Category: Reviews

‘Flamin’ Hot’ is a warm, stand-up-and-cheer underdog story

Jeff Mitchell

“Flamin’ Hot” (2023) – “I’ve got a PhD.  I’m poor, hungry, and determined.” – Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia) Audiences should feel physically hungry and emotionally satisfied after watching “Flamin’ Hot”.  You see, Richard, a long-time janitor at Frito-Lay’s Rancho Cucamonga factory, convinced the company to push his spicy snack food idea, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, to market, in director Eva Longoria’s film, a biopic about Mr. Montañez and his success.  “When I first read the story, I cried four times.  How do I not know this story?  I’m Mexican American.  This…

You’ll gladly accept ‘Other People’s Children’, a nuanced, impactful French romantic drama

Jeff Mitchell

“Other People’s Children” (2022) – “Can’t you see I am getting attached to her?” – Rachel (Virginie Efira) Rachel has developed healthy attachments in several aspects of her life.  This attractive, attentive 30 or 40-something adores her schoolteacher job, her sister, and her father, and Rachel falls for Ali (Roschdy Zem) shortly after their guitar lesson, as the two enjoy a budding romance in Paris.  Ali is a tall, handsome car designer and a divorcee with a four-year-old daughter, Leila (Callie Ferreira-Goncalves).  He shares custody with his ex, Alice (Chiara…

Movie of the Week: ‘Toni Erdmann’

Jeff Mitchell

Sandra Huller stars in “Anatomy of a Fall” (2023), director Justine Triet’s crime drama that won the 2023 Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or.  So, AHFW wishes to recognize Huller’s outstanding work in the Oscar-nominated, “Toni Erdmann” (2016).  Who is Toni Erdmann?  Well, no character in the movie is officially named Toni Erdmann, but Winfried (Peter Simonischek) – a father desperately seeking attention from his daughter Ines (Sandra Huller) – actually creates an alter-ego with the said moniker.  AHFW not only thinks that Huller deserved the 2016 Best Actress Oscar, but…