The Vast of Night

October 22, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, film fest, tiff, philly film fest, rosalie kicks, rosalie kicks!

Directed by Andrew Patterson
Written by James Montague and Craig W. Sanger
Starring Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz and Gail Cronauer
Running Time 1 hour, 29 minutes
by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport

”Can’t waste tape on a tombstone.”

In the film Vast of Night, Everett (Jake Horowitz) and Fay Crocker (Sierra McCormick) are two radio obsessed beatniks that have an admiration for the airwaves. Setting the film in a fictional 1950s sleepy town called Cayuga, New Mexico, it is safe to say that the writers and director are fans of the Twilight Zone. Cayuga being the name of the host and creator of Twilight Zone, Rod Serling’s production company.

Drag Kids

October 21, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, zoe crombie, film fest

Directed by Megan Wennberg
Starring Olivia Bailey, Trinity Bailey and Victoria Bailey-Kerr
Running time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

by Zoe Crombie

Though it may only have come to light in the past few years for some, children dressing up in drag to imitate the gender roles that surround them is nothing new. You frequently hear of a kid’s inclination to put on their mother’s heels and smear on some lipstick for the sake of role play – the difference is that this behaviour was discouraged in young boys until seemingly recently. This is why the perspective of Megan Wennberg’s fascinating documentary Drag Kids really seems so fresh - these children are playing with performance and creativity as any other child would, and it’s only the medium they have chosen, and their bravery in doing so, that makes them so noteworthy

Paradise Hills

October 20, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, philly film fest, film fest, Audrey Callerstrom

Directed by Alicia Waddington
Written by Alicia Waddington, Brian DeLeeuw, and Nacho Vigalondo
Starring Emma Roberts, Milla Jovovich, Eiza González, Awkwafina and Danielle McDonald
Rating: TV-14
Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes

by Audrey Callerstrom

Evil vines that wrap around your body and suck your life, turning white flowers a black-red. Pods that are made to look like canopy beds, glowing under a neon-pink hue. A carousel horse that lifts you to the ceiling. Hologram lockets. A bride’s beaded headpiece that can move to cover her face, looking like if Hannibal Lecter shopped at Francesca’s. All of these vivid costumes, beautiful art direction, and a candy-color palette of pinks, purples, and greens almost save Paradise Hills, a dream-like tale about a rehab center for non-conforming girls.

Varda by Agnès

October 19, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in this wasn't worth $10, tiff, philly film fest, film fest, benjamin leonard

Written and directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Agnès Varda, Sandrine Bonnaire and Hervé Chandès
Running time: 1 hour and 55 minutes

by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

I’d seen clips of this mini-series-turned-film when I wrote my piece on Vagabond for our print issue a while back. I was watching to get some background of her process while making the film but was taken by how the clips were, not only, moving and informational, but also beautiful to look at. I watched the film in its entirety at TIFF this year and, if you’re in the Philly area, you can see it this Sunday, the 20th at 12:15 PM at the Ritz East. I was glad to see that her discussions about the rest of her career were as in depth and artful.

Jojo Rabbit

October 18, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, film fest, tiff, benjamin leonard, philly film fest

Written and directed by Taika Waititi
Adapted from the novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens
Starring Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie and Scarlett Johansson
MPAA rating: PG-13 for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, violence, and language
Running time: 1 hour and 48 minutes

by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

Rosalie and I saw this one at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) though we saw it at different screenings, we had a lot to talk about afterwards. We both knew the basic premise going in, and thought that it could go one of two ways, cringy or fun and silly as hell. Thankfully, it was the latter. In case you don’t know what the story is about, it is set in Nazi Germany and we follow young Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) and Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) a young Jewish woman that Rosie is hiding in their house. The comedy comes from the fact that Jojo is so enamoured with Hitler that he becomes his imaginary friend. When Jojo finds out that his mother is harbouring a Jew, he is obviously upset but doesn’t want to get his mother into trouble. There was a hint of cringiness in this movie but it didn’t ruin the rest of the film for me and it would be spoilery to discuss. So I will not do so until the very bottom of this review.

Just Mercy

October 17, 2019 by Moviejawn Admin in jaime davis, reviews

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Written by Andrew Lanham and Destin Daniel Cretton (book by Bryan Stevenson)
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, O’Shea Jackson, Jr., and Rafe Spall
Running time 2 hours 16 minutes
MPAA rating PG-13

by Jaime Davis, The Fixer

“Capital punishment means ‘them without the capital get the punishment.’” These striking words greet the reader in the opening pages of Bryan Stevenson’s disarming memoir Just Mercy, in which the author shares one of the first things he learned at the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee (now called the Southern Center for Human Rights) where he interned and later worked after graduating from Harvard Law. I know this is supposed to be a film review, and I promise to get to the movie stuff, but first I want to talk more about the United States, specifically the pervasive racism and prejudice so deeply rooted in this country.

