Exclusive: LeToya Luckett (Greenleaf), Romeo Miller (Honey) and Keith David (Greenleaf) have signed on to star in the film A Miracle Before Christmas, from writer-director LazRael Lison (#Unknown).
The love story centers on Mercedes Wright (Luckett), a famous, fast-talking relationship therapist who has the answers to fixing everyone else’s marital issues, but is challenged by problems faced with her own husband (Miller), leaning on help from an angel (David) to get past them. Lison and Tatiana Chekhova are producing the film under their Summer House Pictures banner, with Charles F. Porter of Black Bench Productions, and Jasper Cole (Never and Again). Marlon D. Haynes is serving as exec producer.
Luckett is represented by WME and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Miller by Pantheon Talent; David by Artists & Representatives, Silver J Management and Meyers & Downs; and Lison by Newman-Thomas Management and Kaye & Mills.
***
Exclusive: Rose Reid (Finding You), Ruairi O’Connor...
The love story centers on Mercedes Wright (Luckett), a famous, fast-talking relationship therapist who has the answers to fixing everyone else’s marital issues, but is challenged by problems faced with her own husband (Miller), leaning on help from an angel (David) to get past them. Lison and Tatiana Chekhova are producing the film under their Summer House Pictures banner, with Charles F. Porter of Black Bench Productions, and Jasper Cole (Never and Again). Marlon D. Haynes is serving as exec producer.
Luckett is represented by WME and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Miller by Pantheon Talent; David by Artists & Representatives, Silver J Management and Meyers & Downs; and Lison by Newman-Thomas Management and Kaye & Mills.
***
Exclusive: Rose Reid (Finding You), Ruairi O’Connor...
- 4/29/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
By Stephen Tronicek
Over the course of last year, I found myself consumed by the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. Early in the year, The Master, became my favorite film. Later, I did a rewatch of all of his films. I was a voracious consumer of Paul Thomas Anderson content. On my travels, I came across “Punch-Drunk Love: A Delegate Speaks,” a rather incredible essay written by Miranda July for the Criterion Collection copy of Anderson’s 2002 film. Not only was it extremely funny, but it brought a level of personal inspiration into the conversation. Here was a filmmaker who not only understood the film, but seemed inspired by it. Searching through July’s work, I looked for that inspiration…but couldn’t find it. The acidic nature of Me, You, and Everyone We Know and The Future both seemed to strangle their tenderness. Then I saw Kajillionaire.
To get...
Over the course of last year, I found myself consumed by the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. Early in the year, The Master, became my favorite film. Later, I did a rewatch of all of his films. I was a voracious consumer of Paul Thomas Anderson content. On my travels, I came across “Punch-Drunk Love: A Delegate Speaks,” a rather incredible essay written by Miranda July for the Criterion Collection copy of Anderson’s 2002 film. Not only was it extremely funny, but it brought a level of personal inspiration into the conversation. Here was a filmmaker who not only understood the film, but seemed inspired by it. Searching through July’s work, I looked for that inspiration…but couldn’t find it. The acidic nature of Me, You, and Everyone We Know and The Future both seemed to strangle their tenderness. Then I saw Kajillionaire.
To get...
- 2/8/2021
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Penny Black screens as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival November 5th – 22nd.Ticket information for the virtual screening can be found Here
The twisty, head-spinning investigative thriller “The Penny Black” begins when Will, the estranged son of a conman, receives a stamp collection putatively worth between $1 and $2 million from his enigmatic Russian neighbor, Roman, who asks him to hold the stamps while he’s on a two-week trip. Far from a close friend, Will knows nothing of Roman beyond his first name. In fact, the sole basis of their relationship is a conversation that the two had while smoking outside their mutual LA apartment building while a drunken Roman downed canned liquor. The filmmakers hear this outlandish tale from Will at a dinner with mutual friends shortly after he receives the stamps, and they ask to start filming to see what occurs. As it happens,...
The twisty, head-spinning investigative thriller “The Penny Black” begins when Will, the estranged son of a conman, receives a stamp collection putatively worth between $1 and $2 million from his enigmatic Russian neighbor, Roman, who asks him to hold the stamps while he’s on a two-week trip. Far from a close friend, Will knows nothing of Roman beyond his first name. In fact, the sole basis of their relationship is a conversation that the two had while smoking outside their mutual LA apartment building while a drunken Roman downed canned liquor. The filmmakers hear this outlandish tale from Will at a dinner with mutual friends shortly after he receives the stamps, and they ask to start filming to see what occurs. As it happens,...
- 11/9/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Jan Svankmajer’s Faust (1994) starts playing on the Webster Film Series Virtual Cinema on 09/18. Please visit webster.edu/film-series for more information. A link to the screening room can be found Here
Review by Stephen Tronicek
I’ve heard my father’s home country of the Czech Republic (Czechia) called, “The Wild West of Europe.” That people went there when they, “wanted to do drugs and shoot illegal fireworks.” It’s quite fitting then, that whatever Czech cinema I have experienced tends to break rules and throw all genre constraints out the window. From the groundbreaking satire of Miloš Forman, to the surreal experiments of Věra Chytilová, Czech cinema has never feared being different.
This brings us to Jan Švankmajer, the stop-motion animation guru behind some of Czech cinemas best films. Švankmajer’s approach to allegorical storytelling comes with the same tongue in cheek demeanor of Forman and Chytilová, but...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
I’ve heard my father’s home country of the Czech Republic (Czechia) called, “The Wild West of Europe.” That people went there when they, “wanted to do drugs and shoot illegal fireworks.” It’s quite fitting then, that whatever Czech cinema I have experienced tends to break rules and throw all genre constraints out the window. From the groundbreaking satire of Miloš Forman, to the surreal experiments of Věra Chytilová, Czech cinema has never feared being different.
This brings us to Jan Švankmajer, the stop-motion animation guru behind some of Czech cinemas best films. Švankmajer’s approach to allegorical storytelling comes with the same tongue in cheek demeanor of Forman and Chytilová, but...
- 9/15/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chemical Hearts premieres on Amazon Prime August 21st
Review by Stephen Tronicek
The characters are far too mature in Chemical Hearts and that is both good and bad. It is the type of film that young people, including my twenty-one year old self, can step into to watch people our age philosophize and make better decisions than we ever could. On one hand, this is a little condescending. On the other hand, isn’t all wish-fulfillment. As far as these films go, Chemical Hearts manages itself better than most and calls to mind some strange intertextual connections and could prove interesting to both its target audience and the adults around them.
Chemical Hearts follows the budding romance of Henry and Grace, two students who are part of their school’s journalism program.While their romance is initially easy, past traumas start to separate them.
The plot elements of Chemical Hearts...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
The characters are far too mature in Chemical Hearts and that is both good and bad. It is the type of film that young people, including my twenty-one year old self, can step into to watch people our age philosophize and make better decisions than we ever could. On one hand, this is a little condescending. On the other hand, isn’t all wish-fulfillment. As far as these films go, Chemical Hearts manages itself better than most and calls to mind some strange intertextual connections and could prove interesting to both its target audience and the adults around them.
Chemical Hearts follows the budding romance of Henry and Grace, two students who are part of their school’s journalism program.While their romance is initially easy, past traumas start to separate them.
The plot elements of Chemical Hearts...
- 8/21/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Pale Door will be in theaters and on Demand and Digital August 21, 2020
Review by Stephen Tronicek
When you try to attack a genre piece, especially a Western, on a low-budget the story and characters have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Sure the costumes might look stagey and the frame a little too clean for the period, but at least there’s a good theme to hold onto. The Pale Door, directed by Aaron B. Koontz (Camera Obscura), unfortunately doesn’t quite get there. While it has a few good performances and spirit to spare, it doesn’t have the story to rise above it’s lower budget trappings.
The Pale Door could be best described as a horror/Western. It’s a film about a group of outlaws, including brothers Jake and Duncan, who fail to rob a train and end up in the clutches of a mysterious whorehouse.
Review by Stephen Tronicek
When you try to attack a genre piece, especially a Western, on a low-budget the story and characters have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Sure the costumes might look stagey and the frame a little too clean for the period, but at least there’s a good theme to hold onto. The Pale Door, directed by Aaron B. Koontz (Camera Obscura), unfortunately doesn’t quite get there. While it has a few good performances and spirit to spare, it doesn’t have the story to rise above it’s lower budget trappings.
