Coming to theaters is the much anticipated movie Crazy Rich Asians, the first all-Asian cast film sent into wide release since 1993’s Joy Luck Club has taken over the entertainment news, which may mean impressive box office numbers. Great. It deserves them. Based on the best-selling Kevin Kwan novel, this Cinderella tale is filled with …
From Movie Reviews
The Miseducation of Cameron Post Review and Interviews: Real Life Horror with a Splash of John Hughes
The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a film based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Emily Danforth, is directed and co-written by queer American-Iranian filmmaker Desiree Akhavan. This Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning indie tells a story that takes place in 1993 chronicling the misadventures of Cameron (Chloe Grace Moretz), a teen placed in a …
The Meg movie review: Bigger Shark, Lesser Jaws
The B-movie blockbuster hopeful The Meg brings terror and the biggest shark ever to grace the screens of a multiplex. It has an appropriately diverse roster to play the usual action roles. Alpha male muscle comes in the form of Jason Statham as sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor, and standing in for the preresquisite cynical …
Night Comes On Review: A gorgeous study in loss and sisterhood
This weekend you can see the new release Night Comes On on demand. The directorial debut of actress/writer/director Jordana Spiro (of the show Ozarks) is co-written by The Shade Room’s Angelica Nwandu partly based on the experiences of Nwandu’s childhood. It would never had come to fruition without the Sundance Institute’s Directors Lab and other …
Half the Picture Documentary Review: The Struggle and Commitment of Female Filmmakers Beautifully Revealed
Documentarian Amy Adrion has created what amounts to a love letter to female filmmakers in her new film, Half the Picture, which supporters of women in film will love to know is now available on demand*. I was at San Diego Comic-Con last week preparing for and conducting the panel Women Rocking Hollywood, that features …
Cinema Siren Reviews: Ant-Man and The Wasp & Sorry To Bother You
There are two wonderful movies coming to theaters this weekend, one by a huge studio, Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp, and the other by a first time writer/director, being distributed by independent company Annapurna called Sorry To Bother You. Both will take you to a completely other world, and both are great diversions depending on …
Female Filmmakers at the movies: Leave No Trace & Boundaries
This week in movies sees the release of two films directed by women that focus on family. More specifically, they focus on father/daughter relationships. Leave No Trace and Boundaries are both road films, albeit of different sorts. Cinema Siren reviews them here, revealing who might enjoy them and who might want to avoid them. REVIEW: Leave No Trace I …
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Review- Fallen Franchise
In 1993, the wonder-filled, exciting, dino-tastic film Jurassic Park came to theaters, creating a franchise and fans around the world. I was one of them, and to this day, I love that movie. In fact, John Alvin, a film artist I represent in my other life as gallery owner of ArtInsights in Reston Town Center, …
Incredibles 2 review: Worth the Wait and Super Satisfying
It’s been over a decade since Pixar’s The Incredibles charmed and entertained audiences, with its whirlwind of snappy graphics, fast-paced story, and delightful characters, rendering it a studio favorite to many. Now, after much waiting, comes Incredibles 2. Clearly it can’t match the quality of the first, right? Sequels almost never do. Almost. Prepare to be …
Nancy & Ocean’s 8 Movie Reviews: Women Rule these June Joints
Complicated, multi-dimensional female characters are rarely portrayed onscreen. It is even less common to see one that leaves the audience conflicted. Those making decisions in Hollywood think surprises in the form of complicated women can be bad for business. The result is that the 51% of filmgoers, aka WOMEN, are mostly treated to some version …