Year: 2021

Reviews

The French Dispatch is a magazine in movie form

by Josh

interlinked series of short stories set in the precious milieu of sometimes-indulgent longform journalism. At this point, you know who he is and who you are. If you’ve loved his previous films (as I do), but have wished that he could fit more stories, styles, and quirks into his filmmaking than you probably already have a lifetime subscription and will savor this elegiac visual magazine like a special holiday issue. If not, the thought of an overstuffed package that’s both adoring & gently skewering of the craft, might leave you refusing even a trial issue.

Reviews

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, charming, eccentric and sad

by Morgen Schuler

An electric life indeed. Louis Wain (Benedict Cumberbatch) was a talented and prolific artist and even early in life, quite eccentric. After his father passed away he was the sole money-maker for his five sisters and ailing mother, but he never seemed fit for typical employment. Drawing portraits, illustrations and animals he made a meager wage that kept the family afloat. He fell in love with his sisters’ governess Emily (Claire Foy) who happened to be 10 years older, so it was quite a scandal. Not caring one iota what anyone else thought, he created a home for them both in the country. Taking in a small kitten as a pet, which wasn’t typical for the day, the three of them were a happy little family living in eccentric bliss together…

Festivals Reviews

MVFF: Sami, Joe and I

by Morgen Schuler

Teenage strife is the same no matter where you grow up, and Sami, Joe and I digs deep into three such lives that have more than their faire share. While trio of young women have grown up in the same town, they have a diverse family life each with their own set of troubles.

Festivals Reviews

MVFF: Celts

by Morgen Schuler

Set in Belgrade/Yugoslavia in ’93, Marijana dedicates her day, her life, to her family. Today she’s making sure everything is ready for her daughter Minja’s birthday: fixing the food, inviting the kids, opening her home to family and friends all the while quietly holding a lingering sadness brought on by age, a dwindling sex life and tensions throughout her country. The party begins and we’re split off into two worlds, one where the kiddos celebrate through the veneer of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme while the adults talk about politics, sexual freedoms, new and old loves, and everything in between.

Reviews

Ron’s Gone Wrong, funny and sweet in concept

by Morgen Schuler

kid… sort of. He’s just as normal as everyone else except his family can’t afford the shiny new toy that’s taking over, Bebot. All he wants for his birthday is to “be like everyone else” and join the Bebot family. In some kind of kismet moment, his family manages to get one that fell of the truck. That’s not a euphemism, it literally did; so Barney’s new best friend Ron is just a little bit off, but that’s what makes him special. He can’t connect to the rest of the world (through wifi) like everyone else’s so they just get a chance to have fun. Through this new friendship and their somewhat ridiculous adventures Barney discovers what’s really important and it’s not being the most liked picture on the web or having the most virtual friends.

Festivals Reviews

MVFF: The Last Film Show

by Morgen Schuler

Fascinated from the moment light hit the screen, young Samay is hooked on moving pictures. A strict father insisting the film industry is made up of sleaze and nothing else, the precocious nine-year-old is even more drawn in. Skipping school to watch everything he can get his eyes on, he befriends the man running the projector at his local movie house and learns everything there is to know about splicing and reels eating up every last morsel of knowledge he can grab…

Festivals Reviews

MVFF: Queen of Glory deals with loss and love with a delightful cast

by Morgen Schuler

Sarah is steeped in a world of scientific study and dissertations; that world suddenly stops with just a single phone call, her mother has died of a sudden aneurism. Not only has she lost someone dear to her but she’s thrown into the deep end of caring for her funeral arrangements, both American and Ghanaian. She’s much more familiar and comfortable with the former, but the culture and customs of her mother’s homeland go way over her head.