The Pale Door could be best described as a horror/Western. It’s a film about a group of outlaws, including brothers Jake and Duncan, who fail to rob a train and end up in the clutches of a mysterious whorehouse.
- 8/19/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Read Stephen Tronicek’s Wamg review of You Don’T Nomi Here
Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, is releasing the acclaimed documentary You Don’T Nomi on July 21, 2020. The feature screenwriting and directorial debut of Jeffrey McHale, You Don’T Nomi is available on DVD for an Srp of $27.97 and on Blu-ray for an Srp of $28.97.
Now you can win the Win the You Don’T Nomi. We Are Movie Geeks has four copies to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite movie directed by Paul Verhoven. (mine’s Robocop. It’s so easy!)
1. You Must Be A US Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To US Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.
2. Winner Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries.
In You Dont Nomi, a chorus of film critics and fervent devotees explore the complicated afterlife of 1995s biggest film flop, Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls,...
Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, is releasing the acclaimed documentary You Don’T Nomi on July 21, 2020. The feature screenwriting and directorial debut of Jeffrey McHale, You Don’T Nomi is available on DVD for an Srp of $27.97 and on Blu-ray for an Srp of $28.97.
Now you can win the Win the You Don’T Nomi. We Are Movie Geeks has four copies to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite movie directed by Paul Verhoven. (mine’s Robocop. It’s so easy!)
1. You Must Be A US Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To US Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.
2. Winner Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries.
In You Dont Nomi, a chorus of film critics and fervent devotees explore the complicated afterlife of 1995s biggest film flop, Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls,...
- 7/15/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis (Csl), serves as the area’s primary venue for films made by local artists. The Showcase screens works that were shot in the St. Louis region or were written, directed, or produced by St. Louis-area residents or by filmmakers with strong local ties who are now working elsewhere. Ticket and Pass Purchase: cinemastlouis.org/st-louis-filmmakers-showcase.
Read the Wamg Interview with Joseph Puleo, director of America’s Last Little Italy: The Hil Here
Read Stephen Tronicek’s review of Wake Up Here
Because of the Covid-19 health crisis, the Showcase will be presented virtually in 2020. Csl is partnering with Eventive, which also handles our ticketing, to present the Virtual Festival. Filmswill be available to view on demand anytime from July 10-19. There are no geographic limits on accessing the programs. Once a ticket-holder begins watching a program,...
Read the Wamg Interview with Joseph Puleo, director of America’s Last Little Italy: The Hil Here
Read Stephen Tronicek’s review of Wake Up Here
Because of the Covid-19 health crisis, the Showcase will be presented virtually in 2020. Csl is partnering with Eventive, which also handles our ticketing, to present the Virtual Festival. Filmswill be available to view on demand anytime from July 10-19. There are no geographic limits on accessing the programs. Once a ticket-holder begins watching a program,...
- 7/10/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis, serves as the area’s primary venue for films made by local artists. The Showcase screens works that were shot in the St. Louis region or were written, directed, or produced by St. Louis-area residents or by filmmakers with strong local ties who are now working elsewhere.Because of the Covid-19 health crisis, the Showcase will be presented virtually in 2020. This short video provides more information on Csl’s decision to move its 2020 festivals and events online. Csl is partnering with Eventive, which also handles our ticketing, to present the Virtual Festival. Ticket information for Wake Up can be found Here
Review of Wake Up by Stephen Tronicek
If there is one thing that Nate Townsend’s Wake Up: Stories from the Frontlines of Suicide Prevention wants to tell you, it is that suicide is not just a suicide problem.
Review of Wake Up by Stephen Tronicek
If there is one thing that Nate Townsend’s Wake Up: Stories from the Frontlines of Suicide Prevention wants to tell you, it is that suicide is not just a suicide problem.
- 7/7/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Lucas Heyne’s Mope starts with a familiar phrase: “The film you are about to see is based on actual events. Out of respect to the deceased, every effort has been made to adhere to the facts.” Those familiar with the history of cinema will recognize this as similar to the opening credits to the Coen Brothers’ Fargo. It is also a fair sign that Mope won’t really ever have an identity of its own, even as it tries to tell a true story.
That true story is that of Stephen Clancy Hill, alias Steve Driver (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) and Herbert Wong, alias Tom Dong (Kelly Sry), two low-level pornstars (Mopes), who tried to break into the industry. After being subjected to the horrible conditions of this side of the porn industry (there is after all good sex-work around) and facing his own mental illness, Driver...
Lucas Heyne’s Mope starts with a familiar phrase: “The film you are about to see is based on actual events. Out of respect to the deceased, every effort has been made to adhere to the facts.” Those familiar with the history of cinema will recognize this as similar to the opening credits to the Coen Brothers’ Fargo. It is also a fair sign that Mope won’t really ever have an identity of its own, even as it tries to tell a true story.
That true story is that of Stephen Clancy Hill, alias Steve Driver (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) and Herbert Wong, alias Tom Dong (Kelly Sry), two low-level pornstars (Mopes), who tried to break into the industry. After being subjected to the horrible conditions of this side of the porn industry (there is after all good sex-work around) and facing his own mental illness, Driver...
- 6/17/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
There are two types of people in the world: Those who think Paul Verhoven’s 1995 film Showgirls is absolutely awful and those who think it is awful, yet incredible in many ways. It’s hard to deny the fact that Verhoven’s over the top vision of sex and violence in America is a doozy of a film. Raunchy, corny, overacted, and very insensitive, Showgirls is like the id of Verhoven horribly showing up and showing you his true face. It’s also, through a certain lens, a pretty good film about the sickness of American capitalism and how it affects sex work.
This debate is the basis for Jeffrey McHale’s You Don’t Nomi, a documentary about the making of Showgirls and the cultural impact of the film. It samples from a number of sources, like interviews with Verhoven, popular film critics, and people who...
There are two types of people in the world: Those who think Paul Verhoven’s 1995 film Showgirls is absolutely awful and those who think it is awful, yet incredible in many ways. It’s hard to deny the fact that Verhoven’s over the top vision of sex and violence in America is a doozy of a film. Raunchy, corny, overacted, and very insensitive, Showgirls is like the id of Verhoven horribly showing up and showing you his true face. It’s also, through a certain lens, a pretty good film about the sickness of American capitalism and how it affects sex work.
This debate is the basis for Jeffrey McHale’s You Don’t Nomi, a documentary about the making of Showgirls and the cultural impact of the film. It samples from a number of sources, like interviews with Verhoven, popular film critics, and people who...
- 6/1/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
There are two types of people in the world: Those who think Paul Verhoven’s 1995 film Showgirls is absolutely awful and those who think it is awful, yet incredible in many ways. It’s hard to deny the fact that Verhoven’s over the top vision of sex and violence in America is a doozy of a film. Raunchy, corny, overacted, and very insensitive, Showgirls is like the id of Verhoven horribly showing up and showing you his true face. It’s also, through a certain lens, a pretty good film about the sickness of American capitalism and how it affects sex work.
This debate is the basis for Jeffrey McHale’s You Don’t Nomi, a documentary about the making of Showgirls and the cultural impact of the film. It samples from a number of sources, like interviews with Verhoven, popular film critics, and people who...
There are two types of people in the world: Those who think Paul Verhoven’s 1995 film Showgirls is absolutely awful and those who think it is awful, yet incredible in many ways. It’s hard to deny the fact that Verhoven’s over the top vision of sex and violence in America is a doozy of a film. Raunchy, corny, overacted, and very insensitive, Showgirls is like the id of Verhoven horribly showing up and showing you his true face. It’s also, through a certain lens, a pretty good film about the sickness of American capitalism and how it affects sex work.
This debate is the basis for Jeffrey McHale’s You Don’t Nomi, a documentary about the making of Showgirls and the cultural impact of the film. It samples from a number of sources, like interviews with Verhoven, popular film critics, and people who...
- 5/12/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Bad Education can currently be viewed on HBO
Review by Stephen Tronicek
If the standard of a great scene is one where you can watch the external action and see everything going on within the internal life of the characters, then every scene in Cory Finley’s sophomore feature, Bad Education, is a great one. Whether it be the cast, the editing, the direction, or the sound, what Finley’s debut feature, Thoroughbreds was missing in subtlety Bad Education has in spades. It’s one of the most satisfying films over the year.
