THE REVIEW CORNER

     Well, it was back out to the desert for me again!  This time, for the inaugural Palm Springs International Animation Film Festival.  Animation has always had a special place in my heart.  I've loved animated films since I was a little kid.  I can remember clearly all the different Pixar movies I saw growing up, like  Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monster's Inc.,  and so many more.  Animation is different from live action because it can transport us to worlds that are only able to be realized through animation.  Many people think of animated films as just for kids or fun for the whole family.  While those are the vast majority of types of animated films released, there are many more that tackle much more adult subjects.  But, of the films I saw at this festival, they were almost entirely family friendly, and it was great to see so many parents taking their children to these screenings.  With that said, here are some of my highlights:       Taking the Plunge  is a short f

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Taliah Webster, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Barkhad Abdi Directed by: Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie Screenplay by: Ronald Bronstein and and Josh Safdie     The title for the movie might be Good Time, but the characters have anything but a good time in this film.  Nick and Constantine Nikas (Benny Safdie and Robert Pattinson respectively) are brothers who go on the occasional bank robbery.  When one goes wrong, Nick gets caught and sent to Rikers Island, a prison just outside of Queens, NY.  Nick suffers from some intellectual disabilities, for which he gets help, but Constantine wants to get him out of Rikers Island as soon as possible before something horrible happens to him inside the prison.  Constantine hears that he might be in a hospital elsewhere in Queens after potentially suffering injuries in the prison.  If Constantine is going to break him out, that's the place to do it.  Well, unfortunately for Constantine, things get mixed

Starring: Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara Directed by: David Lowery Screenplay by: David Lowery     In theory, a film about a ghost lurking in the background much of the time should be a horror movie; one that should terrify you to the core (or not).  It might be a film that one thinks little of upon leaving the theater at the film's end.  Or it might be a film that sticks with audiences long after they leave.   A Ghost Story is a film that leaves the viewer unsure of what to think.     Casey Affleck plays a character only known as C.  Rooney Mara plays a character only known as M.  They are clearly in a relationship and living together, very much in love.  The film begins as they are trying to build their life together, but it comes to a tragic and crashing end when C is killed in a car accident appearing to be not far from the house.  M, seemingly unsure of how to deal with this sudden and shocking loss remains calm and somewhat emotionless through the grieving process.  C

     Lots of film festivals lately!  Yes folks, I've been to another one showcasing short films.  I love short films.  Short films are amazing things.  A short film can do a number of things; it can showcase a particular scene and make that the central focus or even the entirety of the short film, or it can challenge the filmmaker.  It can challenge him or her by forcing him or her to condense a story into a short span of time.  It can challenge the filmmaker to develop a story, whether it be complex or simple, in a short amount of time.  I am often amazed by short films and the power they can have on the viewer.  HollyShorts is a big film festival here in Los Angeles.  It's an Academy Awards qualifier which makes it a very important and competitive festival.  I found the production value of some of these short films to be higher overall than some of the other shorts I've seen at other festivals like Palm Springs or LA Shorts.  There were some truly terrific shorts a

     So, I've been to another film festival.  One of the great things about this particular film festival is that it is walking distance from my house, making it a little easier to get to than, say, Palm Springs (for a festival back in June).  Similar to the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, LA Shorts is also a festival for short films.      This was a screening block whose theme was music.  So, the question is, how many films about struggling musicians can be made?  Well, a lot.  But they're important films because they show the human side of the music industry; the level of passion and drive needed to succeed in such a cutthroat industry.  This screening block included a number of short films, but also a few music videos, something I felt was quite refreshing.  Here are some of my highlights.        Gatekeeper  is a film about a young African American woman trying to make it as a singer.  When she is invited to a party where a famous rapper is going to be,

Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Damien Bonnard,  Aneurin Barnard, Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, James D'Arcy, Kenneth Branagh, and Tom Hardy Directed by: Christopher Nolan Screenplay by: Christopher Nolan      Every few years, when there's a new film directed by Christopher Nolan, I get really excited.  Usually that particular film is my most highly anticipated of the year.  That was the case with every one of his films since Inception , and Dunkirk is no exception.  So does Dunkirk live up to the hype?  It most certainly does.      Based on the true story of the evacuation of allied forces from the beaches of France in the early part of the Second World War (before the United States entered), Dunkirk is a tour de force film about bravery and courage like no other.  The film has three distinct parts to it that in real life happened at different times; the mole, the sea, and the air.        The mole is a long narrow pier used to get the troops onto boats to hea

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Laura Haddock, Isabela Moner, Anthony Hopkins, and Stanley Tucci Directed by: Michael Bay Screenplay by: Art Marcum and Matt Holloway      Does it ever feel like certain things are just getting old now?  Like, they're not even fun anymore? That's how I feel about Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment of the Transformers series that Michael Bay has said is his last (even though there will be more of these movies).      Optimus Prime ( Peter Cullen) is gone.  He has left to go find his makers and see what is left of the planet Cybertron after being ravaged by war between the autobots and the decepticons.  While there he is seduced by a weird transformer sorceress named Quintessa (Gemma Chan) and changes his name to Nemesis Prime.  She convinces him that in order for Cybertron to live once again, Earth must die.  So like an asteroid speeding towards a point of gravity, Cybertron speeds toward Earth so that the transform

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Jon Bernthal, Eiza Gonzalez, Jamie Foxx, and Kevin Spacey Directed by: Edgar Wright Screenplay by: Edgar Wright       This is the kind of film that is made specifically for the summer; the kind when you're just trying to beat the heat outside and see a movie that doesn't make you think too much and is just a whole lot of fun.  That's what we've come to expect with Edgar Wright films, and Baby Driver  is no exception.        Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a getaway driver.  He works for an Atlanta crime boss who simply goes by the name Doc (Kevin Spacey).  Somehow Baby got himself into some debt with Doc and is working steadily to pay it off.  What the debt is and how he acquired such debt is not explained, but we go along with it anyway.  Apparently it's supposed to make the story a bit more compelling.  Doc never uses the same crew twice, but uses Baby for the getaway car each time.  Why?  Well, it is the music Baby is

      It's summer and everybody is trying to beat the heat.  I live in Los Angeles where it's been excruciatingly hot recently.  Wherever you live, hopefully this summer will make you appreciate the beauty that is air conditioning.  During a recent heat wave, while most people went to the beach to escape the heat, I drove straight into it for the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival.  That particular day, it was 91 degrees when I left my house and 115 degrees when I pulled up to the theater that afternoon.  Fortunately, the theater was comfortable and air conditioned!  I was only out there for one day, but attended two screening blocks, one called  Around the World in 90 Minutes , and the other,  The Things We do for Love .  These were great experiences because the films shown were from all over the world.  Both screening blocks were about 90 minutes long or a little more and I felt that I had experienced so much in those blocks.  Each film was distinctly different

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, and Dafne Keen Directed by: James Mangold Screenplay by: James Mangold and Scott Frank      The year is 2029, and much of the world has changed for our hero, Logan/the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).  Many of the mutants are gone and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is not well.  Logan is living out his days chauffeuring bachelorette parties as well as caring for Charles Xavier.  They live in an old and run down building that looks like it was once a small factory or mill somewhere along the Mexican border.  Charles is suffering from severe seizures that impact not only his abilities, but can cause serious harm to people around him, and it is up to Logan and their mutant friend, Caliban (Stephen Merchant), to care for him and make sure he's on his meds.      One day, along comes a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) who can't speak.  It becomes clear that she is a mutant and needs help.  She has escap

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose, Common, and Laurence Fishburne Directed by: Chad Stahelski Screenplay by: Derek Kolstad     Do you ever feel like watching a movie where all the characters seem to do is shoot each other in high-octane, high intensity action sequences all loosely blended together by a simplistic storyline?  Well, John Wick: Chapter 2, does that even better than the first one.  And the first one does it pretty well.     This movie picks up right where the last one left off.  John Wick (Keanu Reeves) has a new dog, after his first dog is killed by the son of a Russian mob boss in New York.  A man who was once retired from the hit man life has been dragged back into it by that unforeseen incident in the wake of his wife's death.  Now, in Chapter 2, there are no signs he wants out of the life again.  But wait, there's more!     An associate of John's named Santino D'Antonio is calling in a debt that John owes him.

