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Review by Sean Boelman
Executive produced by Cooper Raiff (the filmmaker behind this year’s Sundance sensation Cha Cha Real Smooth), Sophia Silver’s coming-of-age film Over/Under is an indie gem debuting on the festival circuit. Wholesome and warm-hearted, even if it isn’t too unconventional, this nonetheless heralds the arrival of an interesting new voice on the scene.
The movie follows two inseparable best friends who spend a series of several summers growing up, growing both together and apart in unexpected ways. It’s a pretty standard coming-of-age film, down to the very run-of-the-mill framing device that it uses, but it is the sincerity with which the script — co-written by Silver and Sianni Rosenstock — is written that makes it effective. With a runtime of under an hour and a half and solid pacing, the movie breezes by. Still, there are some tonal inconsistencies in the film that are perhaps a bit troubling. Some of the segments are much more on the awkward, comedic side, whereas others are more somber and dramatic. It’s a balancing act, and while it’s clear that the movie is trying to capture the volatility of real life, it doesn’t quite succeed in doing so. The conversations between the characters explore many of the common themes of growing up — identity, sexuality, responsibility, etc. — but it doesn’t necessarily add anything new to the discussion. Yet even though there have been other films to discuss these ideas frankly before, they are so universal that movies can continue to explore them in poignant ways. 
The film’s success really hinges around the central friendship between the two characters, and Silver and Rosenstock do an exceptional job of building this dynamic. It’s a really complex friendship that they share, and one that is hard to capture in a way that feels authentic and not cheesy, but it’s been done exceptionally well here.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this movie is the fact that the two lead performances are both phenomenal. Emajean Bullock and Anastasia Veronica Lee are both very talented child actors, bringing their all to the roles and having exceptional chemistry together. Even more astounding is that they seem entirely comfortable in their characters’ skin, something that is exceedingly unusual for actors their age. Stylistically, Silver’s direction is nice and warm, although it isn’t anything particularly original. You can tell that there is a sentimentality and nostalgia for the days of childhood in her approach, and it’s quite infectious. Silver’s voice behind the camera seemingly isn’t fully developed yet, but it is her debut after all. Over/Under is a sweet little movie, and even if it doesn’t do anything particularly new within the genre, it’s a decently-made entry. Sophia Silver has made something charming and promising, and it will be exciting to see what she does next. Over/Under debuted at the 2022 San Francisco Film Festival. Rating: 3.5/5
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Review by Camden Ferrell  Based on Sergey Fetisov’s memoir, The Story of Roman, Firebird is a new romantic war drama. It is the feature directorial debut of Peeter Rebane and has played at numerous festivals around the world since it premiered in 2021. This is an honest and true story, but aside from a pretty great and cathartic ending, the rest of the movie doesn’t feel like it’s as compelling as it could have been. Sergey is a young man in the early days of his military service. One day, he meets a fighter pilot named Roman. Together, they navigate the line between friendship and love. In addition to this, they form a love triangle with the secretary to the base commander, and they all face turmoil in their own lives due to this ordeal. This is a great story with lots of layers and unique characters each with their own set of woes. On paper, this is a great foundation for a movie to make a moving and emotional story out of. The writing for this movie is a bit of a mixed bag. It handles the romance aspects of the characters very well, but when it comes to creating the backdrop of Communist-ruled Estonia, it feels flat. In addition to that, the characters don’t feel fully fleshed out at times, and this makes it hard to feel particularly invested in their relationships. The movie also feels slow and unevenly paced at times, and this can prevent the audience from getting invested early on.  The acting in the movie is above average. Tom Prior, Oleg Zagorodnii, and Diana Pozharskaya star as Sergey, Roman, and Luisa respectively. They all have good chemistry and none of them outperform the others, but it feels too reserved in the first half of the movie. By the final act, they each are able to perform very well with the catharsis and drama of those moments.
Overall, the movie has such a strong ending but is brought down from the start by an underwhelming set up. Rebane has proven that he knows how to achieve truly emotional moments, but his next goal should be to make something more consistent in quality and execution. Despite its flaws, some may find themselves thoroughly engaged by this war era romance. Being based on a true story, there is some authenticity present, but the movie doesn’t know how to capitalize on it until it’s too late. Regardless, there are more good things happening than bad, but it’s still underwhelming considering its source material. Firebird is in theaters April 29. Rating: 3/5 Review by Adam Donato  Liam Neeson is about a month away from being seventy years old. It’s the last weekend of April and he is going on his second action flick of the year. Blacklight came out around Valentine’s Day the same weekend as two other pretty decent entries. Unexpectedly (or perhaps not), it was a massive bomb. With a $43 million dollar budget, which is absolutely insane, the worldwide box office total of $15 million is just pathetic. Memory should fare much better for a few different reasons. First of all, it has the weekend all to itself. That being said, this weekend is the calm before the storm in the form of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Not to mention, last weekend saw three movies release to much critical applause, which is not ideal for Memory at the box office. Maybe the saving grace of Memory is the director, Martin Campbell. Many will be quick to mention that Campbell directed Casino Royale almost two decades ago. Even though the director is more recently responsible for Green Lantern, the last few years have been kind of a resurgence with The Foreigner and The Protegé. Can Memory keep the ball rolling for Campbell?  The film is a remake of a Belgian film called The Memory of a Killer back in 2003. This may be the reason why this premise feels so tired. It doesn’t help that Liam Neeson once again suits up as an assassin who wants out of the game because he loves his family. At least this movie has his age play a factor into the plot besides the idea that he wants to retire. It’s hard to say that Liam Neeson does a bad job in this. He’s just doing the same crap that he does several times a year for at least the last decade. I can’t imagine anyone feeling passionate about this movie in particular in any way, shape or form.
