe that Three Billboards is a straightforward revenge story, the filmmaker behind In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths has a far more complex journey in mind. As a grieving mother without answers, Frances McDormand gives a career-best performance that should land her as an Oscar front-runner. The humor comes fast and black, even more so than McDonagh's previous efforts, but don't feel bad for laughing. When the world turns upside down, you might find humor in the strangest and darkest places.

Super Dark Times (dir. Kevin Phillips): Last year Stranger Things capitalized in a big way on 1980's nostalgia, and this summer IT proved audiences are still hungry for more. But what about the 90's kids (including yours truly)? Faithful to its name, Super Dark Times avoids saccharine kitschiness and capitalizes on the dark possibilities of the final years without ubiquitous cell phones or WiFi. It evokes the darkest pitfalls of adolescence explored by authors like Ray Bradbury, but the horror here is purely human. Keep an eye out for the young leads, who carry the story.

Wind River (dir. Taylor Sheridan): There was never any question that Wind River would boast an engaging story— Sheridan has already put his formidable writing talent on display in Sicario and Hell or High Water. This was his first outing in a director's chair, and it payed off marvelously. Wind River boasts the subtle character politics and shocking outbursts of violence characteristic of his screenplays, and turns the wild, chillingly empty panoramas of Wyoming into a supporting character themselves. Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen operate at a career best, as does each supporting player. Beautiful and heartbreaking, this is one that sticks with you.

Wonder Woman (dir. Patty Jenkins): The third and final superhero entry on this year's list, falling somewhere between the R-rated grit of Logan and the technicolor whimsy of Thor: Ragnarok. Much has been made (rightfully) about the empowering message behind Wonder Woman the character, as well as the girl-power duo in director Patty Jenkins and actress Gal Gadot who brought her to the big screen this summer; however, Wonder Woman is capable of standing on its cinematic merits alone. Gadot's Diana Prince has the perfect balance of empathy and strength, and the "No Man's Land" sequence is one of the coolest action scenes with one of the coolest soundtracks put on film. Warner Brothers may think that the competition is DCEU versus MCU, but in all honesty Wonder Woman could take on the Avengers pretty capably by herself.


Honorable Mentions

A Cure for Wellness (dir. Gore Verbinski): Critically maligned and a box office disappointment, Wellness struggled against a long runtime that prioritized atmosphere over the quick pace preferred by many movie-goers. But what an atmosphere it was! Dane DeHaan and Jason Isaacs both give performances with a welcome whiff of Hammer Horror melodrama. Gothic horror fans should delight in Verbinski's R-rated fantasy/mystery hybrid, even if the supposed twist can be seen coming from a mile away.


Dealt (dir. Luke Korem): Anyone who watches this excellent documentary about a blind magician (he prefers "card mechanic") will look back on past excuses for laziness with a little shame. Richard Turner is an extraordinary man: beyond his talent with slight of hand, he holds a black belt in karate and, for many years, functioned without many of the aids available to the visually impaired. Essentially denying his failing sight, we get to watch Turner come to terms with his reality as he pursues professional honors. (If you want to catch more of his tricks, Turner made an appearance on Fool Us earlier this year.)

Buster's Mal Heart (dir. Sarah Adina Smith): While I had the pleasure of seeing this trippy Book of Jonas-inspired movie on the big screen during DIFF 2017, it probably escaped the notice of most until turning up on Netflix this fall. Admirers of Rami Malek's performance in Mr. Robot will find much to love here...and, dare I say it, more to think about without so many preachy intrusions. This is a perfect film to watch with friends; there are no easy answers found within, which should spark great conversation over dinner afterward.


Katie Says Goodbye (dir. Wayne Roberts): The last film on my list serves a pointed lesson on finding the positive side to every setback. Olivia Cooke plays the titular waitress, also engaging in sex work to supplement her income. Katie's life may look like a dead-end playing out in slow motion to an outside observer, but she has plans. Realistic ones, too. An absent mother and her lousy boyfriend, along with some local ne'er-do-wells all conspire through their own, independent actions to derail her escape from a tiny Southwest town. You will feel uncomfortable and despondent, several times; Katie's journey feels modeled on a Greek tragedy more than anything else. But don't give up on Katie and her story, because this one girl has plenty of optimism to go around.

How does your "Best Of" list compare? Did I snub any favorites, or include something you couldn't stand? Sound off in the comments, and I'll see you in 2018!

film review: in the fade

In the Fade, Germany’s selection for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards, has already seen its share of plaudits ahead of an American release. Diane Kruger won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film was also in competition for the Palme d’Or, and it recently scored a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language. While there are undoubtedly components worthy of praise, the main problem with In the Fade is that we have seen this story many, many times before.