Admittedly, Bad Education is the type of story you can’t help but fall in love with. Follows the true story of the investigation of a huge embezzlement scheme at Roslyn High School in 2002, perpetrated by Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) and Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), uncovered by a student at Roslyn who “followed the money,” (Geraldine Viswanathan...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
If the standard of a great scene is one where you can watch the external action and see everything going on within the internal life of the characters, then every scene in Cory Finley’s sophomore feature, Bad Education, is a great one. Whether it be the cast, the editing, the direction, or the sound, what Finley’s debut feature, Thoroughbreds was missing in subtlety Bad Education has in spades. It’s one of the most satisfying films over the year.
Admittedly, Bad Education is the type of story you can’t help but fall in love with. Follows the true story of the investigation of a huge embezzlement scheme at Roslyn High School in 2002, perpetrated by Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) and Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), uncovered by a student at Roslyn who “followed the money,” (Geraldine Viswanathan...
- 4/28/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Vivarium is now on Digital VOD and available on Blu-ray and DVD May 12th
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Lorcan Finnegan’s Vivarium takes place in an ever-expanding closed loop of a suburb called Yonder. In Yonder, all the houses look the same as something has been copied and pasted over. That’s a pretty good way of describing the film. Sadly, after a strong start, Vivarium soon starts to copy and paste elements of sci-fi horror onto a weak frame propped up by great actors playing noncharacters and some incredible production design.
That frame is built strongly at the start. Gemma (Imogen Poots) and Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) are a couple looking for a new house. When they are lead into the Yonder development, they are left in house #9…and they can’t leave. Soon, whatever is running the place leaves them a “child” to raise.
This is a really interesting premise,...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Lorcan Finnegan’s Vivarium takes place in an ever-expanding closed loop of a suburb called Yonder. In Yonder, all the houses look the same as something has been copied and pasted over. That’s a pretty good way of describing the film. Sadly, after a strong start, Vivarium soon starts to copy and paste elements of sci-fi horror onto a weak frame propped up by great actors playing noncharacters and some incredible production design.
That frame is built strongly at the start. Gemma (Imogen Poots) and Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) are a couple looking for a new house. When they are lead into the Yonder development, they are left in house #9…and they can’t leave. Soon, whatever is running the place leaves them a “child” to raise.
This is a really interesting premise,...
- 4/22/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
IFC Films will release True History Of The Kelly Gang – On Demand and Digital April 24th.
Review by Stephen Tronicek
t’s a rare and wonderful treat when the mise-en-scene of a particular film becomes so crazed that you feel true terror but also cathartic beauty. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre achieves this, Possession (1981) achieves this, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth achieves this and now Kurzel’s most recent film True History of the Kelly Gang does. The concoction is two-fold, one part believing and empathizing with characters and one part placing them in an ungodly situation. In order to do that, a filmmaker has to pull out the stops, formalistically and emotionally. Kurzel does.
Following the true exploits of Ned Kelly, an Australian outlaw played with uncompromising vigor by George MacKay (1917), True History of the Kelly Gang aims to explore a more empathetic version of the outlaw’s tale. Shaped by trauma and colonial terror,...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
t’s a rare and wonderful treat when the mise-en-scene of a particular film becomes so crazed that you feel true terror but also cathartic beauty. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre achieves this, Possession (1981) achieves this, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth achieves this and now Kurzel’s most recent film True History of the Kelly Gang does. The concoction is two-fold, one part believing and empathizing with characters and one part placing them in an ungodly situation. In order to do that, a filmmaker has to pull out the stops, formalistically and emotionally. Kurzel does.
Following the true exploits of Ned Kelly, an Australian outlaw played with uncompromising vigor by George MacKay (1917), True History of the Kelly Gang aims to explore a more empathetic version of the outlaw’s tale. Shaped by trauma and colonial terror,...
- 4/17/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Red Rover premieres On Demand May 12 from Indiecan Entertainment.
Red Rover is not a film about traveling to Mars. Instead, it is a film about a man named Damon (Kristian Bruun) who is living in the basement of his ex-girlfriend. Eventually, he meets Phoebe (Cara Gee), a fantasy woman, who pushes him out of his everyday routine by proposing he join the Mars project.
Red Rover didn’t need to be about traveling to Mars. When you’re working within the framework of the independent film, the budget simply doesn’t exist to create a larger film with a lot of VFX work. Unfortunately, Red Rover is just a horribly derivative version of a “man getting back his mojo” movie.
The above-average aspects of the piece do show at least a little inventiveness, though. Shane Belcourt directs the film well and the actors are all in for the haphazard storyline.
Red Rover premieres On Demand May 12 from Indiecan Entertainment.
Red Rover is not a film about traveling to Mars. Instead, it is a film about a man named Damon (Kristian Bruun) who is living in the basement of his ex-girlfriend. Eventually, he meets Phoebe (Cara Gee), a fantasy woman, who pushes him out of his everyday routine by proposing he join the Mars project.
Red Rover didn’t need to be about traveling to Mars. When you’re working within the framework of the independent film, the budget simply doesn’t exist to create a larger film with a lot of VFX work. Unfortunately, Red Rover is just a horribly derivative version of a “man getting back his mojo” movie.
The above-average aspects of the piece do show at least a little inventiveness, though. Shane Belcourt directs the film well and the actors are all in for the haphazard storyline.
- 4/14/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Swallow is currently available on these Digital Platforms: iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay/YouTube, Vudu, PlayStation and these Cable Platforms: Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum, Verizon Fios, Altice, Cox, DirecTV, AT&T, Bend Broadband, Buckeye, Guadalupe Valley, Hotwire Communications, Metrocast, Suddenlink, Wow Internet Cable, Rcn, Midcontinent Communications
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Swallow is the type of rare film that actually offers the viewer a surprise. When the film starts, you maybe 100% sure you know where it is going. But you’d be wrong. If we’re talking traditional storytelling, the first act ends in about five minutes, the second in about thirty and the third…well at that point the movie is just beyond any conception that you might have had for it. That’s the beauty of Swallow. The capacity to keep you on your toes, even if the whole film doesn’t really work.
Swallow follows Hunter (Haley Bennet), a housewife who develops...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Swallow is the type of rare film that actually offers the viewer a surprise. When the film starts, you maybe 100% sure you know where it is going. But you’d be wrong. If we’re talking traditional storytelling, the first act ends in about five minutes, the second in about thirty and the third…well at that point the movie is just beyond any conception that you might have had for it. That’s the beauty of Swallow. The capacity to keep you on your toes, even if the whole film doesn’t really work.
Swallow follows Hunter (Haley Bennet), a housewife who develops...
- 4/2/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
The Platform, released on Netflix into this harsh climate of ours, starts with a premise so fiendishly simple all screenwriters worth their salt (including myself) should be kicking themselves. Goreng (Ivan Massagué), a man looking to obtain a quick academic document, wakes up in “the hole,” a prison/indentured servitude area. It is set up vertically. The hole in the middle of the room reveals an endless chasm of other rooms. Each day, a platform lowers down carrying a tray of food. The problem? Every level above Goreng has already gotten to eat off of it first. That’s a smart idea. It’s visually interesting and the metaphor is easy to grasp. If there’s a finite amount of food, what’s to stop the people above you from getting to it first?
But better ideas have been squandered. Built as a “contained-thriller,” The Platform...
The Platform, released on Netflix into this harsh climate of ours, starts with a premise so fiendishly simple all screenwriters worth their salt (including myself) should be kicking themselves. Goreng (Ivan Massagué), a man looking to obtain a quick academic document, wakes up in “the hole,” a prison/indentured servitude area. It is set up vertically. The hole in the middle of the room reveals an endless chasm of other rooms. Each day, a platform lowers down carrying a tray of food. The problem? Every level above Goreng has already gotten to eat off of it first. That’s a smart idea. It’s visually interesting and the metaphor is easy to grasp. If there’s a finite amount of food, what’s to stop the people above you from getting to it first?
But better ideas have been squandered. Built as a “contained-thriller,” The Platform...
