screenzealots

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"IF"

Despite a fantasy premise that should be bursting with creativity and wonder, every ounce of enchantment has been drained from this misfire of a movie.

“IF” is a cinematic misfire of epic proportions. It has been a long time since I’ve completely disliked a movie so much from start to finish, and this lackluster attempt at conjuring up magic suffers from a thin, uninspired story despite a premise that should be bursting with creativity and wonder. Writer, director, and co-star John Krasinski manages to drain every ounce of enchantment from his…

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#Awkwafina #Cailey Fleming #John Krasinski #Jon Stewart #Louis Gossett Jr. #Maya Rudolph #Michael Giacchino #Phoebe Waller-Bridge #Richard Jenkins #Ryan Reynolds #Steve Carell

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"Adam the First"

So much of the story feels like a string of missed opportunities to delve deeper into the characters and themes, but I appreciate what this self-discovery drama is going for.

Writer / director Irving Franco‘s “Adam the First” is a film that wears its heart on its sleeve, offering an earnest and universal story that should resonate with most viewers. This rough around the edges drama has just the right amount of indie quirk to make it feel unique, but the amateurish writing and clumsy acting detract a bit from the dramatic impact. In this story about finding your…

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#David Duchovny #Irving Franco #Oakes Fegley #T.R. Knight

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"ABBA Against the Odds"

A time capsule of the band's enduring legacy and a celebration of the mark they've left on music history.

I’ve always enjoyed ABBA’s music, but after watching James Rogan‘s documentary “ABBA: Against the Odds,” I realized I knew very little about the Swedish quartet. The film gives a brief overview into the band’s journey to fame, starting from their humble beginnings at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest (where their song “Waterloo” resulted in an unexpected victory that changed their lives forever)…

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#Agnetha Fältskog #Anni-Frid Lyngstad #Benny Andersson #Björn Ulvaeus #Documentary #James Rogan

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"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire"

As someone who has been a fan of almost all things “Ghostbusters” since I was a kid, I had a lot of anticipatory excitement for “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.” As with every franchise there have been some massive hits and horrible misses along the way (I won’t name names, because you know the movies I’m talking about), and this latest installment unfortunately leans towards the “rotten” end of the…

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#Bill Murray #Carrie Coon #Celeste O&039;Connor #Dan Aykroyd #Ernie Hudson #Finn Wolfhard #Kumail Nanjiani #Logan Kim #Mckenna Grace #Paul Rudd

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"Prom Dates"

Doesn't cement itself as a teen movie classic, but it accurately captures the essence of senior year shenanigans with humor and heart.

While comparisons to “Booksmart” are inevitable, the perfectly acceptable Hulu streamer “Prom Dates” (from director Kim O. Nguyen) stands on its own as a cute and charming film that knows its audience well. It’s the kind of movie that will resonate with its target demographic, while others might dismiss it as pedestrian and forgettable. It’s not total garbage, but mostly because the film doesn’t…

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#Antonia Gentry #D.J. Mausner #Julia Lester #Kim O. Nguyen

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"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"

A simple yet captivating story that not only pays homage to its predecessors, but extends a fresh, updated, and reimagined take for a new generation.

I didn’t expect much from “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” director Wes Ball‘s standalone sequel to 2017’s “War of the Planet of the Apes,” and I was pleasantly surprised by this sci-fi spectacle. While the film definitely has some issues with pacing and storytelling, it’s better than most of the entries in the rebooted canon. Dark and intense, it is exciting and entertaining enough to please…

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#Freya Allan #Kevin Durand #Owen Teague #Wes Ball #William H. Macy

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"Dory Previn: On My Way To Where"

Director Dianna Dilworth wanted to paint a portrait of a creative artist more people should know, and she accomplishes her mission with her documentary “Dory Previn: On My Way To Where.” Dilworth lets Previn’s lyrics and music tell her own story, which was filled with trauma, scandal, and so much pain, all of which were reflected in the award-winning Hollywood lyricist’s life. While folks…

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#Dianna Dilworth #Documentary #J. Smith-Cameron #Julia Greenberg #SXSW

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"The Gutter"

“Dodgeball” meets “Pootie Tang,” but with bowling.

I laughed a lot at the goofy sports comedy “The Gutter,” a hilarious, profane, atypical underdog film from Isaiah and Yassir Lester. This is a movie I can best describe as “Dodgeball” meets “Pootie Tang,” but with bowling. This one has massive cult classic potential, if it can find its audience. When we meet frequently fired Walt (Shameik Moore), he is interviewing for a job at AlleyCatz, which…

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#D&039;Arcy Carden #Isaiah Lester #Jackée Harry #Paul Reiser #Shameik Moore #Susan Sarandon #SXSW #Yassir Lester

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"Turtles"

A quietly honest film about the reciprocal nature of love and the beautiful complexities that make it all worthwhile.

