“In that case I can fish” Much like how an absurd notion of satisfying a wealthy Sheikh’s whim to bring British salmon into the Yemen could actually occur—so Anglo-Middle East relations can attain a meaningless victory against a highly destructive war—the film adaptation of Paul Torday‘s novel Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a feel [...]

“I needed to kiss you again” Set during the synthesis of Latin Jazz in Cuba and its spilling over to the United States, Chico y Rita [Chico & Rita] gives us a love story that lasts half a century. Animated in a charmingly two-dimensional way devoid of gradients in lieu of clearly defined shadows superimposed [...]

“She’s not mine” Sadly—or perhaps not—The Lucky One did not instill a need to rectify my neglect of watching or reading author Nicholas Sparks‘ previous works. A romantic drama that falls prey to all the tropes you know and love/hate, the roller coaster ride of emotions it wants to be ends up little more than [...]

“What the Sam Heck?” Shot on $3000 to satisfy his graduate thesis, Nelson Cuellar‘s The Delray Story is a love letter to a bygone era of music. In a world filled with electronic beats and rehashed styles, where the kids fawn over celebrity images instead of good voices and quality sounds, accepting that the music [...]

“Top of the mountain” It’s a rare success to see a film as great as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel excel because of its leading cast of seniors. Since this bunch of peerless British performers so often shine in the background, we forget how good they really are. An inspired group, they portray Deborah Moggach‘s [...]

“I don’t cheat” Using baseball as the metaphor to an underdog life of disrespect, the short film Caught utilizes a recreation league’s championship game as the release of starting catcher Hannah’s (Lori Martini) naïve reliance on her family for a love they’ll never share. Trash-talking her brother Robbie (Daniel Braver)—stuck in a leg brace and [...]

“How did you get it?” We all strive to be pure, to be worthy of those we love. Oftentimes, however, such illusions of grandeur are nothing more than a façade to hide who we really are. Even in dream the titular petty thief (David Amito) of Beware Pickpocket sees himself as the bloodied punching bag [...]

“Thank you for your consideration” Underdogs thrive on the ability to retain hope in a world forever shoving them into a corner without the reality of upward mobility or a true chance at overall social change. When they start to believe their numbers can actually overcome that adversity, however, the ruling class must take notice [...]

“I’m at the front door” It’s hard to believe that Sid Bodalia‘s Aloneliness is a student film. After living in New Jersey and eventually attending the Maryland Institute College of Art for degrees in design and painting, the young artist moved all the way to Mumbai, India in order to pursue a career in filmmaking [...]