Ulam: Main Dish - 2019 SAAFF Movie Review

The Documentary: Ulam: Main Dish

The Director: Alexandra Cuerdo

The Story: The first food documentary following the rise of the Filipino food movement via the chefs crossing over to the center of the American table.

Blowin' Up - 2019 SAAFF Documentary Review

The Documentary: Blowin' Up

The Director: Stephanie Wang-Breal

The Story: Working within a broken criminal justice system, a team of rebel heroines work to change the the way women arrested for prostitution are prosecuted.

Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity, and Stereotypes - 2019 SAFF Documentary Review

The Documentary: Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity, and Stereotypes

The Director: Harleen Singh

The Story: With a lively backdrop of superheroes, comic books, and animated comics, meet three talented artists—a Sikh, a woman, and an African American—who are challenging the racist stereotyping currently endemic in America through their work in comics.

On Happiness Road - 2019 SAAFF Movie Review

The Movie: On Happiness Road

The Director: Hsin-Yin Sung

The Cast: Lun-Mei Kwei, Te-Sheng Wei, Bor Jeng Chen, Hui-Jen Liao, Bella Wu

The Story: Chi earned her American dream after persevering with her studies in Taiwan. Following her grandmothers' death, Chi returns to her family on Happiness Road, where she begins to feel nostalgic about her childhood and starts to contemplate the meaning of "life" and "home".

Alita: Battle Angel - Movie Review

The Movie: Alita: Battle Angel

The Director: Robert Rodriguez

The Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Jackie Earl Haley

The Story: A deactivated female cyborg is revived, but cannot remember anything of her past life and goes on a quest to find out who she is.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - Movie Review

The Movie: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

The Director: Dean DeBlois

The Cast: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, F. Murray Abraham, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, Kit Harrington, Justin Rupple

The Story: When Hiccup discovers Toothless isn't the only Night Fury, he must seek "The Hidden World", a secret Dragon Utopia before a hired tyrant named Grimmel finds it first.

Happy Death Day 2U - Movie Review

The Movie: Happy Death Day 2U

The Director: Christopher Landon

The Cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Rachel Matthews, Ruby Modine, Steve Zissis, Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton, Missy Yager, Jason Bayle,

The Story: Tree Gelbman discovers that dying over and over was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead.

Tito and the Birds / Tito e os Pássaros - Movie Review

The Movie: Tito and the Birds / Tito e os Pássaros

The Director: Gustavo Steinberg, Gabriel Bitar, André Catoto

Principal Voice Cast (Portugese): Matheus Nachtergaele, Denise Fraga, Mateus Solano, Otávio Augusto, Pedro Henrique

The Story: A socially relevant film and tells a timely tale of a marvelous dystopian adventure of heroic children battling a culture of fear that is infecting their world.

TwoOhSix Picks - 2019 Seattle Asian American Film Festival

The Seattle Asian American Film Festival is back for another round of feature films, documentaries, short films, and special events all organized by a volunteer staff and presented across multiple venues including the Northwest Film Forum, the Broadway Performance Hall, Rhein Haus, and the Washington Hall event space. Below you will find a list of films that have been specially chosen as this year's TwoOhSix Picks. Links below the posters will take you to the film's SAAFF page where you can watch trailers, see photos, and read info!

Pledge - Movie Review

The Movie: Pledge

The Director: Daniel Robbins

The Cast: Zachery Byrd, Phillip Andre Botello, Zack Weiner, Aaron Dalla Villa, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Jesse Pimentel, Joe Gallagher, Erica Boozer, Melanie Rothman, Max Schuster

The Story: A group of college freshmen pledge an exclusive fraternity but soon realize there's more at stake than they could have ever imagined.

The Cannibal Club - Movie Review

The Movie: The Cannibal Club

The Director: Guto Parente

The Cast: Tavinho Teixeira, Ana Luiza Rios, Pedro Domingues, José Maria Alves

The Story: Otavio and Gilda are a very wealthy couple of the Brazilian elite who have the habit of eating their employees. Otavio owns a private security company and is a notable member of The Cannibal Club. When Gilda accidentally discovers a secret from Borges, a powerful congressman and the Club's leader, her and her husband's lives are in danger.

The Wandering Earth / 流浪地球 - Movie Review

The Movie: The Wandering Earth / 流浪地球

The Director: Frant Gwo

The Cast: Qu Chuxiao, Li Guangjie, Ng Man-tat, Zhao Jinmai, Wu Jing, Qu Jingjing

The Story: When the sun begins to die out, humanity decides to move the earth to another solar system.

Donnybrook - Movie Review

The Movie: Donnybrook

The Director: Tim Sutton

The Cast: Jamie Bell, Frank Grillo, Margaret Qualley, James Badge Dale, Chris Browning, Pat Healy, Dara Tiller,

The Story: Two men prepare to compete in a legendary bare-knuckle fight where the winner gets a $100,000 prize.

Happy Hour / ハッピーアワー - Movie Review

The Movie: Happy Hour / ハッピーアワー

The Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

The Cast: Sachie Tanaka, Hazuki Kikuchi, Maiko Mihara, Rira Kawamura, Yoshio Shin, Shuhei Shibata, Hiroyuki Miura, Hajime Sakasho, Hiromi Demura, Shoko Fukunaga, Ayaka Shibutani

The Story: A slow-burning epic chronicling the emotional journey of four thirtysomething women in the misty seaside city of Kobe.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part - Movie Review

The Movie: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

The Director: Mike Mitchell

The Cast: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill

The Story: It's been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are facing a huge new threat: Lego Duplo invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild.

The Drone - Movie Review

The Movie: The Drone

The Director: Jordan Rubin

The Cast: John Brotherton, Alex Essoe, Anita Briem, Neil Sandilands, Simon Rex.

The Story: A newlywed couple is terrorized by a consumer drone that has become sentient with the consciousness of a deranged serial killer.

TwoOhSix Recap - 2019 Slamdance Film Festival

This was my second year covering the Slamdance Film Festival and I would say the selection of films I was able to watch was even better than the year before. Three narrative features and three documentaries came across my screens and each was seemed to raise the bar a little bit higher than the last. Of course, the decision always comes to name one of these films as the festival favorite and that is the point of this post.

Kifaru - 2019 Slamdance Film Festival Documentary Review

The Documentary: Kifaru

The Director: David Hambridge

The Story: Kifaru allows viewers to experience the joys and pitfalls of conservation firsthand through the lens of the men that look into the eyes of extinction on a daily basis.

This Teacher - 2019 Slamdance Film Festival Movie Review

The Movie: This Teacher

The Director: Mark Jackson

The Cast: Hafsia Herzi, Sarah Kazemy, Lucy Walters, Kevin Kane, Lev Gore, Gabe Fazio, Rebekah del Rio

The Story: A young Muslim woman's vacation to New York City devolves into a nightmare.