With every long-term relationship comes a period of turbulence, and “Turtles” lends an authentic look at the complexities that arise when two people have chosen to spend decades of their lives together. Writer / director David Lambert’s emotionally charged drama offers an affecting portrait of a marriage on the brink, a relationship movie about an impending divorce between a couple who are ready…

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#Dave Johns #David Lambert #Olivier Gourmet #SXSW

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"Eternal You"

This documentary is going to cause some spirited debates about technology, and neither side will be wrong in their opinion.

The documentary “Eternal You,” from co-directors Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, is going to cause some spirited debates about technology’s contributions to society, and neither side will be wrong in their opinion. Tackling the subject of the ethicality and morality of using A.I. generated avatars to allow grieving families to “talk” to their dead loved ones, this film asks the question, “is…

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#Documentary #Hans Block #Moritz Riesewieck #Sundance

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"Doppelgängers³"

This dizzying, head-spinning journey into the realms of imagination, innovation, and existential exploration is definitely a different kind of documentary.

Making the most of an interesting and unique topic, “Doppelgängers³” is a different kind of documentary. This dizzying, head-spinning journey into the realms of imagination, innovation, and existential exploration comes to a wonderfully strange fruition at the hands of writer / director Ben Hayoun- Stépanian. Trying to succinctly summarize the plot of this avant-garde  story isn’t easy, but the…

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#Ben Hayoun- Stépanian #Documentary #Lucia Kagramanyan #Myriam Amroun #Rémy Bennett #SXSW

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"Bionico’s Bachata"

A quirky and sincere love story about failed relationships that requires a considerable investment of time and energy with little payoff in return.

The quirky “Bionico’s Bachata” is mildly amusing at first, but if you are able to make it through to the end, it feels more like a chore than a good time. Director Yoel Morales mixes moments of dark humor with sobering reality in a film that ventures into the world of a hopeless romantic who also happens to have a crippling addiction to crack. Bionico (Manuel Raposo), along with his friend and…

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#Ana Minier #Manuel Raposo #SXSW #Yoel Morales

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"Civil War"

A chilling film that will spark important conversations that we all need to be having. This is a horror movie for uncertain times, especially when you consider the current turbulent and fractured climate of the U.S.

The chilling, thought-provoking “Civil War” imagines what would happen if the United States found itself in a modern day civil war. The most disturbing aspect of writer / director Alex Garland‘s dystopian thriller is the sheer plausibility of a conflict like this erupting on our home turf, accelerated by a cancer of disinformation, polarization, and contempt that could rot America from within and…

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#Alex Garland #Cailee Spaeny #Jesse Plemons #Kirsten Dunst #Nick Offerman #Stephen McKinley Henderson #SXSW #Wagner Moura

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"Wakhri (One of a Kind)"

Despite the repetitive nature of thematic bullet points, it's refreshing to see such a spirited female perspective represented in Pakistani cinema.

There’s a powerful effectiveness that flows from director and co-writer Iram Parveen Bilal‘s “Wakhri (One of a Kind),” a story that benefits from its strong female voice on the page and behind the camera. The film expresses the complexities surrounding women’s roles and their treatment in contemporary Pakistani society, wrapped within the harrowing journey of a widowed school teacher thrust into…

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#Bakhtawar Mazhar #Faryal Mehmood #Iram Parveen Bilal #Sohail Sameer #SXSW

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"Resynator"

A film that starts out with one goal in mind but midway through, takes an unexpected detour that’s surprising, sad, and cathartic to the filmmaker and her family.

The casual nature of director Alison Tavel’s documentary “Resynator” fits like a familiar glove, making it the perfect style for such a highly personal story. This is a film that starts out with one goal in mind but midway through, takes an unexpected detour that’s surprising, sad, and cathartic to the filmmaker and her family. When Tavel unearths the Resynator, a revolutionary synthesizer…

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#Alison Tavel #Documentary #SXSW

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"Sew Torn"

Excellent visual storytelling offers a unique take on this multi-layered story about the choices we make.

Writer-director Freddy Macdonald has a good eye for directing, and his debut feature “Sew Torn” has a wonderfully suspenseful opening. Macdonald’s an excellent visual storyteller and despite some minor amateurish mistakes, this dark comedy thriller offers a unique and different take on a multi-layered story about the choices we make. Barbara (Eve Connolly) owns a mobile sewing business where she…

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#Calum Worthy #Eve Connolly #Freddy Macdonald #John Lynch #SXSW

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"Adrianne & The Castle"

This true story of love, loss, and the role of grief in the artistic process isn’t executed well. As a result, nothing about this documentary works.

I never found myself able to form any type of connection with the mediocre documentary “Adrianne & The Castle,” a love story featuring subjects that aren’t the slightest bit compelling. In director Shannon Walsh’s true story of love and loss, she explores the role of grief in the artistic process. The ideas are all there, but the film isn’t executed well and just doesn’t work.   Alan and…

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#Documentary #Shannon Walsh #SXSW