Tag: Movie

Weisz, McAdams and Nivola cope with ‘Disobedience’

Jeff Mitchell

“Disobedience” – After zero contact with her family for years and years, Ronit (Rachel Weisz) returns to England under gloomy, gray skies to attend her father’s funeral.  Almost everyone treats Ronit with strange, icy disdain and distance, except for her old friend Dovid (Alessandro Nivola), as she wanders through his home during shiva, a time of mourning. Esti (Rachel McAdams) greets Ronit as well, but not warmly.  Instead of a hug or embrace, she looks at Ronit and – with a cadence of an overworked Walmart greeter at the end…

Surprises prove invaluable in ‘$30 to Antarctica’

Jeff Mitchell

“$30 to Antarctica” – If someone mentions Antarctica, what is the first word that comes to mind?  Cold, perhaps?  These days, it unfortunately could be melting as well. Even though many of us have seen pictures or video of the world’s most southern continent, actually experiencing this mysterious locale in person might conjure different words such as unexpected and inspiring. Writer/director Joey Chu’s documentary short “$30 to Antarctica” – featured at the 2018 Phoenix Film Festival – is also unexpected and inspiring.  As the doc unfolds, we realize that only…

‘Super Troopers 2’ is worth the wait

Jeff Mitchell

“Super Troopers 2” – More often than not, comedy sequels are not as funny as the originals, and one can point to many, many examples.  This is not a universal law, like the inevitability of death, taxes and hitting every red light when running late, but the list of films is lengthy. “Airplane II: The Sequel” (1982), “Ghostbusters II” (1989), “Grumpier Old Men” (1995), “Meet the Fockers” (2004), and “The Hangover Part II” (2011) are just a few that semi-infamously stand out. Regardless of the script, movie audiences can still…