Katja Sekerci’s (Diane Kruger) contented life with husband Nuri (Numan Acar) and son Michi (Uwe Rohde) gets upended when a bomb attack kills them both. Police initially think religious extremism—Nuri’s father has a Kurdish background—or criminal associates from Nuri’s past as a drug dealer are responsible. Katja, knowing her husband was agnostic and had cut all ties to his former profession, suspects neo-Nazis instead. Although she gives a statement identifying a suspicious young woman near her husband’s office before the explosion, the investigation follows several dead ends before culminating in arrests which appear to corroborate her original suspicions. During the subsequent trial, Katja struggles with feelings of grief and guilt, as well as an urgent need to see punishment doled out by an oppressively bureaucratic system.

Denis Moschitto and Diane Kruger in In the Fade

In the Fade follows a standard formula for murder-revenge movies. First, a murder occurs; next, the wheels of justice begin to turn; finally, the surviving loved one seeks vengeance herself. Writer-director Fatih Akin (who co-wrote the script with Hark Bohm) executes the narrative conventions adroitly, yet he falls short of adding anything novel to the genre. A post-script makes note of recent xenophobic violence in Germany but in the film the attack is so abrupt, the antagonists given so little to do that the cascading series of events feel like a faint facsimile of reality. Also, the story is awkwardly divided into three chapters. The first gets announced before the main title card, which may lead some to think they’re watching a movie called “I. Family”. Although they mark new sections of story, the other two differ in no way stylistically or tonally from the first chapter or one another, rendering them a bit superfluous.

Working in the movie’s favor are excellent performances from both Kruger and Denis Moschitto, who plays a family friend and lawyer representing Katja. Kruger shines brightest when freed from the script’s speaking duties. Listening to a coroner describe her son’s injuries in court, grief and rage mix in her expression with alchemical potency; when her sister and newborn nephew come to visit, the pain at watching another woman nurse an infant seems almost fatal. Moschitto injects some welcome fire into court proceedings, where the defense counsel (Johannes Krisch) and accused (Ulrich Brandhoff and Hanna Hilsdorf) all look appropriately slimy.

In the Fade plays out more engagingly than the script would otherwise allow thanks to some clever camerawork by cinematographer Rainer Klausmann. Several long, unbroken takes help build tension during moments of predictability.

As we learn every year, awards are often fickle and subjective distinctions. What stands out for one audience member may fade into the background for another. While In the Fade falls short of reinventing or reinvigorating the revenge thriller, it gets enough out of a talented cast to make up for what’s lost in telling an average, familiar tale.

RATING: ★ ½

Watch the trailer:

film review: pitch perfect 3

In their last outing together, the girls of the Barden Bellas get a generally satisfactory ending. Pitch Perfect 3 doubles down on what works best in the series—musical numbers and Rebel Wilson’s antics—while trimming away most of the fat. We catch up with the former Bellas discovering that post-collegiate life doesn’t compare to the thrill of a World Championship win: Beca (Anna Kendrick) works as a music producer for less-than-stellar artists, Chloe (Brittany Snow) hasn’t gotten into vet school yet, and all the other girls feel stuck at the beginning of a very long road through adulthood. But there’s always one last chance to sing together. Through Aubrey’s (Anna Camp) military dad, the Bellas get invited on an overseas USO tour hosted by DJ Khaled.

The Bellas get together for a final hurrah.

If the whole setup sounds a little too convenient, don’t worry. All the logistics are breezed through and the Bellas are having a riff-off with their touring partners in no time. Why do they need another riff-off? Because the USO tour isn’t just a goodwill effort for the troops; it’s also a competition to determine who will open for Khaled. This battle of the bands takes a backburner to the real villain, however, who materializes in the form of Fat Amy’s (Rebel Wilson) criminal father, played by John Lithgow. The added twist of criminal hijinks means this is the most action-filled Pitch Perfect film, although the stunts are mostly played for laughs.

There’s nothing new to be found in Pitch Perfect 3, but there’s enough of what made the original so successful to satisfy established fans. All the musical numbers (and there are plenty, from the Bellas and their tour-mates) are toe-tappingly catchy. Rebel Wilson steals the comedic spotlight, but there are enough one-liners to go around. Doubling down on her adorkability, Kendrick stays as charmingly relatable as she was in college. Commenting duo Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins just won’t go away, unfortunately for the Bellas and the audience alike. Their satirical sexism wore out its welcome a movie ago and the jokes haven’t improved since.

