Authors: Jimmy Martin
Sundance Film Review: The Signal
As they drive across the country to California, friends and computer whizzes Nick (Brenton Thwaites), Jonah (Beau Knapp) and Haley (Olivia Cooke) make a stop in the Nevada desert to track down the notorious hacker, Nomad. As they search an abandoned shack, they suddenly encounter an unfathomable abduction. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Sleepwalker
You know there is an issue with a film when you realize nothing significant has happened after an hour and it’s only 92 minutes long. Such is the case with Mona Fastvold’s monotonous entry, “The Sleepwalker.” As Kaia (Gitte Witt) and Andrew (Christopher Abbott) work on remodeling her childhood home, they are unexpectedly interrupted by the arrival of Kaia’s sister, Christine (Stephanie Ellis). … read more
Sundance Film Review: Happiness
More than a decade ago, King Jigme Wangchuck approved the utilization of television and Internet in the Kingdom of Bhutan. With the modernization process coming to an end, the small village of Layla is the last to be updated. Inside this rural region is 8-year-old Peyangki whose single mother has decided to send him to a monastery to become a monk. … read more
Sundance Film Festival: Nick Offerman: American Ham
On March 2, 2013, in the renowned Town Hall Theatre in New York, celebrated television star and coveted “man’s man,” Nick Offerman, graces the stage shirtless, hairy and prepped to offer his “10 Tips for a Prosperous Life.” Changing up the general stand-up routine with multiple musical interludes with acoustic guitar in hand, Offerman offers no mercy to the weak and slothful. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Hits
The notion of instantly becoming a celebrity in America runs rampant, and reality programming and viral videos aren’t helping the situation. In the small town of Liberty, New York, Katelyn Stuben (Meredith Hagner) constantly envisions the interview she’ll have on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” after she wins the next season of “The Voice.” … read more
Sundance Film Review: Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead
At the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, director Tommy Wirkola unleashed an over-the-top take on the horror genre with Nazi zombies attacking a group of medical students on a skiing trip in his Norwegian cult flick, “Dead Snow.” Five years later, Wirkola picks up the story at the exact moment where he left us. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Mitt
“If this film had come about before the election, Mitt Romney would be in the White House.” I heard this exact same quote from three different people while waiting for other films during Sundance. Let me be frank. No, he wouldn’t. As director Greg Whiteley did, in this film that follows Mitt Romney from December 2006 to the day after the 2012 presidential elections, let’s not focus on politics. … read more
Movie Review: 300 – Rise of an Empire
Eight years after the release of Zack Snyder’s 300 (or as my friend calls it, “Eighteen-hundred Abs”), director Noam Murro has made a prequel/sequel/equal to the franchise that explores characters’ origins, parallel storylines and events that take place after the Spartans’ bloodbath. … read more
SXSW Film Festival: The Infinite Man
Director Hugh Sullivan leads this awkward yet charming tale of jealousy and redemption with a delightful cast of characters. McConville is provided with the entertaining opportunity to portray a love-starved mess to a conniving mastermind as his versions compete against one another. … read more
SXSW Film Festival: Above All Else
With gorgeous cinematography in the dense woods of the Lone Star State, Fiege stands by a small collective of demonstrators who refuse to stand down against billion-dollar bullies even when it seems all is lost in an unfair legal battle. … read more