MOVIE REVIEW: You & I

Altogether, Summer Shelton has composed a pungent expanse of reflective maturity with You & I that puts honesty on the “what if” sliding doors many viewers may feel when comparing their own histories of love. The entirety of this film’s course exudes thoughtful reflection and a wise restraint borne from the romantic predicament on screen. You & I is passionate without being overtly explicit, yet the reverberating echoes of those instinctual feelings are intense and even morose in their own way.

2023, 2024, 3 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 16, 2024You & I, Summer Shelton, Clayne CrawfordComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Your Monster

By expanding her own 2020 short film of the same name, Lindy has struck indie film gold creating a wholly original genre amalgamation with these two fresh leads. The mashup of Your Monster works any way you slice it, from a rom-com or behind-the-scenes theater yarn all dashed, slashed, and splashed with a surprise of crimson hemmorage. When this movie says it’s putting on its “happy face,” it’s one crowned by smiling fangs. In doing so with its extremely comedic slant, Your Monster turns growls into howls.

2024, 3 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 25, 2024Your Monster, Caroline Lindy, Melissa Barrera, Tommy DeweyComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Woman of the Hour

Even though a fair share of great liberties were taken to change how the actual Dating Game episode played out, the palpable lift and principled spotlight given to Sheryl’s perspective and struggle raise Woman of the Hour above a plodding true crime story or a period-era costume party. Kendrick hammers the problematic and deadly ordeal home by exploring the evidential threads and dangerous effects of two very different minefields brought together. Stone-cold seriousness hides behind the bright lights and clapping audiences, and any fluff is soaked in effective poison.

MOVIE REVIEW: Exhibiting Forgiveness

Titus Kaphar wisely kept the power focused on this single family unit, knowing the enveloping intimacy found there was more than enough to speak volumes of trueness and relatability to anyone watching. Exhibiting Forgiveness is as emphatic and resonating of a father-son conflict as any other in recent memory. For many, it will stick with you and hit home like a sledgehammer. More than everything, all of this hurt is worth every reflective second of the artistically melded experience.

MOVIE REVIEW: Bad Genius

Despite so many settings demanding quiet for test-taking, Bad Genius still chooses stumps with plenty of anti-establishment aims to shout about. As Lynn and her classmates come to see it, their attitude is to determine their own futures themselves, especially with the rank socioeconomic and ethnic divisions present between the mix of united people. They don’t want a test to outweigh their own merits and perceived hard work. In their eyes, they deserve the competitive advantages they are bending the rules to seize.

2024, 4 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 11, 2024Bad Genius, Juliah Onah, J.C. LeeComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Rally Caps

Fans of sports movies know Hollywood loves inflating unknown underdog stories. For example, most folks never heard of the likes of Rudy Ruettiger or Lane Frost before movies like Rudy or 8 Seconds came along to draw cheers and tears. Their success proves it’s not always the size of the legend that always counts. Even so, the grand style of lionizing hero worship is the farthest thing from director Lee Cipolla’s mind.

MOVIE REVIEW: Good Bad Things

The lead actor of Good Bad Things making his feature film debut is Danny Kurtzman. He lives with muscular dystrophy which diminishes most of his physical capabilities. His weakened legs and limited arm strength calls for outside assistance and the required use of a motorized scooter to get around. To say this his and, by extension, his character’s life has challenges is an understatement. Rather than entirely dwell on or define a man by those debilitations, Good Bad Things pleasingly creates a narrative where success and vivacity are not only desirable, but deservedly attainable.

MOVIE REVIEW: Peak Season

Underneath all of Peak Season’s natural grandeur is an existential simplicity spun by the two fetching leads. The scenarios and dialogue shared between Restrepo and DeBlasis play out in an unrushed and principled fashion. The kinship between them fleshes itself out sweetly and reverently. In different hands, the Peak Season narrative is a lusty paperback romance. Instead, a cooling and appreciable reality keenly replaces any preposterous whimsy or the temptation to ratchet up unearned or unnecessary torrid passion.

MOVIE REVIEW: Sing Sing

That personal effect achieved through casting is a hell of a thing and one expanded throughout Sing Sing’s storyline. Unlike outside actors trying on characters they’ve researched for a few months in hope of doing them justice, Sing Sing laminates its dramatic license with layer of authentic courage. We’re watching formerly incarcerated men relive experiences from painful years with invigorated expression. By sharing them with the world now through a tribute film, their honor and liberation is multiplied.

2024, 5 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJuly 30, 2024Sing Sing, Colman DomingoComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Before Dawn

In Before Dawn “c’est la guerre” constitutes defeatism because, more often than not, war cannot be helped by the grunts in the dirt holding or pushing a line. These young men who are uttering the phrase halfway around the world from their homes and families have learned the futility of their actions. They say it knowing they are trapped in what they thought would be a heroic quest and a patriotic cause.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dandelion

We feel that tingling levity as Dandelion’s audience and cannot help but be swept away all the same. Dandelion peaks and then teeters on the ramifications of this new union. More songs equals more potential to changes that artistic label from “starving” or “troubled” to “successful.” The bonding brings more sparks, and the increasing clashes of romantic entanglements add the risks of trust, reliance, and commitment.

2023, 2024, 4 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJuly 11, 2024Dandelion, KiKi Layne, Thomas Doherty, Nicole RiegelComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Cottontail

With that domesticated and relatable-beyond-borders quality, Cottontail is creating a greater journey, one venturing beyond any map charting the route to Akiko’s destined lakeside. Completing one’s final wishes is a quest of closure. You are answering a soul beyond the grave to finish something they could not. Yet, that course has branching paths of unsettled grievances, corrected connection, overdue forgiveness, and fulfilled promises.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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