- 3/26/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By Stephen Tronicek
The feeling of the final day of a film festival is one of a unique purgatory. Everyone has been there long enough for the initial excitement of the opening few days and the encroaching end is coming up quickly. It didn’t help that this morning, Daylight Savings time applied. I was writing up yesterday’s piece at 1 am, only to realize that it was instead 2 am and in horror, I threw myself into bed to get up for an 8:30 am Q. Luckily, I got up on time.
That 8:30 Q lead to a 9:30 screening of Mehrdad Oskouei’s Sunless Shadows. Picking up where he left off with documentaries like Starless Dreams, Sunless Shadows shows us the lives of a few women on Death Row in Iran. What differs Sunless Shadows from other films of its kind is the lack of separation between ourselves and the subjects.
The feeling of the final day of a film festival is one of a unique purgatory. Everyone has been there long enough for the initial excitement of the opening few days and the encroaching end is coming up quickly. It didn’t help that this morning, Daylight Savings time applied. I was writing up yesterday’s piece at 1 am, only to realize that it was instead 2 am and in horror, I threw myself into bed to get up for an 8:30 am Q. Luckily, I got up on time.
That 8:30 Q lead to a 9:30 screening of Mehrdad Oskouei’s Sunless Shadows. Picking up where he left off with documentaries like Starless Dreams, Sunless Shadows shows us the lives of a few women on Death Row in Iran. What differs Sunless Shadows from other films of its kind is the lack of separation between ourselves and the subjects.
- 3/9/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
by Stephen Tronicek
As the sun rose over Columbia, Missouri, I found myself refreshed and ready to go. I’d slept on a couch for free (a quite comfy couch) and gained some of my energy back after the night before. I can say with some certainty that this energy has disappeared now that it is, yet again, midnight and I’ve just gotten home. There’s no need for pity though. The selection of films today was brilliant, broad, flawed but nevertheless exciting, something that True/False is certain to provide.
The day started out with Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson is Dead, a documentary about grief for a person who has never died. Johnson has become a master of the meta-documentary, with her film Cameraperson capturing an emotional portrait of being a cinematographer for documentaries. Now, she’s returned to kill her dying father Dick, over and over and over again.
As the sun rose over Columbia, Missouri, I found myself refreshed and ready to go. I’d slept on a couch for free (a quite comfy couch) and gained some of my energy back after the night before. I can say with some certainty that this energy has disappeared now that it is, yet again, midnight and I’ve just gotten home. There’s no need for pity though. The selection of films today was brilliant, broad, flawed but nevertheless exciting, something that True/False is certain to provide.
The day started out with Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson is Dead, a documentary about grief for a person who has never died. Johnson has become a master of the meta-documentary, with her film Cameraperson capturing an emotional portrait of being a cinematographer for documentaries. Now, she’s returned to kill her dying father Dick, over and over and over again.
- 3/7/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
by Stephen Tronicek
For one weekend of the year, the party/college town of Columbia is flooded with cinephiles, film critics, and the documentarians. This is the True/False Film Festival or as the service workers call it: “Hell week.” All joking aside, the atmosphere is quite infectious. People young and old buzz around the circle of closely-knit venues to find the best in this year’s crop of documentary cinema. Thankfully, after exploiting the free parking space my friend’s aunt kindly lent me, I witnessed three profound documentaries about the passage of time and the existential ramifications of getting older.
The first two, Some Kind of Heaven and So Late So Soon, are more closely bonded. They both concern people in the twilight of their lives attempting to make sense of the meaning of their lives and their relationships with others. Some Kind of Heaven, directed by Lance Oppenheim...
For one weekend of the year, the party/college town of Columbia is flooded with cinephiles, film critics, and the documentarians. This is the True/False Film Festival or as the service workers call it: “Hell week.” All joking aside, the atmosphere is quite infectious. People young and old buzz around the circle of closely-knit venues to find the best in this year’s crop of documentary cinema. Thankfully, after exploiting the free parking space my friend’s aunt kindly lent me, I witnessed three profound documentaries about the passage of time and the existential ramifications of getting older.
The first two, Some Kind of Heaven and So Late So Soon, are more closely bonded. They both concern people in the twilight of their lives attempting to make sense of the meaning of their lives and their relationships with others. Some Kind of Heaven, directed by Lance Oppenheim...
- 3/6/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Alex Magaña’s What Love Looks Like looks like an ambitious project that doesn’t quite come together. Consisting of five stories of love in L.A., the film tasks itself with exploring the thematic territory of what causes us to fall in love, what causes us to get over it and the grey area in between.
That’s a difficult task. The writer of modern romantic comedies, Richard Curtis tried to pull it off in Love Actually and (through these subjective eyes) failed miserably. That Magaña and his team pull at least one or two halfway decent stories out of it is impressive. The best of these five stories is a liar revealed story between Calvin (Connor Wilkins) and Summer (Jamie Shelnitz). After a one night stand, Calvin plays the jerk and the pair leave each other’s lives…until an app brings them back together.
Alex Magaña’s What Love Looks Like looks like an ambitious project that doesn’t quite come together. Consisting of five stories of love in L.A., the film tasks itself with exploring the thematic territory of what causes us to fall in love, what causes us to get over it and the grey area in between.
That’s a difficult task. The writer of modern romantic comedies, Richard Curtis tried to pull it off in Love Actually and (through these subjective eyes) failed miserably. That Magaña and his team pull at least one or two halfway decent stories out of it is impressive. The best of these five stories is a liar revealed story between Calvin (Connor Wilkins) and Summer (Jamie Shelnitz). After a one night stand, Calvin plays the jerk and the pair leave each other’s lives…until an app brings them back together.
- 2/19/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek.
I Lost My Body, now nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, is a good example of just how far ingenuity can get you. It’s a creative, mind-boggling affair, full of expressionistic animation, yet falls short of its intended heights. Watching it feels profound, beyond that feels muddled.
I Lost My Body follows two stories: First the story of Naoufel (Hakim Faris/Dev Patel), a young man attempting to find peace and love in the face of his tragic life and second, the story of how a dismembered hand is attempting to find its body. There’s plenty of thematic material to be mined out of how a piece of person is both created and at what point it’s time to let it go…I Lost My Body just never quite gets into that exploration.
Instead, it opts to use these plots to dance around these themes.
I Lost My Body, now nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, is a good example of just how far ingenuity can get you. It’s a creative, mind-boggling affair, full of expressionistic animation, yet falls short of its intended heights. Watching it feels profound, beyond that feels muddled.
I Lost My Body follows two stories: First the story of Naoufel (Hakim Faris/Dev Patel), a young man attempting to find peace and love in the face of his tragic life and second, the story of how a dismembered hand is attempting to find its body. There’s plenty of thematic material to be mined out of how a piece of person is both created and at what point it’s time to let it go…I Lost My Body just never quite gets into that exploration.
Instead, it opts to use these plots to dance around these themes.
- 1/24/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
From superheroes to real life heroes, to tales of Hollywood and voyages to the Moon, the year that was 2019 had much to offer to audiences flocking to theaters for a few hours of escapism from the world.
Filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes, Celine Sciamma, Quentin Tarantino, Olivia Wilde, Taika Waititi and Bong Joon-Ho brought a wealth of stories to the silver screen.
We saw the culmination of the Marvel phase 3 story arc, the culmination of the Skywalker Saga and the still in progress, groundbreaking John Wick series, as well as a host of other interesting, quality movies unleashed into cinemas.
Wamg presents its list for the Top 10 films of 2019.
1. Martin Scorsese reminds us why he is still a master movie maker with The Irishman, a compelling foray into familiar territory, making use of new tech to complete the “mob trilogy’ he began nearly thirty years ago with Goodfellas.
Filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes, Celine Sciamma, Quentin Tarantino, Olivia Wilde, Taika Waititi and Bong Joon-Ho brought a wealth of stories to the silver screen.
We saw the culmination of the Marvel phase 3 story arc, the culmination of the Skywalker Saga and the still in progress, groundbreaking John Wick series, as well as a host of other interesting, quality movies unleashed into cinemas.
Wamg presents its list for the Top 10 films of 2019.
1. Martin Scorsese reminds us why he is still a master movie maker with The Irishman, a compelling foray into familiar territory, making use of new tech to complete the “mob trilogy’ he began nearly thirty years ago with Goodfellas.
- 1/5/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By The Grace Of God opens in St. Louis Friday November 22nd at Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater.
