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  • Kid 90: Review

    Kid 90: Review

    Kid 90 Synopsis: As a teenager in the ’90s, Punky Brewster star Soleil Moon Frye carried a video camera everywhere she went. She documented hundreds of hours of footage and then locked it away for over 20 years…until now.

    Intimately exploring the coming-of-age experience for famed child stars, Soleil Moon Frye’s new documentary Kid 90 takes an in-depth look at the group’s growing pains through the lens of restored archive footage. While Frye’s film doesn’t develop the most substantive thesis, her relics from a bygone era effectively speak towards the media’s maligned magnification of personal struggles.

    Splicing recovered footage with reflections from a few former stars (David Arquette, Stephen Dorff, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Frye among others), Kid 90 presents a potent form for thoughtful discourse. Frye’s imperfect recordings are a spell-binding inclusion, providing an inside-baseball perspective from the grainy viewpoint of personal cameras. These revealing frames speak volumes about the child-star experience, often capturing the meteoric highs and deflating lows during the formative adolescent years (there’s an infectious allure to the footage’s makeshift visuals, transporting viewers through its prism of ’90s culture).

    Frye deserves praise for her ability to engage with the topic’s deeper connotations. The actress-turned-filmmaker analyzes her personal journey from an enlightened perspective, deconstructing the ways her adolescent mind couldn’t construed fame’s lurking dangers. Formative years are challenging enough, but under the eye of media frenzy, the intensified growing pains become reflexive of grander dynamics.

    Kid 90 delves into the media’s troubling over-sexualization of Frye’s developing years, using her struggles to articulate the neglected mental tolls facing her and other stars of her era. It’s often heartbreaking to witness the byproduct of the stars’ commodified personas. Frye’s film works as an able depiction of these dynamics while providing an empathetic tribute to the forgotten souls lost along the way (the number of deaths is heartbreaking and truly eye-opening to witness).

    I support Frye for her well-intended efforts, but her filmmaking approach leaves some room for refinement. The meshing of footage with perspective interviews isn’t as effective as it could be, with several of the interviews spelling out points that the archives relay with more tact and impact. I also don’t think Frye builds her intriguing conceits enough. The truncated 72-minute runtime ultimately proves too slight to create a full-fledged look at her subjects.

    Kid 90 shines where it counts though, with Soleil Moon Frye crafting an impassioned look in an overlooked cultural facet.

    Kid 90 is available now on Hulu

  • Feeling Through: Review

    Feeling Through: Review

    “Feeling Through” is the story of the meeting between Tereek (played by Steven Prescod), a young man with nowhere to sleep and Artie (played by Robert Tarango) a deaf-blind man who wants to go home. This encounter will change their lives forever.

    “Feeling Through” is a short film directed and written by Doug Roland, known for “Life Hack” (2017). The film has already won more than 14 awards in various festivals around the world and is nominated in the category “Live Action Short Film” of the 93rd edition of the Oscars alongside “Da Yie” or “The Present”.

    We witness a surprising and touching encounter between Tereek, a young man who is afraid to sleep outside in solitude and darkness, and Artie, a deaf-blind man who spends his whole life in the dark, who seems fearless.

    It’s late, Artie just wants to go home, and for that, he has to put his full trust in others, he depends entirely on the goodwill of the people to find the bus stop that will take him home.

    Tereek will first face a communication problem, but he will quickly understand how to communicate with Artie. The two men gradually get to know each other.

    Tereek faces Artie, a man who despite his disability seems happy, confident and peaceful. A guy who is just coming off a date, who lives his life like any other man.

    At first, Tereek seems very troubled by Artie’s serenity and normality. He will understand that a handicap does not prevent a man from living his life as normally as possible. This encounter, which lasts only a few hours, will profoundly change his way of thinking and acting. 

    The duo of actors is impressive. Robert Tarango, the first deaf-blind actor in the history of cinema, delivers a remarkable performance, which allows the film to take all its meaning. Indeed, we can’t imagine a film like this one without an actor affected by these handicaps. Something that we unfortunately find in many films, and which fortunately is gradually evolving in a good way. It’s essential to make a place for actors with disabilities, especially when the disability is the main subject of the film.