The Invisible Mother

October 17, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, film fest, PUFF, hunter bush

Written and directed by Matthew Diebler and Jacob Gillman
Starring Debra Wilson, Kiersten Warren and Richard Riehle
Running time: 1 hour and 46 minutes

by Hunter Bush

If you read the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival wrap-up I co-wrote with Allison, you may recall me saying that The Invisible Mother is my favorite film of the year. If not, there you go. I also explained that the “Unnamed” part of their moniker is a signifier of their preference for showcasing films that are difficult to pin down under one neat little label.

The Lighthouse

October 16, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, film fest, tiff, rosalie kicks, rosalie kicks!, benjamin leonard

Directed by Robert Eggers
Written by Max Eggers and Robert Eggers
Starring Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Valeriia Karaman
Running time 1 hour, 49 minutes
MPAA rating R - because of the mermaid sex, farts and f-bombs

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport and Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

“Bad luck to kill a seabird.”

There is a lot to unpack in Robert Eggers’ latest feature, The Lighthouse, so it only made sense to have this review be more of a conversational piece. After you view the film, it will most likely make sense how we arrived at this decision. It is one of those movies that immediately upon exiting the theater there is an urge to discuss every frame that was seen, every sound bite that was heard and all the feels that were experience. Sit back, relax and join Moviejawn’s Old Sport and Best Boy on the high seas to discuss this hypnotic tale of adventure about two lighthouse keepers.

Semper Fi

October 15, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, Audrey Callerstrom

Directed by Henry Alex Rubin
Written by Henry Alex Rubin and Sean Mullin
Starring Jai Courtney, Nat Wolff, Finn Wittrock, Arturo Castro and Beau Knapp
MPAA rating: R for pervasive language, some violence and disturbing images

Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes

by Audrey Callerstrom

Henry Alex Rubin’s military/family drama Semper Fi is three films. One film is a drama about a group of friends in the Marine Corp Reserves that live in a small New York town near the Canadian border. Told documentary-style much like “Friday Night Lights,” this portion of the film is the most sincere. The film opens with a scene of the friends bowling, laughing and riffing with the alley staff. Another film is a drama that shows them stationed in Iraq, at one moment filling sandbags, the next dealing with IEDs and gruesome injuries. The last film, the weakest one, involves a standard and rather unjustified prison break plot.

Greener Grass

October 15, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, film fest, sundance, rosalie kicks, rosalie kicks!

Written and Directed by Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe
Starring Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe, Beck Bennett, and Neil Casey
Run time 1 hour 35 minutes

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport

“Julian just got awesome!”

As the end credits of Greener Grass hit the screen I was left pondering what I just watched. This is not to say that I felt my time was wasted. On the contrary, I found that for a little over ninety minutes, I was treated to a delightfully amusing, somewhat bewildering tale from writer/director/acting team Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe.

The Furies

October 14, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, film fest, PUFF, allison yakulis

Written and Directed by Tony D’Aquino
Starring Airlie Dodds, Linda Ngo, Taylor Ferguson, Ebony Vagulans
Running Time: 1 hour and 22 minutes

by Allison Yakulis

What could be more intense than a young woman being terrorized by a masked madman in the woods? I suppose Tony D’Aquino pondered this question and figured “Hell, let’s make it eight! Each!”

The Last Slice: MA

October 12, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in Pizza Film Club, allison yakulis

Minutes from the Moviejawn Pizza 🍕 Film 📼 Club ♣ September 2019
recorded by Allison Yakulis, PFC Co-Founder

Continuing our monthly custom of slices and snacks, cinema and cocktails, we once again bring you tidings from Moviejawn’s dodecannual Pizza Film Club, the September edition. In a slight break from tradition, we actually watched a film that was released in this decade (gasp!) and we had our first meeting hosted by non-founders. Tori and Garret were our gracious hosts, and they have a pretty sweet pad, lovingly nicknamed The Murder House due to the entire first floor being tiled (for easy cleanup...MUHAHAHAHA). Many thanks guys!

Gemini Man

October 11, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, daniel scully

Directed by Ang Lee
Starring Will Smith, Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and another Will Smith
MPAA rating; PG-13 for violence and action throughout, and brief strong language
Running time: 1 hour and 57 minutes

by Daniel Scully

There are two immediately disappointing things about Gemini Man. First, since the film was shot in 4K IMAX 3D at 120 frames per second, it would stand to reason that theaters would be equipped to project it as intended. They are not. In fact, of the thousands of screens releasing the film this weekend, only fifteen in the entire country have the capability to do so. None of them are near me. Secondly, Will Smith’s latest does not feature a new remix of his hit song Just the Two Of Us, making for the biggest missed opportunity in the history of human existence. A true shame that just 19 years into it, the era once branded the Willennium has fizzled considerably for the no longer fresh prince.

