Evan D.A tale as old as time, how much can true love transcend? Is it simply an intertwining of attractions or is love something more, something so inherent to our very being that we’ll find our way back to it under even the most dire of circumstances? These are questions posed by Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze in What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?, a film that askes much but answers sparingly little.
Comments
Evan D.We need to have a conversation about the Black Panthers. It’s past time really. Coming up through the American school system the extent I heard about the Panthers was J. Edgar Hoover’s infamous assessment of the group. Nary a mention of the children’s breakfast programs they instituted, the medical clinics they ran, the social justice causes for which they advocated. Judas and the Black Messiah may actually be many an American’s first introduction to Fred Hampton, portrayed by Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya.
Evan D.If there has been one silver lining of a massive, life altering pandemic forcing us all to stay home, it may be the other pandemic that it placed on hold. Simply by virtue of schools being closed, the coronavirus pandemic has ushered in the longest period without school shootings in the United States in decades. Although our current torment consumes much of our thought, it’s worthwhile to remember the trauma it temporarily alleviated. Fran Kranz’ Mass is a bruising reminder.
Evan D.They say write what you know, and the only thing any of us have known for the last year plus is a coronavirus lockdown. The next pandemic is on its way: a plague of COVID inspired films. And we wont have to wait long either. Michael Bay was first out of the gate with his critically maligned pandemic thriller Songbird. Doug Liman’s very COVID specific heist film Locked Down is already earning wide pans on HBO Max. Documentaries of the early days of lockdown have been informative and more are sure to come. Like the pandemic itself, this scourge of on the nose movies will be with us for a while.
Evan D.**A Quick review of Homeroom from the Sundance Film Festival. More thoughts to come when the film gets an official release**
Senior year is always a tumultuous time for students. Young people across the country faced with an uncertain world ahead. Not yet old enough to buy a beer or rent a car, they’re forced to make decisions that will profoundly affect the rest of their lives. Certainly this anxiety, mixed with the uniquely youthful optimism and energy must have been on Peter Nicks’ mind as he set out to document Oakland’s graduating class of 2020. What he never could have predicted is what unfolded over the year. Evan D.**A Quick review of CODA from the Sundance Film Festival. More thoughts to come when the film gets an official release**
My family just can’t understand. It’s a bit of shared experience that has been fertile ground for coming of age films as far back as Rebel Without a Cause. What makes James Dean’s portrayal of Jim so impressive is the deepens of his convictions when, in reality, he was the one who didn’t understand his parents. CODA presents a coming of age story where its teen protagonist really is misunderstood. Evan D.At times I think that animation is the most misunderstood genre. To even call it a genre may be a mischaracterization. The medium has been so monopolized by Disney’s singular vision of adventure seeking princesses and peasants that more mature fare gets overlooked. Animated in the playful style of a children’s picture book and focusing on two girls who can magically transform into wolves, Wolfwalkers may not seem like grown-up cinema, but appearances can be deceiving.
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