REVIEW: Dakota [2012]

“You find a way to afford the horse” Writer/director Ami Canaan Mann‘s WIGS network three-part series Dakota has the potential to be an intriguing gender reversal for the subject of high stakes poker. One generally thinks Rounders, The Sting, House of Games or many other male-centric vehicles when it comes to players putting it all on the line for a quick score in the best of times and a reprieve from a loan shark’s brutality in the worst. Poker films use women as distractions, schemers, and accomplices. So, listening to…

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REVIEW: Serena [2012]

“About what? The kidnapping or the body parts?” Writer, director, and co-creator of the WIGS network Rodrigo García pretty much summed up his short film entry Serena with the following behind the scenes quote: “The best love stories are those with the greatest obstacles.” An intriguing sentiment as far as admitting the struggle necessary to find, keep, and enhance one’s love with another, the word obstacle is an understatement in the context of the relationship he’s created. Dealing with the interactions of a pastor and one of his troubled parishioners,…

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REVIEW: Diana [2012]

“Swimming was the only place I felt safe” After the success of the WIGS network’s ongoing series of fictional shorts, Jon Avnet, Rodrigo García, and their partners decided to delve into the documentary realm as well. Keeping true to their goal of showcasing tales featuring empowering women, it’s no surprise an athlete like Diana Nyad was chosen as their first entry’s subject. A sixty-year old World Record holder in marathon swimming, Diana tells her story of suffering, accolades, and the hope of achieving immortality. Documentarian Sandra Keats makes the right…

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REVIEW: Allison [2012]

“I’m already doing 90%. Not going to do 95.” After what appeared like full-blown retirement from the industry, writer/director Paul Brickman of Risky Business fame has been lured back by the WIGS network of female-centric short films. Building his tale around the stereotypical nagging wife trope, Allison subverts the usual comic portrayal of an over-zealous matriarch by putting her in a situation that earns the attitude. Containing a healthy portion of sarcastic humor, we empathize with this breadwinning, headstrong woman and completely understand her struggle. If husband Jerry (Joel Johnstone)…

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REVIEW: Denise [2012]

“I get along with girls better …” As evidenced by In the Company of Men and The Shape of Things, no one does scathing social commentary like Neil LaBute. So, after the rather questionable decisions to helm remakes of The Wicker Man and Death at a Funeral, it’s good to see the playwright going back to what made him a filmmaker to keep tabs on over a decade ago. His script for the short film Denise—a part of the WIGS series from Jon Avnet and Rodrigo García—takes a discerning look…

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