28th Philadelphia Film Festival Preview

October 10, 2019 by Moviejawn Admin in jaime davis, philly film fest

by Jaime Davis, The Fixer

Whoaaaaaaaaa, have you spied this year’s PFF lineup? It’s amazingly, particularly, spectacularly exciting. Why am I extra pumped for this year’s showings? Mostly because programmers have changed things up a bit - instead of just showstopping opening and closing night films this year, they’ve added a slate of special Gala films, much in the same way TIFF is programmed, adding more spectacle throughout the run of the fest. Many of the Gala presentations are high-profile titles recently screened at Cannes, TIFF, Telluride, Venice, and Fantastic Fest, making for a particularly energizing festival. But maybe you want to prioritize more offbeat fare this year? No matter what strategy you employ, we have you covered. Below is your guide to the big names coming to PFF for their 28th installment, along with MJ’s official, more quirky, selections. Happy festivaling!

For festival tickets, info, and to view a PDF of the program, head over to the PFS website.

Mary

October 09, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, Audrey Callerstrom

Directed by Michael Goi
Written by Anthony Jaswinski
Starring Gary Oldman, Emily Mortimer, Jennifer Esposito and a sailboat
Running time: 1 hour and 24 minutes

by Audrey Callerstrom

Early on in Mary, Lydia (Emily Mortimer) is hanging out with her husband, David (Gary Oldman), their two daughters and all their friends, celebrating David’s recent purchase of an old sailboat named Mary which he intends to use to start a charter boat business. Lydia is laughing with her family and drinking a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Later, as the family takes off on their trial voyage, Lydia has a disturbing dream. She wakes up and tells David. He makes a comment to the effect of, “Must be all those margaritas you had last night.” Wait, margaritas? When were there margaritas? And did she wake up in the middle of the night, or from a nap? Also, who cares? “Mary” seems to be written from an algorithm and edited by my toddler who occasionally comes over to my laptop and smashes the keys.

Puff 2019: Part Two - Postscript

October 08, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in film fest, PUFF, allison yakulis, hunter bush

by Allison Yakulis and Hunter Bush

The films that screen at the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival, by and large, are difficult to pin down. Organizers prefer to think of it as an "Alternative" film festival, though a lot of the movies do tend to fall under the umbrella of "horror". But you may as well just classify them all as "movies" and call it a day for how unspecific that is. Hence the "Unnamed" part of the PUFF moniker; it's not just that they were too lazy to come up with a name.

Meme

October 07, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, emily maesar

Written and directed by Sean Mannion
Starring Sarah Schoofs, Shivantha Wijesinha and Lauren A. Kennedy
Running time: 1 hour and 27 minutes

by Emily Maesar

Meme is the feature film debut from writer/director Sean Mannion. And after watching this flick, I want nothing more than to see what his last ten years of short films were all about.

Dolemite Is My Name

October 04, 2019 by Moviejawn Admin in Fantastic Fest, jaime davis, reviews

Directed by Craig Brewer
Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Starring Eddie Murphy, Tituss Burgess, Craig Robinson, Mike Epps, Keegan-Michael Key, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Wesley Snipes
MPAA rating: R, for cussing, light sexing, and fake Kung Fu fighting
Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes

by Jaime Davis, The Fixer

Do you have a dream? A kind of incessant gnawing inside you to do something great or big or important or fun? To put a talent to use, or better your circumstances, explore a passion deep down? Have you had your dream repeatedly diminished, stomped on, crushed? What did you do - give up, keep going, redirect?

The Man in the Mask

October 03, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, PUFF, film fest, allison yakulis

Written and Directed by Jessica Barnthouse and Stacy Buchanan
Starring Kip Weeks, Tyler Bergeron, Theodus Crane

by Allison Yakulis

At one point in The Man in the Mask (2018) Kip Weeks attends a horror convention in Texas. It is his first. He asks the viewers (or more likely Jess Barnthouse or Stacy Buchanan, whomever was holding the camera at that moment) if people go to cons to meet the character or to meet the real person. I don’t know what the answer is, but if you’d like to know more about the man behind an iconic horror role, this is the way to do it.

First Love AKA ‘Battles [WITH] Honor and Humanity’

October 02, 2019 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, Samuel Antezana

Directed by Takashi Miike
Written by Masa Nakamura
Starring Becky, Sakurako Konishi and Masataka Kubota
Running time: 1 hour and 48 minutes

by Samuel Antezana

Takashi Miike has 103 directorial credits, according to IMDB, and he continues to prove that he has not lost his knack for orchestrating chaotic action sequences and emotionally driven moments between characters with his latest adrenaline-fueled crime epic. First Love is a crime thriller that centers around the life of a boxer, Leo (Masataka Kubota), who doesn’t say much and doesn’t have anyone in his life. After a seemingly devastating blow to the head that ruins Leo’s winning streak in the ring and sends him to the hospital, a doctor discovers that he has a life-threatening brain tumor. On his way home from the hospital, he bumps into a prostitute, Monica (Sakurako Konishi), and saves her from a strange customer.