Category: Uncategorized

‘The Last Letter from Your Lover’ looks gorgeous, but we’ve ‘read’ this story before

Jeff Mitchell

“The Last Letter from Your Lover” (2021) –  Director Augustine Frizzell’s film – based on Jojo Moyes’ 2008 novel with the same name – is an old-fashioned romance.  Well, half of it is.  “The Last Letter from Your Lover” is rooted in present-day London, but it flashes back 56 years to 1965 to the same city, when men sported suits and ties to step out of their houses to run random 10-minute errands, and women strived to look like Jackie Kennedy or Marlo Thomas.  Perhaps not Ms. Thomas, because “That…

‘Joe Bell’: The messages ring, but the narrative structure does not

Jeff Mitchell

“Joe Bell” (2021) – “I’ve decided to walk across America.” – Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg) In director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “Joe Bell”, Joe – a working-class family man – drops his responsibilities at home and embarks on a trek from La Grande, Ore. to New York City.  Jadin (Reid Miller), his eldest son, joins his dad, and this two-person reverse Lewis & Clark journey feels entirely apropos.  Joe delivers an anti-bullying message to anyone who will listen, in response to Jadin receiving repeated torments because of his sexual orientation, both…

The avant-garde, L.A.-based ‘Summertime’ speaks universal truths

Jeff Mitchell

“Summertime” – “Los Angeles is a large city-like area surrounding The Beverly Hills Hotel.” – Fran Lebowitz “Don’t forget you’re young on a hot summer night.” – “Hot in the City” (1982) by Billy Idol In director Carlos Lopez Estrada’s (“Blindspotting” (2018), “Raya and the Last Dragon” (2021)) feature, he thinks way out of the box and – in some respects – bypasses traditional filmmaking.  “Summertime” is part poetry slam, part performance art, but all Los Angeles.  Check that.  This 84-minute on-screen presentation is all young people living in the…