Train Dreams

Ain’t no rest for the weary kind. In Train Dreams, the newest Oscar bait coming out of Netflix, we follow an individual through the course of his life, and mange to do so in under two hours. That’s kind of part of the theme of Train Dreams, a film that seems to question not just how much control we have over our own destiny, but how significant we are in the grand scheme. So to summarize this life in less than two hours, also drives home the idea that perhaps we are only legends in our own minds, and our … Continue reading Train Dreams

Going In Blind: Time Travel Is Dangerous

Would you rip through the fabric of time and space just to snatch some vintage garb, or go antiquing with your friends, at the expense of your own health? Probably. Sadly, a lot of people would choose blue poo as a side effect of stealing goods from the past and bringing it to the future, which is why everyone needs to know that Time travel is Dangerous! This is an inspired British indie mockumentary about two women running a vintage shop in the UK, who also happen to have a Time Machine. Don’t ask questions. If you were perfectly fine … Continue reading Going In Blind: Time Travel Is Dangerous

Going In Blind: Left Handed Girl

I would have been pleasantly surprised if Netflix had changed strategies this year and decided to commit to audio describing all their International films in consideration, but alas, they have not. Left Handed Girl does sit in the same world as Il Conde from a few years ago, where they did bother to do a dub track, so I have an understanding of Taiwan’s Oscar submission. Directed by Shi-Ching Tsuo, a frequent collaborator of Academy Award Winner Sean Baker, who is making her solo feature debut here, the premise stands as being what I talk of when I lament the … Continue reading Going In Blind: Left Handed Girl

Nobody 2

When you need a man with a very particular set of skills, you’d better call nobody. when you think about the career trajectory for Bob Odenkirk, he has truly had one of the most unique career paths. David Cross certainly hasn’t had the same level of against type performances. Now, after surprising with being an action star in the first film, he’s back because people like money. The first Nobody did OK at the box office, and proved to be a bit more of a charmer on streaming, eventually widening its fan base. I think given some time, this sequel … Continue reading Nobody 2

In Waves And War

A documentary that a review really can’t do justice. it’s hard to sit here and type, as a non-veteran, and convey the same emotion effectively as the veterans do in Netflix’s new documentary In Waves And War. The purpose of the film is to show how radical new drug therapies are helping soldiers with their PTSD, and in order to do that, we have to get to know the soldiers. they bravely served, and now courageously sit for this documentary feature and share their horror stories about what they went through. Most of these guys signed up just before 9/11, … Continue reading In Waves And War

Christy

I’ve been watching and reviewing a few things recently based on people I had no idea existed. I’m really starting to question my pop culture knowledge, but is knowing a roster of female boxers really pop culture? Should I have known who Christy Martin was? If Stop The Insanity is a cautionary tale on contract law, Christy is a cautionary tale for homophobic parents who just keep hoping their lesbian daughters will marry a man. Bee careful what you wish for. Christy is a biopic about one of the most successful female boxers, who also struggled with her sexuality, and … Continue reading Christy

Play Date

How nice for Hollywood to arrange a play date between two actors. One of them is on the rise, and benefits from being able to pull off comedy, and the other is on the decline, and needed to prove relevancy by pairing with an actor with a pulse. Kevin james (60) and Alan ritchson is 42. Much like how Hollywood loves to put older men with hot younger ladies, james is paired with a hot younger guy for a buddy action comedy where he’s not apparently “too old for this shit”. Also, can we reflect on James being 60? My … Continue reading Play Date

Being Eddie

On a side note, a documentary about the two dogs that played Eddie on Frasier would be a fun watch. I hear they had some beef, and we could really dig into it. This, however, is fan service starring Eddie Murphy where he talks about himself. this follows in the grand tradition of a hundred other documentaries and docuseries we’ve had this year where a camera was plunked down in front of someone famous, or a filmmaker honed in on a famous person. Off the top of my head, Charlie Sheen, Paul Reuben’s, Billy Joel, Diane warren, Janis Ian, Susan … Continue reading Being Eddie

Nouvelle Vague

The second Richard Linklater film this year had me worried. If you stumbled here from the perspective of a sighted person, good for you. I certainly miss not worrying about walking into a theater and thinking about accessibility, and I certainly miss the world view we get from international cinema. Nouvelle Vague is probably 95% in French. As DuoLingo reminds me, I’m not fluent in French. the gods of random audio description assignment came through this year, and blessed me with a lovely track for this. Sadly, the bar was so low,a slug could have cleared it. Not only are … Continue reading Nouvelle Vague

Going In Blind: Stop The Insanity: Finding Susan Powter

Following up my review of Andrea Gibson in Come See Me In The Good Light, I now have the Susan Powter documentary. I swear i didn’t grow up in an underground cave. I do know people and things, and I pretty consistently kill pop culture references. Yet, I had to privilege to learn who Andrea Gibson was, and now I have the same to learn who Susan Powter is. Based on the clips, I should know who she is. Even though I was a kid for the 80’s and 90’s, and wasn’t into infomercials, I still recognized certain people whose … Continue reading Going In Blind: Stop The Insanity: Finding Susan Powter

Come See Me In the Good Light

I’ve heard excellent things about this film all year, and finally got the chance to check it out. I ignored the opportunity to do n advance screening since Apple doesn’t include audio description, just so I could get the whole experience. It was totally worth it. for fans of Andrea Gibson, I think this bittersweet approach to her final moments will be more poignant, but I had no idea who she was, and I still adored this. Andrea could have been anything, and still the way this film is shot, the story told, is beautiful. It takes one of the … Continue reading Come See Me In the Good Light

Going In Blind: Bunny

Available today for rental or purchas is Bunny, a dark comedy set in a tenement in New York, where the ragtag misfit residents pool together to help one of their own. the most immediately recognizable cast member is Henry Czerny, most known for being “that guy” in a hundred different things. Often typecast as a villain, the nominal screentime he’s given here is at least against type. But Henry can’t really save Bunny from itself. It isn’t that Bunny is some travesty to cinema, but as a product of some friends who wanted to make a film, it suffered from … Continue reading Going In Blind: Bunny

Frankenstein (2025)

Sometimes the interesting thing about film is watching the growth of an auteur. Depending on when you were born, you might have gotten to see the rise of certain artists honing their craft, but the exciting part is that first film, and feeling like you just witnessed the birth of something. I’d consider myself a big fan of Del toro, who even when he doesn’t top himself as a director, certainly is never boring. he has such a love for film, and for the celebration of monsters, that it really does carry through all the themes. Even his stop-motion animated … Continue reading Frankenstein (2025)

The Cut

Actors have long been willing to put themselves in harms way for their craft. weight gain and loss has been right at the top of this, with actors bouncing all around the scale in hopes of earning critical praise. For an actor like Orlando Bloom, whose career is teetering on relevancy, and has never been nominated for an Oscar, I’m sure he saw the Cut as a quick fix to that. He lost 52 pounds for the role. It isn’t quite the 62 pounds Christian Bale lost for the Machinist, but perhaps still more dangerous. Bale didn’t have to play … Continue reading The Cut

Die My Love

Film truly has the opportunity to reach just you. Depending on where you are in your life at any given moment, watching the right film is like feeling seen and heard by some unknown force. Something put this film in my path at this exact moment in time. You could be going through a break up, and be far more affected by a film about two people falling in love, or two people also breaking up. you could be experiencing a loss, and at the same time watch a film about a similar situation. When this happens, it alters your … Continue reading Die My Love