Category Archives: Drama

Review: Protocol 7 says vaccines might be dangerous

Based on real-life events, Protocol 7 uses staged re-enactments to make the case that pharmaceutical giant Merck doctored test results to sell potentially dangerous mumps vaccine. Director and co-writer Andy Wakefield tackles an important story, but tells it with little … Continue reading

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Sound of Hope review: Choosing to make a difference

Set in East Texas in 1999, Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot shows how spiritual values helped persuade the people in a rural community to adopt 77 children languishing in the state foster system. Based on a true … Continue reading

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Berlinale Panorama review: Betânia

Shot largely in Brazil’s Lençóis Maranhenses park, Betânia follows a widow as she returns after many years to her ancestral home. The debut feature for writer and director Marcelo Botta, it screened in this year’s Panorama section of the Berlin … Continue reading

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New Mexico Noir: Loves Lies Bleeding

A solid, nasty film noir set in New Mexico, Love Lies Bleeding is a stylish blend of genre set pieces and director and co-writer Rose Glass’s distinctive vision of erotic bodybuilding. A tough sell to mainstream viewers, it will build … Continue reading

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New York Noir: 5lbs of Pressure review

Getting films completed and released is so difficult that finding fault with them is no longer appealing. As long as filmmakers are trying to be constructive, shouldn’t they be given some credit? Putting that theory to the test is 5lbs … Continue reading

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Float review: Adrift in life

A low-key romance set in the Pacific Northwest, Float rests almost entirely on the appeal of its two leads, Andrea Bang and Robbie Amell (also a producer). They play mismatched neighbors hiding personal wounds. Before the movie ends they will … Continue reading

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Ranbir Kapoor is an Animal in his latest blockbuster

Clocking in at over 200 minutes, Animal is a film defined by excess. A multi-generational crime drama, it topped the global box office on its opening weekend. It is the highest-grossing opening of star Ranbir Kapoor’s career. Bigger, longer, bloodier: … Continue reading

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Life is a cage fight in Rumble Through the Dark

You don’t expect a dark, gritty boxing drama from Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, but that’s exactly what Rumble Through the Dark is. Set in a grim world of fight clubs, liquor stores, traveling carnivals, and orphanages, the film … Continue reading

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Barber: Private eye blues in Dublin

Slow-paced and dignified, Barber plays by genre rules. Set in Dublin, the story follows private eye Val Barber (Aiden Gillen) as he investigates the disappearance of a young co-ed. It’s a mystery more interested in character than plot, one that … Continue reading

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The lost dreams of Past Lives

Quietly devastating, Past Lives follows two childhood friends as they face the paths their choices have left them. Made with remarkable skill and precision, it is a wrenching account of how dreams die. Childhood friends in Seoul, Nora and Hae … Continue reading

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