Saturday movie review: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

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As I sat down to write my movie review on the HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE, a New Zealand adventure/comedy/drama starring Sam Neill and Julian Dennison that premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, a few choice words came to mind. Rather than attempt to deftly weave those words throughout my review, I'll just lay them on the line right here, right up front.

Choice words for HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE:

offbeat • poignant • outrageous • hilarious • sweet • silly • memorable • coming of age • wacky • well done • charming • delightfully deadpan • madcap • touching • must-see

hunt for the wilderpeople

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE ("wilderpeople" being a twist on "wildebeest") is one of those films that flew so below the radar that finding it — after seeing Sam Neill interviewed on...

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Saturday movie review: Gifted

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The storyline of GIFTED — about a bachelor raising his young and astonishingly brilliant young niece after his sister's suicide — had me braced for a sweet and sappy affair when I was invited to a free screening of the film a few weeks ago. You know, a predictable tale typical of television movies most often run and rerun on basic cable channels.

gifted movie

GIFTED surprised me by its lack of sappiness and degree to which it rose above and beyond my expectations. What made it so much better than I braced for? Could be the feisty and frank gifted girl of the title. Perhaps it's the handsome bachelor who proves himself far more than eye candy as well as the blunt and beautiful teacher enamored by the fella. Could also be the the one-eyed cat named Fred, the bitchy grandmother, the outspoken and overly...

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Saturday movie review: Captain Fantastic

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For the record, I'm a big fan of Viggo Mortensen. I think he's one of the more subtly amazing yet underrated and too often overlooked actors out there. So when I read that he received a Best Actor nomination for his role in CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, I thought, Well good for him! It's about time.

I then immediately thought, But that's certainly not a film I'll be watching. Because I don't care much for super hero movies and having seen no trailers or such, that's what I figured it was.

Captain Fantastic movie

I'm here to confess I'm an idiot. Not because I don't like super hero movies, but because CAPTAIN FANTASTIC is so very not a super hero story despite the super hero sound of the title. CAPTAIN FANTASTIC is a super dad story. A story about a good dad with good intentions. A brilliant dad with grandiose ideas when it comes to life in general and raising his kids in particular. Lofty ideas. So lofty, in fact, they border on lunacy.

And Viggo Mortensen does an insanely fantastic job portraying that extraordinary...

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Saturday movie review: Brothers... Plus, a one-month free Sundance Now freebie

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Documenting the daily doings of beloved children is nothing unusual. Thousands (hundreds of thousands?) mommy — and grandma — bloggers across the globe do exactly that, day in and day out, sharing stories and such on their little sweeties.

Documenting the very same on film day in and day out — for decades — is unusual. Is unique. Is exactly what Norwegian director and cinematographer Aslaug Holm did in her documentary BROTHERS. In doing so, she confirmed that a (moving) picture is indeed worth 1,000 words. And then some.

brothers documentary 

Holm set out making the ultimate home movie of her two young sons, Markus and Lukas, more than a decade ago. She kept the camera rolling for eight years. Day in, day out Holm...

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Saturday movie review: Dough

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The movie DOUGH is about Muslims. And Jews. And immigrants. And marijuana-infused baked goods. All hot topics in our current volatile (and often downright vile) political climate.

Unlike political discussions on such hot-button immigration, race and religion matters, though, DOUGH leaves no sour taste for viewers.

DOUGH movie

While DOUGH touches on — embraces even — serious issues, the British comedy drama turned out to be quite sweet and digestible. Because of the story and honest performances more so than the bakery goodies featured throughout.

The bare bones of the humorous and heartwarming plot: Nat Dayan (Jonathan Pryce), an aging Jewish bakery owner struggling to keep afloat his family business in London's East End reluctantly hires the troubled son of his Muslim cleaning woman, Safa (Natasha Gordon), an immigrant from Darfur. Ayyash ...

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