America’s Film Legacy
America’s Film Legacy 2009-2010
Category Archives: New Releases
SXSW returns online
Last year’s SXSW festival was underway when it fell victim to the pandemic lockdown. This year’s edition took place online, a necessary but regrettable compromise that doesn’t really satisfy anyone. On the plus side, titles previously out of bounds to … Continue reading
Posted in Documentary, Film Festivals, New Releases
Leave a comment
Promising Young Woman on society’s ills
Criticize Promising Young Woman at your peril, as Variety discovered. Innocuous comments from Dennis Harvey about star Carey Mulligan ignited a firestorm of rebukes, some from Ms. Mulligan herself. The movie has more fundamental flaws than Ms. Mulligan’s performance, ranging … Continue reading
Posted in New Releases
Leave a comment
Dante Lam’s action spectacle The Rescue: review
Director Dante Lam built his reputation on gritty action films like Beast Cops and The Viral Factor, works marked by relentless drive and exceptional action sequences. His last two films, Operation Mekong and Operation Red Sea, were huge hits in … Continue reading
Posted in Action, Asian, New Releases
Leave a comment
Let Them All Talk: Steven Soderbergh’s ocean liner experiment
A playful infomercial for the Cunard Line as much as a feature film, Let Them All Talk lets veterans indulge themselves in a bit of travel porn, all the more poignant in this lockdown era. Experimental in some of its … Continue reading
Posted in New Releases, Streaming
Leave a comment
Bella Thorne out for revenge in Girl
Shot on a bare-bones budget, Girl is a stripped-down revenge thriller with just enough plot to exceed expectations. Uniformly good performances help writer and director Chad Faust fashion a credible modern-day film noir that will not disappoint genre fans. Faust … Continue reading
Posted in Action, New Releases, Streaming
Leave a comment
Jackie Chan returns in Vanguard: review
Thirty years ago Jackie Chan was the biggest movie star in the world. After conquering Asian markets, he embraced Hollywood in vehicles that tried to reproduce the action and humor of his Hong Kong movies. In recent years he has … Continue reading
Posted in Action, Asian, New Releases, Streaming
Leave a comment
Monsoon review: Finding and changing identities
With its focus on character and attention to detail, Monsoon feels like a short story. Set in Vietnam, it follows thirty-something Kit (played by Henry Golding) as he arrives from Europe to settle his parents’ estate. Along the way he … Continue reading
Posted in Asian, Film Festivals, New Releases, Streaming
Leave a comment
Steve McQueen on Lovers Rock
With covid-19 still uncontrolled, the 58th edition of the New York Film Festival gets underway September 25, running until October 11. A collaboration of sorts with the Toronto International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival, this year’s schedule is … Continue reading
Posted in Film Festivals, New Releases, Streaming
Leave a comment
The Secret: Dare to Dream—Elevating the Hallmark formula
Good intentions ooze throughout The Secret: Dare to Dream, a high-toned drama about a widow searching for happiness in the suburbs of New Orleans. Given that the widow’s Katie Holmes, a veteran of melancholy soap operas, The Secret offers plush … Continue reading
Posted in New Releases, Streaming
Leave a comment
Rebuilding Paradise review: After the Fire
The Camp Fire on November 8, 2018, claimed 85 victims and destroyed nearly all of Paradise, California. Rebuilding Paradise, a new documentary from director Ron Howard, follows the community through a year-long recovery period. Best known for commercial blockbusters like … Continue reading
Posted in Documentary, New Releases
Leave a comment