Darrel Manson

Soul – Pixar’s Holiday Present (but…)

Darrel MansonDec 21, 2020

?You can?t crush a soul here; that?s what life on earth is for.? Since Pixar?s Soul is coming to us on Christmas Day, I can?t help but compare it to a present. This is the largest present under the tree. It has the most amazing wrapping paper and beautiful ribbons. We...

Disney+Film Reviews

Tiger Within – Choosing Not to Hate

Darrel MansonDec 18, 2020

?I think God gives everyone the same gift. Most people don?t unwrap the gift.? Rafal Zielinski?s Tiger Within is a study of brokenness, fear, hatred, wisdom, forgiveness, and healing. It is the story of two very different people who manage to find a connection they...

Film Reviews

Sister of the Groom – Wedding Cake with Bitter Aftertaste

Darrel MansonDec 18, 2020

Amy Miller Gross?s Sister of the Bride has all the ingredients of a romcom, but it never gets the mix of those ingredients right. So instead of a story of finding sweetness, love, and happiness, we get a story with far too much bitterness, malice and pain. Audrey...

Film Reviews VOD

Louis van Beethoven – The Man Behind the Music

Darrel MansonDec 16, 2020

Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the best known composers of classical music. The first four notes of his Fifth Symphony may be the most familiar musical phrase in existence. We stand amazed at the music he composed yet never heard because of his deafness. But what of...

Film Reviews VOD

Wander Darkly – Therapy of Memory

Darrel MansonDec 11, 2020

Wander Darkly, from writer-director Tara Miele, is the story of a relationship. It is told in a unusual manner that some viewers may find difficult, but if you stick with it, it will reward you. Adrienne (Sienna Miller) and Matteo (Diego Luna) have recently bought a...

Film Reviews VOD

Through the Night – Much Needed Daycare

Darrel MansonDec 11, 2020

What are parents to do when they need to work long shifts or multiple jobs? Through the Night by documentary director Loira Limbal takes us into a 24-hour daycare center in New Rochelle, New York. There Deloris (Nunu) Hogan and her husband Patrick care day and night...

Film Reviews

Yalda, A Night of Forgiveness

Darrel MansonDec 11, 2020

?An eye for an eye is very costly. It?s not easy at all.? Many religions speak about forgiveness. It may be about the way we have been forgiven, or it may focus on our need to forgive others. In Yalda, A Night of Forgiveness from Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi, the...

Film Reviews

Farewell Amor – Hard Reunion

Darrel MansonDec 10, 2020

?We don?t even know each other anymore?or ourselves.? Among the sacrifices many immigrants face is long separation from the people they love. In Ekwu Msangi?s Farewell Amor, a family is reunited in the US after many years apart. There are cultural differences for...

AFIFest Film Reviews VOD

Alabama Snake – Death by Faith?

Darrel MansonDec 9, 2020

?Do you think we believe what we want?? ?It may be the other way around; we believe things whether we want to or not.? Theo Love?s true crime doc Alabama Snake is a search for truth amidst conflicting accounts. Finding the truth may rest more on what we believe and...

Film Reviews

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