The interesting aspects about this movie are the supporting players. Guy Pearce is always a delight. He carries the majority of the movie despite his character being such a standard detective. Monica Bellucci is an all-time babe, but she turns in the weakest performance of the big names. Campbell’s direction is definitely above average in comparison to the pantheon of stock Liam Neeson action flicks, but there’s still nothing special about Memory. Memory is certainly not the worst of the Liam Neeson action flicks, but there’s little to make it stand out amongst the bunch. If you see this movie, expect to be in a theater with a few scattered elderly couples. This movie will bomb at the box office and while it may not be the most deserving, it does not deserve to be defended. It’s old people wish fulfillment and if Neeson is your cup of tea then this would be a fine trip to the theater. Hopefully a second box office flop will deter Neeson for making audiences sit through the same exact movie twice a year. Memory hits theaters on April 29. Rating: 2/5 Review by Tatiana Miranda  Apple TV+'s latest series, Shining Girls, is a lofty amalgamation of sci-fi, thriller, and mystery based on the 2013 novel by Lauren Beukes. The plot centers around Kirby Mazrachi, a research assistant in Chicago who was violently assaulted six years earlier. Through her connections at work and a recent murder that mirrors her own assault, she begins to piece together a series of murders that span decades and warp her understanding of time. Kirby, who is played by TV drama veteran Elisabeth Moss, is a resilient character who overshadows the rest of the characters in the show. Her partner-in-crime, reporter Dan intends to be more than he ends up being, and his final moments in the series are lackluster as a result. While their dynamic is crucial to Kirby solving the mystery of her assaulter's identity, Dan is primarily just a device to Kirby instead of being his own developed character. Other characters in the series, such as Philippa Soo's Jin-Sook, don't appear important during their introduction, but their presence becomes imperative to the storyline as time shifts. Shining Girls's multi-dimensional storyline is both its saving grace as well as its downfall. It bends the usual detective/thriller story and aids in characterizing Kirby's trauma response to her assault. As her health and career are derailed by injury, so is the rest of her life as she loses experiences with those she loves and turns into someone she doesn't know. While being a great vehicle for the story of Kirby's growth, time travel in the series is also captivating as she tries to catch Harper, the villain of the story, as he slips through time and away from her.  Compared to the novel by Beukes, Shining Girls harps more on the mystery aspect of the storyline, allowing the audience to get inside the head of Kirby. As she unravels Harper's actions, so does the audience. This is a beneficial derision from the book, but it takes up time and hinders the show's pacing. By episode six of the eight-episode season, the truth of the aspects of time travel is finally revealed, but they are done so in a singular episode. This episode is primarily a series of flashbacks focused on Harper that feels out of place with the rest of the series. While this episode goes into how time travel works, the show later fails to explain the multi-dimensional aspects or Harper's motives beyond his general hatred of women.
Shining Girls takes its time, with each episode spanning about an hour, yet it ends with much more to be desired. Since Apple TV+ presents it as an ongoing series, there is a chance for any unanswered details to be developed later, and perhaps a season two will improve upon some of the flaws of this season. Shining Girls premiers on Apple TV+ on April 29th with new episodes released subsequent Fridays. All eight episodes reviewed. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
International films on streaming services are severely hit-or-miss; for every auteur-driven passion project, there’s a movie that’s content being pumped out for its own country and getting a platform here. Lisa Azuelos’s romantic comedy I Love America is certainly the latter, a film that is the very definition of unimpressive.
The movie follows a single, middle-aged Parisian woman who experiences a midlife crisis when she enters the dating pool in Los Angeles. Although the film is never explicitly autobiographical, the fact that the protagonist is a movie director named Lisa probably means that there is some personal angle to this — even if the extremely cliched script wouldn’t imply that. Thankfully, the film is mercifully short at only an hour and forty minutes. The pacing is mostly breezy, which allows it to be pleasant even when it isn’t all that funny. Many of the gags in the movie are obvious — aiming for the low-hanging fruit in an attempt to get an easy chuckle rather than go for genuine wit. While the title implies that this might have something insightful to say about the immigrant experience and assimilating to American culture, this is just a largely inconsequential romantic comedy. It isn’t even all that insightful about the modern dating scene in America, with just a few quips about dating apps and nothing more. 
The characters in the film are nearly insufferable. Many of these midlife crisis movies are about selfish people learning to grow out of their shell and care for other people, and although the protagonist here does that, the character is so annoying that it’s hard to get over. And weren’t we past the days of having a stereotypically gay sidekick?
The only thing that manages to barely keep this movie afloat is its cast. Sophie Marceau is a gifted actress who has had a pretty well-respected career, and why she ended up in something trite like this, the world will never know. But she elevates it to something that is more than movie of the week material. Colin Woodell (of The Flight Attendant fame) is charming enough to be the love interest, even if he’s nothing more than eye candy. Azuelos’s film is also severely lacking from a stylistic standpoint. For a standard streaming romantic comedy, it’s passable (if only just), but it’s clear that Azuelos wanted this to be something more. A few moments have some inspired soundtrack choices, but apart from that, its style is just ditziness, which gets old quickly. I Love America isn’t really odious in any way, but it does feel like a waste of time. It’s a romantic comedy the likes of which you have seen dozens of times before, and apart from a solid performance from Sophie Marceau, there’s nothing about it that’s special. I Love America streams on Prime Video beginning April 29. Rating: 2.5/5 |