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, and Bradley Whitford Directed by: Jordan Peele Screenplay by: Jordan Peele      Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams) are in a seemingly serious relationship.  And now it's time for Chris to meet Rose's parents.  There may be tensions when Rose's family (who is white) meets Chris (who is black).  It's not the interracial love story you might be looking for.  It's an interracial love/horror/mystery story that will surely take you for a wild ride.      The problems begin even before Chris and Rose arrive at the family home.  Rose hasn't told her parents that Chris is black.  Once they arrive, Chris notices a lack of African American people.  There are a few; Georgina (Betty Gabriel), who helps around the house with Rose's parents, and Walter (Marcus Henderson), who does yard and landscaping work outside the house.  They act a little strange, Chris notices at first, but doesn'

Starring: Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, and Naomie Harris Directed by: Barry Jenkins Screenplay by: Barry Jenkins       Moonlight is the story of a young boy who grows up in a rough neighborhood in Miami looking to find his place in his world and who he is.  This is more than a story about a young African American boy who grows up to find out he is gay.  This is the story of someone trying to understand his own human condition.      In the first third of the film, the audience meets Chiron (Alex Hibbert) as a young boy running away from schoolmates after school who are trying to attack him.  This is where he runs into Juan (Mahershala Ali), a drug dealer in the area who becomes almost a father figure to Chiron.  Juan and his girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monáe) help Chiron as a young boy grow up when his mother, Paula (Naomie Harris), is not the most positive influence in his life (she is an occasional crack smoker, who is supplied b

     About last night... that was interesting, wasn't it?  The show was great, Jimmy Kimmel was a fantastic host, the thing with the tour bus was entertaining as hell, and the best picture mix-up was... unfortunate.  The 89th Academy Awards were last night and here are a few highlights of the films that were celebrated this year I enjoyed.     Things I wasn't Happy About       Like many of you, I filled out an Oscars ballot this year to see how well I would do.  Heck, I was so confident, I filled out two; one for what I wanted to win and one for what I thought would win.  As of the end of the awards show, both of my ballots had the same number of things I predicted correctly.  I was good for 6 of the 24 awards given out last night, on both ballots!   That's the first thing I'm not happy about.      I'm not thrilled about Casey Affleck for Actor in a Leading Role.  Most people I've talked to loved Manchester by the Sea.   I didn't.  I found it to be

Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, and Betty Buckley Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan Screenplay by: M. Night Shyamalan Here's a statement that will shock you.  M. Night Shyamalan has made a decent film again!      Three young women have been kidnapped outside of a mall.  They are taken back to the kidnapper's lair where he likes to watch them undress and dance for him.  He comes back to check on them occasionally, but wearing different clothes and having vastly different personalities.  He turns out to be a guy named "Kevin", but "Kevin" has 23 different personalities, all of whom are almost completely different characters.      While the girls are trying to escape from the windowless, dungeon-like room they've been put in, "Kevin" goes to a psychologist who specializes in dissociative personality disorders like he has.  But it's one of the 23 identities who gets the help needed.  It's u

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Corey Stoll Directed by: Stephen Gaghan Screenplay by: Patrick Massett and John Zinman      Ever wonder when you're watching a movie and you think, "Where have I seen something like this before?"  I know I've had that thought.  It only took about three seconds for me to start wondering this, and about four seconds to have an answer (and that was while watching the trailer).      Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) is a gold prospector who has inherited a gold mining company from his father (Washoe Mining).  He seems to know what he is doing running the company, and looking for gold, but he doesn't really.      The company is having some difficulty finding gold, but he knows a guy.  That's Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez), a geologist who's credited with finding a massive copper find some years back; in fact, one of the biggest copper finds ever.  Wells thinks he can trust Acosta to