Film Arts - Movies & Festivals - Reviews

This is the month most of you celebrate Thanksgiving with your families. There are twelve movies hitting your local theater worth seeing. 

What does it means to be separated from one’s family of origin and home and how can one re-find them? Bella went off on what begins as a walk down a street and becomes a 400-mile quest into the wilderness. The film reminds me that I am my dog’s “person.”  The film also reveals how dogs might think. For example, Bella is on a quest to “Go Home!” as she keeps reminding us.

For those of you who like to see movies in the theater, you will be happy to know there are seven amazing movies opening this month in theaters. Starting with “The Farewell”. It stars Awkwafina as a granddaughter who is devoted to her grandmother who she finds out is dying. Fans of “Oceans 8” and “Crazy Rich Asians” will love Awkwafina in a dramatic role. It opens August 2nd.

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler can now be seen again as husband and wife in a Netflix original available at your convenience for streaming in a caper called Murder Mystery. The pair do have an easy chemistry, a relaxed intimacy. Nick and Audrey Spitz have been married for 15 years. She is a hairdresser and a mystery buff. He is a cop who has just failed his detective test. 

The biggest show of the year, the Monte Rio Variety Show will take place at the Monte Rio Amphitheater on Thursday July 25. Join us for a special evening of music, comedy and theater. With a uniquely wide range of acts, from Jazz to Classical, from Country to Rock, the Monte Rio Variety Show has been a Russian River tradition for 108 years.

This year, the 4th of July falls on a Thursday so you can catch up on movies you missed in June on Saturday and Sunday. “Late Night” starring Emma Thompson is a movie you should see in the theater. Thompson will definitely be nominated for best actress at the Oscars next year.  Another movie you should see in the theater is “Toy Story 4”. This is the best sequel ever made. Watch it to break all box office records! This is an exciting month for Marvel movie fans. Yes, “Spider-Man Far From Home” comes out July 2. It stars Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal and Samuel L Jackson. Peter Parker’s relaxing European vacation takes an unexpected turn when Nick Fury suddenly shows up in his hotel room. Parker soon finds himself donning the Spider-man suit to help Fury and fellow superhero Mysterio battles an evil new threat.

Author, recovering addict and subject of the film Beautiful Boy Nic Sheff will be speaking at Healdsburg Library on Saturday, June 29, at 2 p.m. as part of Sonoma County Library’s Distinguished Speaker Series. Community members are invited to attend the free event.

The film is a reminder of the long and difficult work that victory took in a political climate in which all things progressive are at risk. No such victory can be taken for granted. "Freedom to Mary"  introduces us to the people who worked for decades for the fight for marriage equality which led to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling making it legal for gay people to marry in all 50 states.

Luciano Pavarotti had a magnificent, a glorious voice but that is not what made him great. He had a flamboyant charm and was larger than life, an actor who could transmute poignancy on stage with his arias conveying vitality, electricity. He took the art form out of the realm of the elites and the snobs and placed it into the arms of the masses where it most justifiably belongs because that is where it was born. Director, Ron Howard weaves Pavarotti's story together with clips from his performances.

This moving presentation takes a fresh look at a pivotal event in American history from 1916–1920.  Iron Jawed Angels tells the true story of how defiant and brilliant young activists Alice Paul, played by Hilary Swank, and Lucy Burns, played by Frances O’Connor, took the women’s suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.

If you haven't had a chance to see Brad Pitt in “Ad Astra” it's still in theaters, and I have many other film reviews. TheMill Valley Film Festival starts October 3rd with “Just Mercy” starring Jamie Foxx. For my live theater fans you still have time to see the fabulous “Gypsy” at 6th Street.

The 24th Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival Launches October 10th. October 10 – November 12 at The Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol. Featuring a Bay Area Premiere on Clean Water, Many Award Winners, a Sing-Along! The festival brings the newest and best of Jewish-themed films to the community, this year exploring the relationship between Jewish and non-Jewish culture, and mutual understanding and growth.

'The read Sea Diving Resort' is a thriller about a deserted Italian resort on the Red Sea that becomes a front for a Mossad run rescue mission. There are times when the truth is stranger than fiction and this story is so bizarre one could not make it up. The basic facts are true. Israeli agents smuggle out Ethiopian Jews who are in refugee camps in the Sudan and bring them to the resort where off shore boats ferry them to Jerusalem. The film examines a little known historical event that happened in the 80's and has recently been de-classified.

The Documentary “The Edge of democracy about recent events in Brazil had me sitting at the edge of my seat. It chronicles the passage from years of dictatorship to democracy in Brazil.  Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa recounts with old and new footage the rise and fall of democracy in Brazil from 1985 to the present. Now streaming on Netflix.

I can't believe Summer is over! The great thing about September is that the Oscar caliber films start coming out. The one I'm excited about is “The Goldfinch” starring Nicole Kidman, Ansel Elgort and Luke Wilson. It comes out September 13th. Opening September 20th is “Downton Abbey” starring Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery and more great film releases. For my live theater fans this is a busy month. 

Quentin Tarantino has a penchant for pop culture references. His scenes are often dialogue driven and the conversations tend to be quirky and satirical. Although he detests actual violence, his work is permeated with violent situations that are stylistic and bizarre. He says he will make ten movies and then retire to write novels and screenplays. His latest Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is his 9th. Let's check out the other eight that are all available on DVD.