“Thank you for this day, Daddy. I hope I lived right and if I see you one day that I make you proud.” I first saw Katie Says Goodbye at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival, where I ranked it among my favorites. The film won jury awards for Best Actress (Olivia Cooke) and Best… [Read More]
Big Brother: Fighting for [Other] Families
![Big Brother: Fighting for [Other] Families](https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/fantasia-2018-big-brother-poster-150x150.jpg)
Throughout the years, there have been many examples of the ‘teacher making a difference’ genre. Ranging from the great successes (Dead Poets Society, Dangerous Minds) to the forgettable (Cadence, Finding Forrestor), the story of a teacher fighting for the lives of the underprivileged is an oft-repeated narrative that is often powerful (but also risks falling into predictability)…. [Read More]
Triple Threat – Red, Dead but No Redemption
Directed by Jesse V. Johnson (The Debt Collector), Triple Threatdelivers the high-octane stunt work that one would expect from any film starring martial arts experts like Iko Uwais (The Raid), Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior) and Tiger Hu Chen (Man of Tai Chi). When a crime syndicate places a hit on a billionaire’s daughter, she… [Read More]
Green Book: Navigating the Space Between Races
The tension was palpable. In the moments (and days?) following Julia Roberts’ announcement that Green Book had won Best Picture at the 91stAcademy Awards, there were almost as many cheers and celebrations as there were anxious and angry responses. While some denounced it for simplifying racial arguments and a ‘White Savior’ complex, others proclaimed that it… [Read More]
Rampant: Land of the Living Dead
Directed by Kim Sung-Hoon, Rampant is an unexpectedly fascinating mashup of genres as classical Asian cinema meets horror film. After all, a period piece about a Korean prince who returns home amidst political turmoil hardly screams zombie apocalypse. Somewhat surprisingly, however, Rampant proves itself to be a fun and engaging film that breathes fresh life into the… [Read More]
We Are the Heat – Dance of Redemption?
In the port city of Buenaventura, Columbia, a young man and his friends struggle to escape their poverty. Their weapon in this war is dance. In We Are the Heat, Harvey and his crew battle corruption, drug traffickers, and other dance crews as they try to find not just a new life, but redemption from… [Read More]
52 Words for Love: Love in Every Language
“Your life is full of love, whether you recognize it or not.” – Andrea Moodie (Writer/Director, 52 Words for Love) 52 Words of Love tells the story of Alice, a young woman dying of cancer to launches the titular website, in which she posts a new synonym for love each week for a year. As the site gradually… [Read More]
The Isle – Creepiness Is Not Enough
“This is a dead isle. We’re only here because we have no choice.” In The Isle, three seamen survive an unexplainable shipwreck. They find themselves in a rowboat in thick fog. When the fog begins to lift, they see an island and make their way to it. They find that there are only four people… [Read More]
The Golem – Savior or Destroyer?
“When a man tries to play God, the darkness awakens.” Based in Jewish folklore, The Golem is a tale of looking for a savior, but finding instead destruction. Set in seventeenth century Lithuania, a Jewish village is under attack by local Gentiles who blame the Jews for a plague that is killing people. How should… [Read More]
Don’t Come Back from the Moon – A World of Emptiness
An optimist sees a glass as half full; a pessimist sees it as half empty. A nihilist will dump the water from the glass and marvel at the emptiness. Bruce Thierry Cheung’s Don’t Come Back from the Moon is a study of such emptiness.