    Steven Prescod, on the other hand, is also remarkable, the collaboration between the two actors works perfectly well.

    “Feeling Through” is only 18 minutes long but it is as powerful as a three-hour feature film. Doug Roland offers us a well-paced and superbly directed film that works perfectly. The film deals with the theme of disability in a very accurate way, without falling into any form of miserabilism.

    I really hope it wins the Oscar for “Live Action Short Film, which might encourage directors to work with actors with disabilities in the future. Cinema is universal.

  • Long Weekend: The BRWC Review

    Long Weekend: The BRWC Review

    Long Weekend Synopsis: Bart’s (Finn Wittrock) chance encounter with the enigmatic Vienna (Zoe Chao) leads to a whirlwind weekend together. The two fall fast and hard, but both carry secrets that could be their undoing or the chance for a fresh start.

    With Netflix monopolizing the romantic comedy marketplace, the genre’s confectionary joys have seemingly faded away from the big screen. I’ve grown to miss these wistfully sweet movies, as the simple pleasure of seeing two stars connect often manifests into a heart-tugging experience. Even the bad ones have a certain allure with their inherently optimistic light, highlighting feel-good energy that’s desperately missing during these dour times.

    Fear not rom-com fans, as Sony is reviving the genre with their latest Long Weekend. Writer/director Stephen Basilone’s debut feature thankfully doesn’t settle for the genre’s barebones appeals, morphing familiar machinations to construct one of the best mainstream rom-coms in years.

    I must tread lightly discussing Basilone’s film, as some of its biggest appeals have thankfully been left for audiences to discover on their own accord (it’s thrilling to see a movie that doesn’t blatantly spoil its central twist in the trailers). For a debut feature, Basilone exhibits impressive poise and artistry behind the camera. His detailed visuals unearth the simmering emotions under Bart and Vienna’s relationship, matching the character’s grand emotions with a fittingly vibrant eye. The mixture of framing styles imbues a poignant sense of intimacy and liveliness, effectively breathing a creative verve that’s rarely present amongst its rom-com peers (seriously, most rom-coms look like TV pilots).

    In a genre that often embraces a sense of artifice, Long Weekend feels refreshingly established in genuine dynamics. Basilone’s script doesn’t shy away from the character’s flawed realities, often ruminating on depression and isolation without any mawkishness. The inventive twist finds thoughtful ways to portray these inner-turmoils while keeping audiences on their toes throughout the runtime. When Basilone finally lands on his emotionally raw frames, he thankfully earns his tugs at the heart-strings with dynamic and well-articulated conversations (his script comes from a very personal place). I also appreciate Basilone’s seamless comedic additions, with his sharp script never compromising the tonal presentation for cheap gags.

    None of these appealing qualities would work without the cast’s affable deliveries. Finn Wittrock and Zoe Chao make for an endlessly compelling pair onscreen. Their easy-going chemistry elevates the dramatic and comedic frames, with Wittrock’s subdued charisma being a fitting match for Chao’s effervescent light onscreen. A game supporting cast also shines in their passing-by roles. Jim Rash, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Damon Wayans Jr. add some comedic sparkles without straining towards caricature deliveries (Wayans Jr. is such an underrated talented, exuding charm and vulnerability in his few frames as Bart’s supportive friend).

    Long Weekend ignores a majority of its rom-com trappings, but there are still some naggingly inauthentic conventions. Amidst a tight 91-minute runtime, Basilone constricts some of his character developments to surface-level discoveries. While Bart is employed with a well-rounded arc, I wish his script gave Vienna more dimension onscreen. Even while mocking the “manic pixie dream girl” archetype, Basilone occasionally steers the character towards that trope as she serves as Bart’s supportive yet thinly-developed anchor.

    Nitpicks aside, Long Weekend‘s endearing spell captured me from start to finish. Basilone’s debut feature impressively relays the optimistic open-heartedness of the genre’s best entries while still finding its own assured perspective. He has proved himself as an exciting talent to watch in the coming years.

    Long Weekend is now playing in theaters across the United States.

