Category: Reviews

‘Sharper’: Engaging performances and brisk pacing are a cut above some semi-farfetched threads

Jeff Mitchell

“Sharper” (2023) – “Is this real?” – Sandra (Briana Middleton) “This is real.” – Tom (Justice Smith) This lovely, intimate exchange between two 20-somethings in a New York City bookstore carries a double meaning.  Tom shows Sandra an original edition of “Jane Eyre”, and her question refers to the famous novel and the evident spark between them. Tom has been coping with depression for a while, and now, this beautiful NYU Ph.D. student walks into his shop and makes small talk, and before you can say, “I would always rather…

Despite the story’s grander scale, this ‘Ant-Man’ sequel falls short

Jeff Mitchell

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (2023) – “The cracks between the paving stones, like rivers of flowing veins.  Strange people who know me, peeping behind every windowpane.” – “The Real Me” (1973) by The Who “The Real Me” is a track from “Quadrophenia”, which quasi-shares a connection to the third Ant-Man film, a movie that kicks off the MCU’s fifth phase.  The aforementioned lyrics almost describe the setting – the Quantum Realm – of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”.  The locale is a bizarre spot, a micro-universe on a subatomic…

‘Let It Be Morning’ offers important messages but not a lot of sunshine

Jeff Mitchell

“Let It Be Morning” (2021) – “We gotta get out of this place if it’s the last thing we ever do.” – The Animals, 1965 The said lyric is exactly how Sami (Alex Bakri) feels.  Sami, his wife Mira (Juna Suleiman), and his young son are trapped in purgatory.  No, not in a religious netherworld due to past sins, but in a tangible place:  his hometown.  While visiting this tiny, remote village to attend his brother Aziz’s (Samer Bisharat) wedding, a small band of military types blocks the one road…