Film: Teen Angst in ‘West Michigan’
Riley Warmoth and Chloe Ray Warmoth are a real brother and sister who grew up in Grand Haven, Mich. But for the purposes of his new film “West Michigan” that…
Film Review: When Banter Turns to Blather
Thomas Sodoski was always fun to see in series like “The Newsroom,” where he played something of a cynical cad who had to prove himself. He brought similar smarts to…
Film Review: ‘This is Not a War Story’
The wall between narrative and documentary film may be permanently demolished in a season when Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” are already winning awards. While the grit of neorealism has been a…
Film: ‘Donna: Stronger Than Pretty’
You can tell the title character of “Donna: Stronger Than Pretty” is making the wrong choice when she first lays eyes on Nick at the bar, fresh out of a…
Film: Fracturing the Brain for Science
Eric Schultz’s directorial debut, “Minor Premise,” is a nifty puzzle, a scientific thriller that doesn’t insult the intelligence with any superfluous corn, Instead, the scientific aspect is cranked way up.…
Film: When a Documentary Goes Wrong
What if everyone could make a movie? When Zachary Capp got an unexpected inheritance following his grandfather’s death, he decided, fresh out of rehab for a gambling addiction, to turn…
Film Review: ‘Effigy — Poison and the City’
In the early 19th century northern Germany, so many bodies were dying around the widow Gosche Gottfried, she earned a measure of sympathy. Men were also attracted to her even…
Film: Even Jesus Can’t Save This ‘Tulsa’
Scott Pryor describes himself as an attorney, Marine, actor, producer, director and writer — in that order. So it figures that in his vanity project Tulsa — where he has…
Film: Melting Into a Brain Malady
The last time Dana Ashbrook grabbed your attention it was probably as Laura Palmer’s boyfriend Bobby Briggs in Twin Peaks (who became a sheriff’s deputy in the 2017 revival). But…