Review by Stephen Tronicek
When something terrible has happened to you, it leaves an impression in your brain. Sometimes those things are so strong that the mark that is left seems to spoil the mood of your being. Francios Ozon’s By the Grace of God submerges you in this through its subject matter and the strength of its vetern director. Structurally, it’s a film built to wade you into it’s sickening and scarring subject matter. The film starts following the true story of Alexandre Guerin (Melvil Poupaud), a family man of devout Catholicism, revealing that he was molested as a child by a pastor at his camp Bernard Preynat (Bernard Verley). As his complaints fall on deaf ears, he takes action eventually drawing another victim Francios Debord (Denis Menochet) into the cause.
Review by Stephen Tronicek
When something terrible has happened to you, it leaves an impression in your brain. Sometimes those things are so strong that the mark that is left seems to spoil the mood of your being. Francios Ozon’s By the Grace of God submerges you in this through its subject matter and the strength of its vetern director. Structurally, it’s a film built to wade you into it’s sickening and scarring subject matter. The film starts following the true story of Alexandre Guerin (Melvil Poupaud), a family man of devout Catholicism, revealing that he was molested as a child by a pastor at his camp Bernard Preynat (Bernard Verley). As his complaints fall on deaf ears, he takes action eventually drawing another victim Francios Debord (Denis Menochet) into the cause.
- 11/22/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sorry We Missed You will screen at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) Thursday, Nov 14 at 7:10pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found Here
Ken Loach again empathically explores the British working class in “Sorry We Missed You,” a wrenching, intimate family drama that exposes the dark side of the so-called gig economy. Former laborer Ricky and home-attendant wife Abby — who lost their home in the 2008 financial crash — are desperate to get out of their financial distress. When an opportunity arises for Ricky to work as his own boss as a delivery driver, they sell their only asset, Abby’s car, trading it in for a shiny new white van. But the couple find their lives are only pushed further to the edge by an unrelenting work schedule, a ruthless supervisor, and the needs of their two teenage children. The Guardian...
Ken Loach again empathically explores the British working class in “Sorry We Missed You,” a wrenching, intimate family drama that exposes the dark side of the so-called gig economy. Former laborer Ricky and home-attendant wife Abby — who lost their home in the 2008 financial crash — are desperate to get out of their financial distress. When an opportunity arises for Ricky to work as his own boss as a delivery driver, they sell their only asset, Abby’s car, trading it in for a shiny new white van. But the couple find their lives are only pushed further to the edge by an unrelenting work schedule, a ruthless supervisor, and the needs of their two teenage children. The Guardian...
- 11/13/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By The Grace Of God will screen at The Plaza Frontenac Cinema (1701 South Lindbergh Boulevard # 210 Plaza) Sunday, Nov 10 at 8:15pm and Monday, Nov 11 at 8:00pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival.Ticket information can be found Here and Here
François Ozon — the celebrated director of “8 Women,” “Swimming Pool,” and “Young and Beautiful” — offers a distinct change of pace from the satirically witty explorations of sexuality that comprise most of his work. Instead, in “By the Grace of God,” he mounts a gripping drama that follows three men who band together to dismantle the code of silence that continues to protect a priest who abused them decades ago. Based on events from the 2019 conviction of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon for concealing the conduct of a predatory priest, “By the Grace of God” compassionately illustrates the effects of trauma on survivors and their...
François Ozon — the celebrated director of “8 Women,” “Swimming Pool,” and “Young and Beautiful” — offers a distinct change of pace from the satirically witty explorations of sexuality that comprise most of his work. Instead, in “By the Grace of God,” he mounts a gripping drama that follows three men who band together to dismantle the code of silence that continues to protect a priest who abused them decades ago. Based on events from the 2019 conviction of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon for concealing the conduct of a predatory priest, “By the Grace of God” compassionately illustrates the effects of trauma on survivors and their...
- 11/7/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Wild Goose Lake will screen at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) Saturday, Nov 9 at 9:45pm and Monday, Nov 11 at 9:25pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival.Ticket information can be found Here and Here
Fleeing from the law and seeking redemption, gangster Zenong Zhou (Ge Hu) crosses paths with innocent-looking Aiai Liu (Lun-Mei Kwei), a girl with a secret who is risking everything to gain her freedom. As they are hunted on the shores of the Wild Goose Lake, Zhou must decide what he is willing to sacrifice both for this stranger and for the family he left behind. When the film debuted at Cannes this year, even Quentin Tarantineo queued up. The La Times writes: “It’s not often that you see a Cannes auteur checking out the competition. But Tarantino was clearly as eager as anyone to see ‘The Wild Goose Lake,...
Fleeing from the law and seeking redemption, gangster Zenong Zhou (Ge Hu) crosses paths with innocent-looking Aiai Liu (Lun-Mei Kwei), a girl with a secret who is risking everything to gain her freedom. As they are hunted on the shores of the Wild Goose Lake, Zhou must decide what he is willing to sacrifice both for this stranger and for the family he left behind. When the film debuted at Cannes this year, even Quentin Tarantineo queued up. The La Times writes: “It’s not often that you see a Cannes auteur checking out the competition. But Tarantino was clearly as eager as anyone to see ‘The Wild Goose Lake,...
- 11/7/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat makes a damning case for why the filmmaker is starting to become outdated. Slick, cool, and progressive in 1989, Soderbergh broke onto the scene with sex, lies and a videotape. That film is a fantastic work, one that stood out with a risque but honest view of sexuality. Nowadays, it’s still effective but the veneer of that honesty has worn slightly thin. Maybe part of Soderbergh is stuck in 1989.
Now, of course we can’t just blame him. The Laundromat, written by Scott Z. Burns (responsible for a few good Soderbergh movies and this year’s The Report) is ill conceived from the get go. Following a mystery that never gets solved, Meryl Streep does her best to give life to Ellen Martin, a woman whose husband died on a cruise boat. The aftermath lead her to an offshore scheme that...
Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat makes a damning case for why the filmmaker is starting to become outdated. Slick, cool, and progressive in 1989, Soderbergh broke onto the scene with sex, lies and a videotape. That film is a fantastic work, one that stood out with a risque but honest view of sexuality. Nowadays, it’s still effective but the veneer of that honesty has worn slightly thin. Maybe part of Soderbergh is stuck in 1989.
Now, of course we can’t just blame him. The Laundromat, written by Scott Z. Burns (responsible for a few good Soderbergh movies and this year’s The Report) is ill conceived from the get go. Following a mystery that never gets solved, Meryl Streep does her best to give life to Ellen Martin, a woman whose husband died on a cruise boat. The aftermath lead her to an offshore scheme that...
- 10/20/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
There are a few good reasons to see Nick Hamm’s Driven, (releasing August 16th on Digital and VOD) and four of them can be discerned rather quickly: Jason Sudekis, Lee Pace, Judy Greer and Corey Stoll. In the pantheon of good casting this year, Driven is the one to beat. A few hard-working, excellent, character actors can elevate even the most cliche material and Driven is one such case.
Driven follows the true story of Jim Hoffman (Jason Sudekis) who through a series of unfortunate events ended up as an informant for the F.B.I, a close confidant of John Delorean (Lee Pace) as the Delorean brand flamed out, and a major witness in the case against Delorean. There’s parties, sex, drugs, marital problems, male angst, bromance and lots of 80’s fashion.
If this sounds like your regular cut and dry “true story” crime film,...
There are a few good reasons to see Nick Hamm’s Driven, (releasing August 16th on Digital and VOD) and four of them can be discerned rather quickly: Jason Sudekis, Lee Pace, Judy Greer and Corey Stoll. In the pantheon of good casting this year, Driven is the one to beat. A few hard-working, excellent, character actors can elevate even the most cliche material and Driven is one such case.
Driven follows the true story of Jim Hoffman (Jason Sudekis) who through a series of unfortunate events ended up as an informant for the F.B.I, a close confidant of John Delorean (Lee Pace) as the Delorean brand flamed out, and a major witness in the case against Delorean. There’s parties, sex, drugs, marital problems, male angst, bromance and lots of 80’s fashion.
If this sounds like your regular cut and dry “true story” crime film,...
