Author: Jeff Mitchell

AHFW’s Top 20 Films of 2020: #4 ‘The 40-Year-Old Version’

Jeff Mitchell

4. “The Forty-Year-Old Version” – A star is born!  Radha Blank writes, directs, produces, and plays the lead in a charming underdog tale of a middle-aged woman trying to jumpstart her playwriting career.  Blank pens memorable supporting players – including a group of sincere but unpolished high school students, her best friend who moonlights as her agent, and a younger love interest – who mark her journey to possible nirvana.  Still, Broadway-Eden is a ways off, as Radha grapples with the uncomfortable comforts of New York City, her professional shortcomings,…

AHFW’s Top 20 Films of 2020: #5 ‘David Byrne’s American Utopia’

Jeff Mitchell

5. “David Byrne’s American Utopia” – With a minimalist stage design of hundreds of slender, elegant metal chains hanging from the rafters, 68-years-young David Byrne and 11 talented musicians/singers perform a film version of their successful show at New York City’s Hudson Theatre.  Spike Lee’s clever camerawork captures Byrne and his harmonious compadres – who all don matching gray suits – as they strut, tap, and twirl barefoot to lively, bouncy tracks and ballads from the lead artist’s new album and some absolute classics from yesterdecade, including this critic’s favorite…

‘The Mauritanian’ gives us another reason to never forget 9/11

Jeff Mitchell

“The Mauritanian” – It’s difficult to believe, but the September 11 tragedy is almost 20 years old, and indeed, the lasting impact of losing 3,000 human beings on American soil during that horrible day will never fade.  The United States has been changed forever, not unlike how The Civil War, The Pearl Harbor attack, and JFK’s assassination altered the country’s optimistic trajectory.  Yes, I believe that the U.S. is still a hopeful place, but certainly, 9/11 wounded the U.S.A.’s psyche and removed chunks of our collective soul. Its aftermath cost…