SoulMate / 七月与安生 - Movie Review

The Movie: SoulMate / 七月与安生

The Director: Derek Tsang

The Cast: Zhou Dongyu, Ma Sichun, Toby Lee

The Story: Two women who have been close friends since adolescence must cope with the changes that maturity brings.

Sand Storm (SIFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Movie: Sand Storm
Official selection of the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival

The Director: Elite Zexer

The Cast: Lamis Ammar, Ruba Blal, Hitham Omari, Khadija Al Akel, and Jalal Masrwa

The Story: When their entire lives shatter, two Bedouin women struggle to change the unchangeable rules, each in her own individual way.

The Interview: TwoOhSix.com interviews director Elite Zexer.

Assassin's Creed - Movie Review

The Movie: Assassin's Creed

The Director: Justin Kurzel

The Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Brendan Gleeson, Callum Turner, Essie Davis, Jeremy Irons, and Michael K Williams

The Story: When Callum Lynch explores the memories of his ancestor Aguilar and gains the skills of a Master Assassin, he discovers he is a descendant of the secret Assassins society.

The Lure (SIFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Lure aka Córki dancingu

The Director: Agnieszka Smoczynska

The Cast: Marta Mazurek, Michalina Olszanska, Kinga Preis, Andrzej Konopka, Jakub Gierszal, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Magdalena Cielecka, Katarzyna Herman, and Marcin Kowalczyk

The Story: In Warsaw, a pair of mermaid sisters are adopted into a cabaret. While one seeks love with humans the other hungers to dine on the human population of the city.

Complete Unknown (SIFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Movie: Complete Unknown

The Director: Joshua Marston

The Cast: Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon, Michael Chernus, Condola Rashad, Kathy Bates, and Danny Glover

The Story: As a man contemplates moving to a new state with his wife for her graduate program, an old flame - a woman who often changes identities - reenters his life at a birthday dinner party.

Transpecos (SIFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Movie: Transpecos

The Director: Greg Kwedar

The Cast: Johnny Simmons, Gabriel Luna, Clifton Collins Jr, David Acord, Oscar Avila, Luis Bordonada, Will Brittain, Jake Lockett, and Lora Martinez-Cunningham

The Story: For three US Border Patrol agents, the contents of one car reveal an insidious plot within their own ranks. The next 24 hours could cost them their lives.

Moonlight - Movie Review

The Movie: Moonlight

The Director: Barry Jenkins

The Cast: Mahershala Ali, Alex R. Hibbert, Janelle Monáe, Naomie Harris, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, and André Holland

The Story: A chronicle of the childhood, adolescence and burgeoning adulthood of a young black man growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.

Patriots Day - Movie Review

The Movie: Patriots Day

The Director: Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon)

The Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, J.K. Simmons, Michelle Monaghan, Christopher O'Shea, Rachel Brosnahan, Jake Picking, Lana Condor, Jimmy O. Yang, Melissa Benoist, Alex Wolff, Themo Melikidze, John Fiore, and Khandi Alexander.

The Story: Based on true events, “Patriots Day” is a powerful story of a community’s extraordinary courage in the face of adversity and chronicles in detail one of the most sophisticated and well-coordinated manhunts in law enforcement history. - Official Website

Truman (SIFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Movie: Truman

The Director: Cesc Gay

The Cast: Ricardo Darín, Javier Cámara, Dolores Fonzi, Eduard Fernández, Oriol Pla, and Elvira Mínguez.

The Story: Julián receives an unexpected visit from his friend Tomás, who lives in Canada. For four intense days, the two men, accompanied by Julián’s faithful dog, Truman, will share emotional and surprising moments prompted by Julián’s complicated situation. - trumanfilm.com

The Birth of a Nation - Movie Review

The Birth of a Nation is based on the life of Nat Turner and his rise from slavery into leading a rebellion. The film was written, produced, and directed by Nate Parker who also plays the lead character along with performances from Aja Naomi King, Armie Hammer, Gabrielle Union, Aunjanue Ellis, Jackie Earle Haley, and Penelope Ann Miller.

The Eyes of My Mother (SIFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Eyes of My Mother (Official selection of the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival)

The Director: Nicolas Pesce

The Cast: Kika Magalhaes, Will Brill, Olivia Bond, Diana Agostini, Flora Diaz,

The Story: A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life. - Official Website

The Love Witch - Movie Review

The Movie: The Love Witch (Official Selection of the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival)

The Director: Anna Biller

The Cast: Samantha Robinson, Gian Keys, Laura Wadell, Jeffrey Vincent Parise, Robert Seeley, Jennifer Ingrum. Randy Evans, and Lily Holleman

The Story: Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However, her spells work too well, leaving her with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder. - Official Website

Hidden Figures - Movie Review

The Movie: Hidden Figures

The Director: Theodore Melfi

The Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, Glen Powell, Kimberly Quinn, Olek Krupa, Kurt Krause, Saniyya Sidney, and Ron Clinton Smith.

The Story: Based on a true story. A team of African-American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program's first successful space missions. - IMDB.com

Don't Breathe - Movie Review

The Movie: Don't Breathe

The Director: Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead)

The Cast: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovato, Emma Bercovici, and Katia Bokor

The Story: A group of thieves makes a big mistake when they attempt to break into the house of a blind man who turns out to have a few surprises waiting for intruders.

A Monster Calls - Movie Review

The Movie: A Monster Calls

The Director: J.A. Bayona (The Impossible)

The Cast: Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, and Toby Kebbel

The Story: A mythical tree monster comes to the aid of a boy who is struggling with the reality of losing his mom to a terminal condition.

Fences - Movie Review

The Movie: Fences

The Director: Denzel Washington (Antwone Fisher)

The Cast: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, and Mykelti Williamson.

The Story: A black man in 1950's New York trying to raise and hold together a family while struggling with the demons of his own upbringing.

Sing - Movie Review

The Movie: Sing

The Director: Christophe Lourdelet and Garth Jennings

The Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Saunders, Jennifer Hudson, Nick Kroll, and Nick Offerman.

The Story: In a modern civilization populated by animals, a koala struggles to keep his theater, and his father's dreams, alive. To keep from getting shut down, he puts on a singing competition that turns out to be much more than anyone bargained for.

The Conjuring 2 - Movie Review

The Movie: The Conjuring 2

The Director: James Wan (Furious 7)

The Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Frances O'Connor, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente, Madison Wolfe, Lauren Esposito, Benjamin Haigh, and Patrick McAuley.

The Story: Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a malicious spirit. (From IMDB)

Why Him? - Movie Review

The Movie: Why Him?

The Director: John Hamburg (I Love You, Man)

The Cast: James Franco, Zoey Deutch, Bryan Cranston, Megan Mullally, Keegan-Michael Key, Griffin Gluck, Zack Pearlman, and Cedric the Entertainer.

The Story: A college student invites her family to spend their Christmas vacation with her and her eccentric boyfriend so they can get to know each other.

The Monster (TFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Monster, an official selection of the 2016 Tacoma Film Festival, tells the story of what could happen when your car breaks down on a little used stretch of highway in the middle of a forest at 12:15am. The movie was directed by Bryan Bertino and features acting performances by Zoe Kazan, Ella Ballentine, and Aaron Douglas.