  • Know Fear: Review

    Know Fear: Review

    Wendy (Amy Carlson) and Donald (David Alan Basche) have just moved into their new house and are looking forward to starting a new beginning. They live close to their niece, Jami (Mallory Bechtel) who investigates supernatural phenomenon and is fascinated with anything that may come close to a bump in the night.

    However, after Wendy finds a book seemingly full with demonic incantations and starts having visions, feeling that her body may be out of her control, it’s up to Jami, Donald and Wendy’s best friend, Nancy (Meeya Davis) to expel the demon from Wendy’s body.

    Know Fear is a supernatural horror movie directed by Jamison M. LoCascio and co-written by Adam Ambrosio. Starting with what may be a limited premise considering the obviously low budget of the film, Know Fear relies almost solely on its script and that’s where the movie would live or die. Luckily, the idea of supernatural possession is a staple for the horror genre, so it’s surprisingly easy how the movie lets the audience into its simple idea.

    It’s all down to the script and the direction though which helps to set the scene, so whereas you may think you’ve seen it all before, Know Fear does indeed know what it is and it knows how to deliver.

    A slow burn horror, Know Fear is without jump scares or grisly special effects which thankfully leaves a lot up to the imagination of its audience. Nobody knows quite what they’re facing right up until the finale and even then, Know Fear only reveals enough so that the audience may find themselves wanting more.

    The cast all do a great job and although the movie does go into familiar territory, it still feels like something good was done with its premise that will delight horror fans. Fans of horror that slowly builds up, wanting a good atmosphere rather than lazy scares may be pleasantly surprised by Know Fear.

    The kind of horror that may seem familiar, but is well executed and may even leave its audience wondering how it was all so well done seemingly so easily.

  • A Glitch In The Matrix: Review

    A Glitch In The Matrix: Review

    A Glitch In The Matrix: Review. By Luke Foulder-Hughes.

    A Glitch in the Matrix was a documentary that’s premise I found very intriguing, the whole theory behind life being a simulation is something that I’ve never really considered being a possibility, so this documentary was a chance for me to learn more about a topic that I’m open to knowing more about. However, after finishing it, I had no more information about this theory than I’d had prior to viewing. 

    A huge issue I had with this documentary was that it didn’t use experts on its subject matter, opting for people who had no real evidence or proper reasoning for believing that we live in a simulation, relying on nothing more than conspiracy theories.

    This made the film feel like a feature length YouTube video from Shane Dawson, especially backed up when they actually used a clip from a Tana Mongeau video. The problem with this is that these videos are mainly for entertainment purposes, whereas A Glitch in the Matrix takes itself way too seriously to be viewed in this way so there’s no way it can be enjoyed casually.

    Another negative problem I have with it was the overuse of clips from Elon Musk, a man who I personally do not admire whatsoever, and the usage of these made the film feel like an homage to him, which doesn’t really work with the subject matter and felt very forced and unnecessary to the documentary as a whole. This left a bad taste in my mouth, and went hand in hand with the use of clips from Rick and Morty, a show I like but once again was completely unneeded and were chosen over using videos that may scientifically work with the theories.

    Something I can say that I found impressive was the animation, they used animation over the faces of the guests and to tell some stories and it looked very clean and it was obvious the animators were at the top of their game. It’s good to see great animation in a smaller scale, independent documentary as with a lower budget you’d expect that the level of animation would take a hit. I also quite liked that a lot of the reasoning for their theories were based around a film I really like, The Matrix (hence the title). From the first time I watched the Wachowski Sisters’ masterpiece, the themes it presented intrigued me, and whilst I felt this film didn’t explain these theories well, I enjoyed hearing the thoughts of the people on the documentary.

    In all honesty, this documentary felt like it was made for an audience that likes people like Elon Musk and are interested in conspiracy theories, neither of which resonate with me very much. I did enjoy very brief moments in A Glitch in the Matrix, however overall I found it very boring and uninformative, particularly through its reliance on coincidental evidence as opposed to scientific evidence, which I find necessary for every documentary unless it is done for entertainment over trying to sway the audience to this point of view.

    A Glitch in the Matrix is available on Dogwoof on Demand now and DVD and Blu-ray released on 10 May 2021.