‘Half Brothers’: This road movie has fun sibling rivalry, but we’ve seen this vehicle before

“Half Brothers” – Renato (Luis Gerardo Mendez) meets his half-brother Asher (Connor Del Rio) for the first time in Chicago, but most unexpectedly.   Renato flies to The Windy City from Mexico because his estranged father (Juan Pablo Espinosa) is nearing the end.  Flavio (Espinosa) wishes to see his son one last time before he passes. You see, 26 years ago, Flavio left San Miguel de Allende, Mexico to look for work in the U.S.  He hasn’t seen his son during all this time, so naturally, Renato carries plenty of resentment,…

‘Sound of Metal’ resonates with Ahmed’s Oscar-worthy performance

“Sound of Metal” – Director/writer Darius Marder’s feature film debut lands like a gut punch, a barrage of them.  One particular body blow confronts us very early in the first act, and for the remainder of the emotional, 15-round/two-hour runtime – led by Riz Ahmed’s Oscar-worthy performance – the audience tries to recover. Well, “Sound of Metal” doesn’t feature actual fisticuffs, but Ruben (Ahmed) fights through and for something that he lost. His hearing. Marder offers an immediate introduction to Ruben and his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) from the film’s…