- 8/12/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Safe And Happy screens at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase as part of the Narrative Shorts – Drama: Volume 2 Sunday July 14th at 6:15pm. The films screen at Washington University’s Brown Hall. Ticket information can be found Here
Daniel Blake Smith took the time to talk to Stephen Tronicek about Safe And Happy and his other films.
We’ve all read and seen examples of films big and small being created in the large film capitals of the world. We know what it is like to read about the creation of a film in Los Angeles, New York or Europe and many other locations around the world. We know the trials, tribulations, ups and downs of productions outside of St. Louis…but what about St. Louis? There are a few articles speaking about it, but not many that give a film the same respect that a higher production value film would get.
Daniel Blake Smith took the time to talk to Stephen Tronicek about Safe And Happy and his other films.
We’ve all read and seen examples of films big and small being created in the large film capitals of the world. We know what it is like to read about the creation of a film in Los Angeles, New York or Europe and many other locations around the world. We know the trials, tribulations, ups and downs of productions outside of St. Louis…but what about St. Louis? There are a few articles speaking about it, but not many that give a film the same respect that a higher production value film would get.
- 7/11/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek is covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
After a week and (checks schedule) 23 programs, all of this had to come to an end. Tonight, it did and while there is a bit of sadness in watching the Chicago Critics Film Festival go, there is also adulation at the movies that screened tonight.
Piranhas, directed by Claudio Giovannesi, is a marvelous little gangster film that captures the misadventures of an Italian gang of fifteen-year-olds, out to face the world. What’s surprising is how restrained the ride actually is. The filmmaking is mostly handheld but the storytelling isn’t explosive and that’s perfect. We observe, through the workman lens, the lives of these young men and women. We observe them as they struggle, succeed, die, and party and it goes by in a rush of 105 minutes. Definitely...
After a week and (checks schedule) 23 programs, all of this had to come to an end. Tonight, it did and while there is a bit of sadness in watching the Chicago Critics Film Festival go, there is also adulation at the movies that screened tonight.
Piranhas, directed by Claudio Giovannesi, is a marvelous little gangster film that captures the misadventures of an Italian gang of fifteen-year-olds, out to face the world. What’s surprising is how restrained the ride actually is. The filmmaking is mostly handheld but the storytelling isn’t explosive and that’s perfect. We observe, through the workman lens, the lives of these young men and women. We observe them as they struggle, succeed, die, and party and it goes by in a rush of 105 minutes. Definitely...
- 5/24/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek is covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
The penultimate day of Ccff proved to be one of the most affecting this year, given the continuing quality of the films provided. Three new films were shown, each capturing a different kind of excitement, whether that be that of holding a rattlesnake, listening to Bruce Springsteen, or attempting to wrap your brain around a decade old conspiracy.
Them That Follow, directed by Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage, is a terrifying reckoning of a movie about coming to terms with the fact that your world is broken and myopic. Mara (Alice Englert) is part of a small church sect who show their allegiance to God by holding venomous rattlesnakes. As tensions boil between her and her father and extenuating circumstances push her further and further from the community, Mara...
The penultimate day of Ccff proved to be one of the most affecting this year, given the continuing quality of the films provided. Three new films were shown, each capturing a different kind of excitement, whether that be that of holding a rattlesnake, listening to Bruce Springsteen, or attempting to wrap your brain around a decade old conspiracy.
Them That Follow, directed by Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage, is a terrifying reckoning of a movie about coming to terms with the fact that your world is broken and myopic. Mara (Alice Englert) is part of a small church sect who show their allegiance to God by holding venomous rattlesnakes. As tensions boil between her and her father and extenuating circumstances push her further and further from the community, Mara...
- 5/23/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek is covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
Today I had to arrive at 5 pm instead of 3 pm, so I had more time to explore the city. The great thing I’ve noticed about the past few days is that because Ccff replays films, it gives you time to explore and have time to yourself. Chicago is really a beautiful place to spend a day walking around.
The first film of last night’s lineup was already strong. The Short History of the Long Road, directed by Ani Simon-Kennedy is the type of optimistic, sentimental fare that we need in the trying times that we live in. Long Road follows Nola (a never better Sabrina Carpenter), a teenager living in a vintage van with her father (Steven Ogg). After a devastating event changes her life forever, Nola must...
Today I had to arrive at 5 pm instead of 3 pm, so I had more time to explore the city. The great thing I’ve noticed about the past few days is that because Ccff replays films, it gives you time to explore and have time to yourself. Chicago is really a beautiful place to spend a day walking around.
The first film of last night’s lineup was already strong. The Short History of the Long Road, directed by Ani Simon-Kennedy is the type of optimistic, sentimental fare that we need in the trying times that we live in. Long Road follows Nola (a never better Sabrina Carpenter), a teenager living in a vintage van with her father (Steven Ogg). After a devastating event changes her life forever, Nola must...
- 5/22/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek is covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
The shows didn’t start until 3 pm yesterday, so I decided to take a moment to enjoy the city…by going to see Bi Gong’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night in 3D. That was worth it. It may have, in fact, been better than the city.
But at 3 pm, it was time to get back to business. The introducer of Richard Shepard’s The Perfection mentioned that he wouldn’t give it a trigger warning but rather he’d list the very few things that weren’t triggering about it. To me, that sounded a bit like a threat. If a movie leans in too much for the sake of drama, then it might come out false and offensive. The Perfection does, at times. When it works, it...
The shows didn’t start until 3 pm yesterday, so I decided to take a moment to enjoy the city…by going to see Bi Gong’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night in 3D. That was worth it. It may have, in fact, been better than the city.
But at 3 pm, it was time to get back to business. The introducer of Richard Shepard’s The Perfection mentioned that he wouldn’t give it a trigger warning but rather he’d list the very few things that weren’t triggering about it. To me, that sounded a bit like a threat. If a movie leans in too much for the sake of drama, then it might come out false and offensive. The Perfection does, at times. When it works, it...
- 5/21/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek is covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
My entire Day Three of the Chicago Critics Film Festival could be defined as me watching a movie, calling it the best film I’ve seen at the festival so far, watching another movie, and rethinking the previous statement.
Yesterday’s line up was one great work after the other and the first feature of the day, Our Time Machine, was no exception. While the film follows the creation of a puppet play written and co-directed by Chinese artist Maleonn, the focus of the piece is not on the play. It is rather on the relationship that created that play: the one between Maleonn and his father. Our Time Machine is a wondrous blend of beautiful puppet imagery and even more beautiful family drama. On top of that, the artistic...
My entire Day Three of the Chicago Critics Film Festival could be defined as me watching a movie, calling it the best film I’ve seen at the festival so far, watching another movie, and rethinking the previous statement.
Yesterday’s line up was one great work after the other and the first feature of the day, Our Time Machine, was no exception. While the film follows the creation of a puppet play written and co-directed by Chinese artist Maleonn, the focus of the piece is not on the play. It is rather on the relationship that created that play: the one between Maleonn and his father. Our Time Machine is a wondrous blend of beautiful puppet imagery and even more beautiful family drama. On top of that, the artistic...
- 5/20/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek is covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
There’s nothing like watching a new film that’s very good. There’s nothing like sitting in the audience of an old one and experiencing it with new eyes. Saturday’s shows provided just that, a survey of the new but also the old.
The day started out with not a screening but rather me moving into my mom’s college roommate’s house for a night. All I can do is thank them and wonder how any of this happened. But after a short ride on the el and a short walk to the theater, I found myself back and ready to go.
The first show of the day was Wild Rose, directed by Tom Harper. A charming little comedy about Rose Lynn Harper’s dream of becoming a country music star,...
There’s nothing like watching a new film that’s very good. There’s nothing like sitting in the audience of an old one and experiencing it with new eyes. Saturday’s shows provided just that, a survey of the new but also the old.
The day started out with not a screening but rather me moving into my mom’s college roommate’s house for a night. All I can do is thank them and wonder how any of this happened. But after a short ride on the el and a short walk to the theater, I found myself back and ready to go.
The first show of the day was Wild Rose, directed by Tom Harper. A charming little comedy about Rose Lynn Harper’s dream of becoming a country music star,...
