Darrel Manson

Self Isolation Film Festival: Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Darrel MansonApr 13, 2020

A recent Op-Ed piece in the L.A. Times made reference to our current experience of ?binary confinement? (as opposed to solitary confinement in prisons). That certainly fits for my wife and me?two people isolated (sort of) from the rest of the world. It?s good that we...

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

Darrel MansonApr 7, 2020

?What we saw at that camp was that life could be better.? Perhaps the main theme of the Netflix documentary Crip Camp comes near the beginning as we see film of teenaged disabled campers in 1971 while hearing Richie Havens singing the word ?freedom? over and over from...

Film Netflix Reviews

Self-Isolation Film Festival: The General

Darrel MansonApr 6, 2020

While we fill the days and nights of self-isolation, this is a great time to discover films that we may have overlooked?especially films from long ago. Buster Keaton?s The General, a 1926 silent film, is thought by some, including Orson Wells and BFI?s Sight &...

Film Reviews SIFF VOD

Self-Isolation Film Festival: Ralph Breaks the Internet

Darrel MansonMar 30, 2020

Life is going along just fine, but then a virus begins spreading, threatening everything and everyone. That is a scary prospect. How is someone supposed to respond to such a crisis? That?s a problem raised in Disney?s Ralph Breaks the Internet. So, as we continue our...

Film Reviews SIFF VOD

1on1 with The Song of Names director Fran?ois Girard

Darrel MansonMar 25, 2020

I recently had the opportunity to speak by phone with Fran?ois Girard, director of The Song of Names. The film is the story of Dovidl, a Jewish violin prodigy, who is fostered by a British family during World War II, and his foster brother Martin. Dovidl disappears on...

Features Interviews

Self-Isolation Film Festival: Groundhog Day

Darrel MansonMar 23, 2020

?What would you do if you were stuck in a place and every day was exactly the same?? Here in California we?ve been instructed to stay at home except for essential reasons. Kids are out of school. Some have online classes, some don?t. Churches are happening by online...

Features Film Reviews SIFF VOD

Inside the Rain: Bi-polar Comedy

Darrel MansonMar 13, 2020

Inside the Rain strives to take us comedically into the experience of living with bi-polar disorder. College film student Ben (Aaron Fisher, who also wrote and directed) is new on campus. But he is a kind of walking version the DSM-5 diagnostic manual. He has OCD,...

Film Reviews

Sorry We Missed You: When the Work Ethic Doesn’t Work

Darrel MansonMar 4, 2020

?I?ve got to go to work. I have not got a choice.? We are told that if we work hard, we will find success. For many the ?gig economy? seems to be the way they can take control of their lives and find the financial success they need. Ken Loach?s film Sorry We Missed...

Film Reviews

Onward: The Magic is Within

Darrel MansonMar 4, 2020

?Long ago, the world was full of wonder. It was adventurous, exciting and best of all, there was magic. And that magic helped all in need. But it wasn?t easy to master. And so the world found a simpler way to get by. Over time, magic faded away?.? Disney/Pixar?s...

Features Film Reviews

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