No matter your favorite Bella, everyone gets to tie a bow on their own little arc. Even Emily (Hailee Steinfeld), who isn’t actually done with college or acapella, avoids any suggestion of yet another sequel, and recurring background Bellas Jessica (Kelley Jakle) and Ashley (Shelley Ragner) get a couple of moments all to themselves. There’s even a surprise or two to be found in the denouement (one involving Hana Mae Lee’s Lilly earned a roomful of gasps), but ultimately Pitch Perfect 3 gives us no more or less than what we’ve come to expect from the series. While it may not hit all the high notes, it doles out exactly what fans have come to love about their favorite aca-nerds.

RATING: ★★

Watch the trailer:

film review: the bill murray experience

After the end of her engagement, actress Sadie Katz copes in a way many of us may recognize: late night Google binges. On one of these rambling expeditions through the Internet she discovers a mythos surrounding Bill Murray. From all around the world, people claim to encounter him in ways that range from the unexpected but believable (crashing a kickball game at a public park, with a team picture afterwards as proof) to the outlandish (Murray stealing a french fry from a man’s dinner plate, calmly telling him, “No one will ever believe you.”). Katz, desperate for a touch of magic in her life, latches on to these phenomena. Never mind that their appeal lies in spontaneity; in poor imitation of an amateur sleuth, Katz means to track down a “Bill Murray Experience” for herself, by any means available.

Sadie Katz hunts down her idol in The Bill Murray Experience

Her initial investigation yields very little, just biographical details like Murray’s height, age, and number of children. Armed with knowledge of Murray’s penchant for golfing, and the tournaments he frequents, Katz and her girlfriends venture to Pebble Beach. They dress up in wacky outfits; Katz even buys nearly 100 balloons to hand over to her idol, all to no avail. Local headlines announce the actor’s absence— he’s busy filming a movie abroad. So much for research. After this letdown, what started as an eccentric distraction from heartbreak spirals into obsession. The friends who traveled to Pebble Beach grow tired of her antics and drift away. Her few professional contacts with a distant connection to Murray fail to offer help.

She finally breaks through with one of Bill’s siblings, Joel Murray, who also works in the entertainment industry. Over drinks he relates some of the long history of his brother’s shenanigans, while falling short of offering Katz a phone number or other way in. She comes close a second time when friends divulge that Murray will be on set at a house just down the street from them. This time she manages to glimpse him from afar before security bustles her and her second clutch of balloons away.

By far the best part of The Bill Murray Experience is a sit-down interview Katz conducts with P.J. Soles, Murray’s co-star in Stripes. Soles weaves several good behind-the-scenes stories, all of which live up to the Bill Murray mythology, and expands on the glimpse of hilarious reality given earlier by Joel. It’s a suggestion of what could have been: a documentary actually about Bill Murray, told by the countless co-stars, friends, and passer-by who’ve felt a touch of his comedic genius.

But this isn’t a documentary about Bill Murray; it’s a documentary about Sadie Katz, who stands as the single greatest obstacle in the way of enjoying The Bill Murray Experience. Never mind that by trying to engineer the impulsive and unpredictable she kills any magic of a run-in with Murray. From start to finish her film comes off as an ego trip, one long indulgence of Katz’s unendearing eccentricities. Many of her observations fail to rise above inanity—Why would you think a golf tournament would resemble Coachella?—and only serve to keep the focus on the movie’s least interesting subject.

Her admiration for Bill Murray practically oozes off the screen. Rather than attempting to use that as leverage for a meeting of personal importance, it’s disappointing that Katz didn’t instead focus that energy into preserving the memories of those who know him best. While the myth born of Bill Murray looms large in The Bill Murray Experience, we remain trapped in the tedious reality of a single fan.

RATING: ½ Star

film review: tragedy girls

Horror, perhaps more than any other film genre, captures the prevailing fears and attitudes of its time. With the encroachment of technology into our lives, storytellers have to find new ways of scaring an audience accustomed to the instant global connectivity allowed by cell phones and ubiquitous Wi-Fi hotspots. In recent years, they’ve moved beyond the terror of rural areas with no phone service and made social media a primary actor in the show. Tyler McIntyre’s Tragedy Girls eschews the “haunted computer” conceit of his predecessors and keeps the evil based in flesh and blood while parodying the most narcissistic and self-promoting side of social media.