- 5/20/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek is covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
Before the opening night screening of Saint Frances last night Erik Childress and Brian Tallerico, two of the programmers for the 7th Chicago Critics Film Festival stood on the stage and professed something to the degree that, “This festival takes all the best films that would be otherwise unavailable and show them in the Midwest (hometown Chicago) all in one week.” This is an adept description for the festival. With screenings of Peter Strickland’s In Fabric, Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale and Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, the Ccff has a pretty much perfect lineup this year.
Opening Night:
Now, if you notice I’m being noticeably vague, I’ve got my hands tied. I have to simply write capsule reviews, meaning vague descriptions of and the qualities of the film.
Before the opening night screening of Saint Frances last night Erik Childress and Brian Tallerico, two of the programmers for the 7th Chicago Critics Film Festival stood on the stage and professed something to the degree that, “This festival takes all the best films that would be otherwise unavailable and show them in the Midwest (hometown Chicago) all in one week.” This is an adept description for the festival. With screenings of Peter Strickland’s In Fabric, Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale and Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, the Ccff has a pretty much perfect lineup this year.
Opening Night:
Now, if you notice I’m being noticeably vague, I’ve got my hands tied. I have to simply write capsule reviews, meaning vague descriptions of and the qualities of the film.
- 5/18/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek will be covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
Saint Frances follows Bridget (Kelly O’ Sullivan), a young woman who has just gotten a nanny job watching over Frances (a revelatory Ramona Edith Williams). As their friendship develops, Bridget must deal with her own problems following an abortion. It’s a charming, socially aware film that could make for one of the biggest crowd pleasers of the year.
Yesterday, I had the great fortune to sit down with the writer/lead actor Kelly O’ Sullivan and director Alex Thompson to talk about the development of Saint Frances and the dynamics of working with the brilliant young actress at its center.
S: I wanted to start the interview with the writing of the piece. Kelly, you wrote the piece and I wanted to ask where the inspiration thematically really came from in your life?...
Saint Frances follows Bridget (Kelly O’ Sullivan), a young woman who has just gotten a nanny job watching over Frances (a revelatory Ramona Edith Williams). As their friendship develops, Bridget must deal with her own problems following an abortion. It’s a charming, socially aware film that could make for one of the biggest crowd pleasers of the year.
Yesterday, I had the great fortune to sit down with the writer/lead actor Kelly O’ Sullivan and director Alex Thompson to talk about the development of Saint Frances and the dynamics of working with the brilliant young actress at its center.
S: I wanted to start the interview with the writing of the piece. Kelly, you wrote the piece and I wanted to ask where the inspiration thematically really came from in your life?...
- 5/18/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Knife+Heart screens at this year’s QFest St. Louis at 9:00pm April 30th at the Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar). Ticket information can be found Here
To watch Yann Gonzalez’s Knife + Heart, you wouldn’t be mistaken to think that he might want to have sex with cinema. Everything in the movie is built to insight: the color palette, the content, the performances, Everything. Within the first five minutes, Knife + Heart juxtaposes the editing of a movie with an overtly sexual act, that then turns into a murder. A Sex Murder. If that sounds like a good time to you, you should go see this movie tonight at 9pm. If that doesn’t…well then too bad for you.
Knife + Heart is a murder mystery about getting lost in a screen dream. Anne Pareze (Vanessa Paradis) is a director of gay pornography, who has recently...
Knife+Heart screens at this year’s QFest St. Louis at 9:00pm April 30th at the Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar). Ticket information can be found Here
To watch Yann Gonzalez’s Knife + Heart, you wouldn’t be mistaken to think that he might want to have sex with cinema. Everything in the movie is built to insight: the color palette, the content, the performances, Everything. Within the first five minutes, Knife + Heart juxtaposes the editing of a movie with an overtly sexual act, that then turns into a murder. A Sex Murder. If that sounds like a good time to you, you should go see this movie tonight at 9pm. If that doesn’t…well then too bad for you.
Knife + Heart is a murder mystery about getting lost in a screen dream. Anne Pareze (Vanessa Paradis) is a director of gay pornography, who has recently...
- 4/30/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Sorry Angel screens at this year’s QFest St. Louis at 8:00pm April 28th at the Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar). Ticket information can be found Here
Sorry Angel might just be the most French movie that you see all year. Characters have sex, talk about the philosophical meaning of life, and best of all smoke cigarettes in the most attractive way possible. This is a statement of fact, not a detractor to the piece. Sorry Angel finds itself rooted firmly in traditions that have populated French cinema since the New Wave, but what Sorry Angel has is just the right emotional calibration. With that, the film is brilliant at capturing the feeling of lying next to a loved one, taking in them and feeling, for a brief moment, love.
This emotional calibration is created by a simple thing: freedom, whether that grows out of the structure or the execution.
Sorry Angel screens at this year’s QFest St. Louis at 8:00pm April 28th at the Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar). Ticket information can be found Here
Sorry Angel might just be the most French movie that you see all year. Characters have sex, talk about the philosophical meaning of life, and best of all smoke cigarettes in the most attractive way possible. This is a statement of fact, not a detractor to the piece. Sorry Angel finds itself rooted firmly in traditions that have populated French cinema since the New Wave, but what Sorry Angel has is just the right emotional calibration. With that, the film is brilliant at capturing the feeling of lying next to a loved one, taking in them and feeling, for a brief moment, love.
This emotional calibration is created by a simple thing: freedom, whether that grows out of the structure or the execution.
- 4/28/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
At the bottom of the poster to The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot the tagline reads, “An American Myth.” This is an adept description because The Man Who Killed Hitler is about the status of the North American myth with all the benefits and downsides intact.
Intelligently, that’s never really brought into the text of the movie, with the story proper being about a man named Calvin Barr (Sam Elliott should have been nominated for this performance), a former Army man now comfortably living in Canada with only his thoughts to the past and uncanny ability to go into murderous fits of rage to disturb him. Soon his comfortable life is disturbed when two government agents come to ask him one question: “Can he kill the Bigfoot?”
To figure that one out, you’ll have to consult the movie…or the title.
At the bottom of the poster to The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot the tagline reads, “An American Myth.” This is an adept description because The Man Who Killed Hitler is about the status of the North American myth with all the benefits and downsides intact.
Intelligently, that’s never really brought into the text of the movie, with the story proper being about a man named Calvin Barr (Sam Elliott should have been nominated for this performance), a former Army man now comfortably living in Canada with only his thoughts to the past and uncanny ability to go into murderous fits of rage to disturb him. Soon his comfortable life is disturbed when two government agents come to ask him one question: “Can he kill the Bigfoot?”
To figure that one out, you’ll have to consult the movie…or the title.
- 2/7/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux feels like something of an artistic confession. The film, primarily about the relation of a mentally unhealthy person (in this case an artist) to a culture that perpetuates that illness, illustrates a deep emotional understanding of its material. Celeste (Raffey Cassidy and Natalie Portman) is a young woman who is shot in a school shooting by one of her classmates (Logan Riley Bruner). Instead of this being constructively dealt with, this event soon makes a celebrity out of her, launching a career that we, in the second half of the movie, will see a day in the life of.
That’s a lot to cover in the 110 minutes, but Corbet is up to it. After starring in films directed by Michael Haneke (Funny Games) and Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) Corbet exploded onto the screen with a fascinating and scary piece of work,...
Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux feels like something of an artistic confession. The film, primarily about the relation of a mentally unhealthy person (in this case an artist) to a culture that perpetuates that illness, illustrates a deep emotional understanding of its material. Celeste (Raffey Cassidy and Natalie Portman) is a young woman who is shot in a school shooting by one of her classmates (Logan Riley Bruner). Instead of this being constructively dealt with, this event soon makes a celebrity out of her, launching a career that we, in the second half of the movie, will see a day in the life of.
That’s a lot to cover in the 110 minutes, but Corbet is up to it. After starring in films directed by Michael Haneke (Funny Games) and Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) Corbet exploded onto the screen with a fascinating and scary piece of work,...
- 12/17/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Rainbow Experiment screens Saturday Nov. 10th at 9pm and again Sunday Nov. 11th at 3:15 as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Both screenings are at The Tivoli Theater. Ticket information can be found Here and Here
Review by Stephen Tronicek
The Rainbow Experiment is a brutal exploration of the different anxieties surrounding the aftermath of a terrible accident that takes place in a high school. There’s a sense of urgency over the entirety of the production that spawns out of naturalistic performances and nerve-shredding cinematography but on top of that, the film partakes in addicting melodrama that highlights the dichotomy of the professional and emotional worlds at the center of the school.
