TOP 50 of 2018 (#25 – #1): KEVIN RAKESTRAW
Time for the second half of my Top 50 of 2018. Time to put an end to the longest year on record. If you missed the first half of this list (#50 – #26), it can be found here:
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
TOP 50 of 2018 (#50 – #26): KEVIN RAKESTRAW
Before I dive into my yearly list of the top 50 films that I recommend I would like to list some of the films that I was unable to watch, for one reason or another. Either they never came my way or
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
2018 Performance Overview – Female (Lead/Supporting)
Just yesterday, I posted my favorite male performances from the past year and now it is time for my favorite female performances from 2018. And just like with the list yesterday there are listed in no particular order. If anyone is
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
2018 Performance Overview – Male (Lead/Supporting)
It’s that time of year again. Where I compile all of my favorite performances from the past year and, here, I am going to start with the male performances that affected me most. These range from dramatic turns to the comedic to
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
6.5
SHADOW OF A GUN Review
Shadow of a Gun seems to have taken the concept of ‘Chekhov’s Gun’ to a new level by employing it long before any acts have transpired.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
8
CHARM CITY Review
Soon after the death of Freddie Gray, at the hands of the Baltimore Police Department, is where documentary filmmaker Marilyn Ness places herself for her latest film, Charm City.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
KICKSTART SUNDAY: A Dim Valley
Writer/director Brandon Colvin is currently crowdfunding his third feature titled A Dim Valley, which will be his follow-up to Sabbatical, a film that landed on my Year-End Best Of list at No. 4 back in 2015. It is also a film
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
8
FAIL TO APPEAR Review
Fail to Appear is a showcase of the power of help and support, both big and small, with small sometimes being the most important.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
9
FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: GIRLS ALWAYS HAPPY
Girls Always Happy is at once light and breezy, much in the way that Wu (Yang) maneuvers through the alleyways on her scooter, while also being acerbic and gloomy as its lightness is intermittently pulled towards the latter, attaining a certain poignancy therein.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
8
ND/NF 2018: MÖBIUS Review
Writer/director Sam Kuhn seems to have an affinity for the forest; seeing it as a miraculous space, beckoning those to enter and explore, enticing any and all with the allure of some fantastical quest or an objective that will reveal one or two illuminating truths or, at the very least, the promise of respite from the day-to-day trivialities life has to offer.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
8
ND/NF 2018: NOTES ON AN APPEARANCE Review
Viewers acquainted with the work of writer/director Ricky D’Ambrose will find themselves in familiar territory with his first toe-dip into feature-length filmmaking with Notes on an Appearance.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
8
ND/NF 2018: DRIFT Review
directed by HELENA WITTMANN // Germany // 95 minutes
With a gossamer thread, Helena Wittmann fashions a scant narrative with her feature-length debut, Drift; delicate and nearly non-existent, it is the type of
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
8
ND/NF 2018: DJON ÁFRICA Review
Reis and Guerra’s Djon África is a travelogue, broadly covering the numerous corners of the island nation of Cape Verde while a journey of self-discovery plays out concurrently with Miguel inhabiting the role of main character and an unknowing host, of sorts, treated like a tourist in his own homeland.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
8
UNSUNG INDIES: Drew Tobia’s SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY
Mona (Eleanore Pienta) doesn’t have much outside of a cashier’s job at a local grocery store that pays the rent (it doesn’t actually) for her yellow, floral-print room; which is just that, a room,
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
3
Slamdance 2018: HUMAN AFFAIRS Review
Just recently I stated that, when it comes to films featuring cinematography from Sean Price Williams, it would be nearly impossible for me to view the overall project as anything less than worthwhile based on this simple fact alone.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
5
Slamdance 2018: BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS Review
Perhaps, the most hindering aspect of the film would be its structure, which is comprised of six separate storylines, shuffled throughout the film with occasional overlap and interaction, and (to a certain extent) the characters who inhabit that structure.
Posted by: Kevin Rakestraw
