‘Hot Summer Nights’ especially delivers but then overheats

“Hot Summer Nights” – Looking back at the 20th century, some years truly stand out, and 1929, 1945, 1963, 1976, and 1984 are some of the more notable ones. Well, outside of the Hubble Telescope launch, the end of the Gulf War, Super Bowl XXV between the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants, and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”, 1991 was not particularly special.   For writer/director Elijah Bynum, he landed on this year in his new coming-of-age comedy/drama, “Hot Summer Nights”. Although his feature-film debut is packed with wonderful script-candy, odes…

‘Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti’ is an uninspired trip

“Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti” – Paul Gauguin (Vincent Cassel), a French post-impressionist artist, is living his dream in Tahiti, at least in two respects. “I paint and draw all day long.  I live in harmony with everything around me,” Gauguin exclaims with glee. Prior to his move, he grew frustrated with France’s most glamorous city in 1891, because of his inability to enjoy a proper work/life balance, a phrase often used in the corporate world in 2018.  One night, Gauguin grumbles to his friends that “we spend half our time…