During a chemistry class gone wrong, Matty (Connor Seimer) bursts into flames, leaving his fellow classmates traumatized and the administration reeling in the fallout. It is into this fray that we...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
The Rainbow Experiment is a brutal exploration of the different anxieties surrounding the aftermath of a terrible accident that takes place in a high school. There’s a sense of urgency over the entirety of the production that spawns out of naturalistic performances and nerve-shredding cinematography but on top of that, the film partakes in addicting melodrama that highlights the dichotomy of the professional and emotional worlds at the center of the school.
During a chemistry class gone wrong, Matty (Connor Seimer) bursts into flames, leaving his fellow classmates traumatized and the administration reeling in the fallout. It is into this fray that we...
- 11/10/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Transit screens at this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival Thursday, Nov. 8 at 2:15pm and again Sunday, Nov. 11 at 3:00pm. Both screenings are at the Plaza Frontenac. Ticket information can be found Here and Here
Review by Stephen Tronicek
There’s a moment in the second act of Christian Petzold’s new film Transit that summarizes the strength of Petzold’s cinematic form. Georg (Frank Regowski), an immigrant who has fled to a new country, an impending occupation following him helps a young boy fix a radio. Once the radio is fixed a simple, yet longing, tune springs from it. Georg freezes and upon being asked by the little boy what the song is he recalls that it is one his mother sang him to sleep with.
There are many great, deeply personal things about Transit. The performances are beautiful and the rich colors of the frame...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
There’s a moment in the second act of Christian Petzold’s new film Transit that summarizes the strength of Petzold’s cinematic form. Georg (Frank Regowski), an immigrant who has fled to a new country, an impending occupation following him helps a young boy fix a radio. Once the radio is fixed a simple, yet longing, tune springs from it. Georg freezes and upon being asked by the little boy what the song is he recalls that it is one his mother sang him to sleep with.
There are many great, deeply personal things about Transit. The performances are beautiful and the rich colors of the frame...
- 11/5/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Zama screens Tuesday November 6th at 9m and again Friday November 9th at 9:30pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Both screenings are at the Plaza Frontenac Theater. Ticket information can be found Here and Here
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Lucrecia Martel’s Zama is the type of comedy that is found in the details. There’s a particular one, that always got me every single time I saw it. As Zama (Daniel Giménez Cacho), a powerful yet pitiful member of a Spanish colonial government, goes into every house he must, he must brush the poop off his shoes that he picked up while walking there. Not only is the movement within the frame objectively funny, there is a whipping motion to it that comes off of like a child who won’t get his candy back, it’s a joke baked into the very theme of the movie.
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Lucrecia Martel’s Zama is the type of comedy that is found in the details. There’s a particular one, that always got me every single time I saw it. As Zama (Daniel Giménez Cacho), a powerful yet pitiful member of a Spanish colonial government, goes into every house he must, he must brush the poop off his shoes that he picked up while walking there. Not only is the movement within the frame objectively funny, there is a whipping motion to it that comes off of like a child who won’t get his candy back, it’s a joke baked into the very theme of the movie.
- 11/5/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Mapplethorpe screens Monday Nov 5th at 8:15pm at the Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found Here
Review by Stephen Tronicek
While Ondi Timonir’s Mapplethorpe fails among many, many, facets including depicting the lifestyle that Robert Mapplethorpe lead as some type of problem to be solved, chalking up a relationship straight out of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul or Get Out as something to be valued, or even so not providing an overall thesis on the man’s life itself, the film does manage to capture a certain excitement when it comes to the living of his life. There’s a sense of openness, of freedom, to stand in his shoes and think the way that he thought. A certain surface veneer to looking at a beautiful photograph of raw cathartic energy and luxuriating in it.
A...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
While Ondi Timonir’s Mapplethorpe fails among many, many, facets including depicting the lifestyle that Robert Mapplethorpe lead as some type of problem to be solved, chalking up a relationship straight out of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul or Get Out as something to be valued, or even so not providing an overall thesis on the man’s life itself, the film does manage to capture a certain excitement when it comes to the living of his life. There’s a sense of openness, of freedom, to stand in his shoes and think the way that he thought. A certain surface veneer to looking at a beautiful photograph of raw cathartic energy and luxuriating in it.
A...
- 11/4/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Memoir Of War screens Sunday Nov. 4th at 12pm at The Plaza Frontenac as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket info can be found Here
Review by Stephen Tronicek
What happens to you when you must wait for a possibly dead loved one to return? By the end of the wait, will you still be the same person? Will they? Will your lives just start up again or will enough have changed in the time waited that it is impossible to reconcile the years past? These are the questions that Emmanuel Finkel’s Memoir of War grapples with, and not always in an entertaining way. At 2 hours Finkel’s work is an excruciating wait, a depressive wail, a drab slow walk to the finish…but it has to be. The everyday movement of the world around us, the everyday movement of ourselves is difficult, especially...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
What happens to you when you must wait for a possibly dead loved one to return? By the end of the wait, will you still be the same person? Will they? Will your lives just start up again or will enough have changed in the time waited that it is impossible to reconcile the years past? These are the questions that Emmanuel Finkel’s Memoir of War grapples with, and not always in an entertaining way. At 2 hours Finkel’s work is an excruciating wait, a depressive wail, a drab slow walk to the finish…but it has to be. The everyday movement of the world around us, the everyday movement of ourselves is difficult, especially...
- 11/2/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Lemonade screens as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival Friday Nov 3rd at 12:10pm and again Sunday Nov. 4th at 12:10pm. Both screenings are at The Plaza Frontenac Theater. Ticket info can be found Here and Here
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Almost every frame of Ioana Uricaru’s Lemonade looks like it is crushing the main characters, which is odd because the camera is never locked down. Instead, the oppressive coolness of the imagery battles the expressiveness of the camera, allowing for a feeling that can only be described as wanting to run but being held in place. .
It’s hard to imagine that the main character, Mara (Malina Manovici) feels anything else. She’s recently come to America under the pretense of a “false marriage,” and now the consequences of such an act, however unwarranted they may be, are coming back to get her. Facing...
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Almost every frame of Ioana Uricaru’s Lemonade looks like it is crushing the main characters, which is odd because the camera is never locked down. Instead, the oppressive coolness of the imagery battles the expressiveness of the camera, allowing for a feeling that can only be described as wanting to run but being held in place. .
It’s hard to imagine that the main character, Mara (Malina Manovici) feels anything else. She’s recently come to America under the pretense of a “false marriage,” and now the consequences of such an act, however unwarranted they may be, are coming back to get her. Facing...
- 11/2/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Behind every bloodsoaked frame of the four features of Jeremy Saulnier there’s something deeper, darker to be explored. Saulnier, the man behind Murder Party (2007), Blue Ruin (2013), and Green Room (2015), has become an extremely reliable and continually interesting source for genre entertainment. He makes gore films that analyze the trappings of gore films, how the power fantasies of our innate desire for bloodshed can be contrasted with the cultural myths that we somehow believe. His first feature Murder Party explored the way that cultural elitism in itself is a type of violence towards people, Blue Ruin explored the way that cycles of violence prompted by murder and revenge can only lead to darker more desolate outcomes, and Green Room explored the purity of the artistic endeavour contrasted with the violent, hypocritical, masochistic ideology of Neo-Nazism. Now, Hold the Dark has appeared on Netflix to provide a...
Behind every bloodsoaked frame of the four features of Jeremy Saulnier there’s something deeper, darker to be explored. Saulnier, the man behind Murder Party (2007), Blue Ruin (2013), and Green Room (2015), has become an extremely reliable and continually interesting source for genre entertainment. He makes gore films that analyze the trappings of gore films, how the power fantasies of our innate desire for bloodshed can be contrasted with the cultural myths that we somehow believe. His first feature Murder Party explored the way that cultural elitism in itself is a type of violence towards people, Blue Ruin explored the way that cycles of violence prompted by murder and revenge can only lead to darker more desolate outcomes, and Green Room explored the purity of the artistic endeavour contrasted with the violent, hypocritical, masochistic ideology of Neo-Nazism. Now, Hold the Dark has appeared on Netflix to provide a...
- 10/1/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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