Zhao’s “Hamnet” Pays Homage to “Hamlet”
Photos by Agata Grzybowska When we think of William Shakespeare, we imagine the playwright, the man from Stratford Upon Avon, the man whose words arguably changed the world. They…
“Bugonia” Critiques Savage State of Humanity
One of my professors once told us there had been three major shocks to the human race: Copernicus shattered our fantasy by telling us that we are not at the…
“Smashing Machine” Is a Contender
“Backward I see in my own days where I sweated through fog with linguists and contenders.” — Walt Whitman ("The Poet of Prizefighters") Audiences love stories about fighters, because the…
Truth and Deception Inhabit “Eleanor the Great”
Eleanor the Great begins with two elderly women who are best friends waking up in their Florida home—a fitting beginning to a film that treads the lines between dreaming and…
Double Trouble for Troubled Doubles in “Twinless”
When I first read the logline for James Sweeney’s new film Twinless, which is billed as a dark comedy, and saw the accompanying photo of two likable looking fellows, I…
“Merry Wives” Makes for a Merry Time
Watching a Shakespeare play in the woods is a life experience everyone should have, and the opportunity is upon us once again as the Central Coast Shakespeare Festival returns to…
“Ugly Stepsister” Turns Fairy Tale Into Trauma
The fairy tale is a tricky genre for viewers and filmmakers. The type most familiar to contemporary audiences comes through a Disney Studios shaping mechanism: lovable, cleaned up, and stylized.…
“Materialists” Explores Matchmakers, Millionaires, and Love
The elements that make a romantic relationship last have been debated since the dawn of human mating and the beginnings of language. Celine Song’s second feature film, Materialists, takes up…
“The Phoenician Scheme” Is a Father’s Day Film
The Phoenician Scheme: the story of a father and daughter’s love—with complimentary hand grenades! The latest and very ambitious offering from director and auteur Wes Anderson seems to have confused…
World Cinema Meets Small Town Charm
Traven Marks and Liz Lucas with Verdant Studio, Molly Clark with Cal Poly Arts, and Thomas Patchell with SLO Review (photo by Raoul Wise) The San Luis Obispo International…