High school seniors Sadie (Brianna Hildebrand) and McKayla (Alexandra Shipp) hope to leverage their brand “Tragedy Girls”, an online show about serial killers, into wider fame. Rather than react to criminal incidents around them, the girls concoct a plan to capture a murderer-at-large (Kevin Durand) and apprentice under him in order to craft the perfect killing spree and their exclusive online coverage of it in tandem. Foibles of a typical teenager’s life soon interfere; love interests, rivals, prom committee, and uncooperative captives all form road blocks and threaten to drive a wedge between the aspiring murderesses. Before long, Sadie and McKayla have to choose their victims out of necessity, as their involvement in the crime spree risks discovery.

Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp in Tragedy Girls

The script by McIntyre and Chris Lee Hill opens on a promising note: two teens parked on a lovers’ lane and a malevolent presence lurking in the shadows collide in an unexpected way. Unfortunately, the larger story fails to unfold in equally satisfying fashion. Much of the dialogue comes across as if Diablo Codey had written Scream, little more than a mish-mash of non-sequitur humor and heavy-handed meta winks at the audience. For our two leads they cast off any aspiration towards nuance in favor of clunky stereotypes. Tragedy Girls is in no way an insightful parody of the unhealthy obsession with fame fostered in some young adults. Instead it lands as an overly broad, derisive statement against an online culture that the creators likely learned about secondhand.

Hildebrand and Shipp outperform the material, which bodes well for future endeavors (more likely to be helped along by their participation in Marvel’s expanding cinematic universe). Kevin Durand provides the right touch of manic camp to serial killer Lowell, a rare instance of the parody succeeding more than it fails. While his performance is adequate, Jack Quaid looks old enough compared to his costars that he should have aged out of high school by now. Josh Hutcherson fits in better, although his self-absorbed bad boy gets regrettably limited screen time.

It’s a common shortfall in horror for a promising idea to stumble somewhere in its execution. An unfunny and unsurprising script hobbles the performances in Tragedy Girls and defangs any social commentary from the start. While the lead performances may make it easier to sit through for some, the struggle for a scary and intelligent look at our online lives continues in Hollywood.

RATING: ½ star

film review: aida's secrets

The horrors of the Holocaust continue to echo through the decades. Around six million Jews were murdered, family lines were extinguished and, in the case of those fortunate enough to survive, family histories were irrevocably gone. A loss of such magnitude in some ways defies quantification or comprehension, even as survivors and their descendants continue to live with its consequences daily. Aida’s Secrets hones in on the story of one such family, separated and complex, as two brothers piece together the fragments of their shared history.

Izak was born in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp in 1945 and sent to Israel for adoption two years later. As a boy he learns the truth about his adoptive family, eventually meeting his birth mother Aida, who had immigrated to Canada. During this visit she reveals to several family members, but not Izak, that she had a second son while living in Bergen-Belsen. Izak only learns about his younger brother when in his late sixties; with the help of his nephews Alon and Saul Schwarz (who co-direct) and Yad Vashem, a Holocaust remembrance organization, he tracks down his brother Shep, who was raised and continues to reside in Canada.

The meeting of the two brothers opens a Pandora’s Box of secrets, all of which revolve around their mother, now 90 years old and living in a nursing facility. Shep grew up with his father Griza (who passed away in 2008) and stepmother, another woman Griza met in the DP camp. Unlike with his brother, Aida made no attempt to locate or reconnect with her second child, which understandably causes him pain. She greets him with affection when they finally meet but responds to every inquiry, gentle or blunt, about her decision so many years ago with a failing memory. Aida remembers clearly how it felt to abandon Izak, how happy she was to see him again, yet even the simplest details of Shep’s infancy are lost behind a chorus of “I don’t remember, I don’t remember”. It’s left to the viewer to speculate whether Aida has genuinely forgotten or if, for personal reasons more compelling than her son’s, she wishes to keep her memories secret forever.

Brothers Izak and Shep reunite in Aida's Secrets

Each investigation begets another. Griza’s behavior as a womanizer and black market profiteer in the DP camp is uncovered. The question of shared paternity between Izak and Shep is answered. Near the end of the film, the brothers discover that their family tree may even have more branches than originally believed. The answers they fail to find are as emotionally charged as those they do, although the process of searching helps to build the fraternal bond denied to them as children. It’s a journey heart-wrenching and fascinating in turns, unfolding steadily throughout the film. As one of the Schwarz nephews observes in voiceover, so much time has passed that some of the details so fervently desired by Izak and Shep may always lie out of reach now. Simply finding one another has healed a lingering wound, though, and made one family a little more whole. Beneath the heartbreak and frustration, there’s a comforting warmth at the heart of Aida’s Secrets.

RATING: ★★★