Landline - Still 1 7.5

LANDLINE Review

LANDLINE secures its spot as terrific second entry into the Robespierre/Holm repertoire.

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BIRTHRIGHT: A WAR STORY Review

Perhaps one of the most divisive – if not the most divisive – issue in modern American politics is that of abortion. Interviewing advocates from both sides of the reproductive health debates, Birthright: A War Story looks at the history of abortion, recent and ongoing legislation, and the ways in which bureaucracy is wedging itself into the private lives of American citizens.

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THE BIG SICK Review

Poignant and incredibly funny, The Big Sick is a modern love story directed by Michael Showalter. Showalter, probably best known for his roles in the Wet Hot American Summer franchise, delivers us a solid follow-up to last year’s Hello, My Name is Doris, a similarly funny and endearing story.

Demetri Martin as Dean in the film DEAN. Photographer: Nate Harrison 6.5

DEAN Review

Writer/director/star Demetri Martin delivers in his directorial debut, Dean, a story about a man struggling to make sense of his world. Known to many as a contributor on The Daily Show and his show Important Things with Demetri Martin, the stand-up comedian is also a New York Times best-selling author, who undoubtedly pulls from his real-life experiences in this movie about an illustrator named Dean who is stuck in a rut.

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Tribeca 2017: I AM EVIDENCE Review

Succinct and poignant, I Am Evidence is an important telling of a shameful side of our legal system, and one hopes that activists will continue to help make the system itself more accountable.

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GOD KNOWS WHERE I AM Review

The bizarre tale of a woman’s body found in a New Hampshire farmhouse and the search to understand what led to her death is an intriguing premise. Not a murder, not a suicide, the passing of Linda Bishop was a result of, remarkably, both her incredible optimism and then her crippling fear of the outside world, brought on by her delusions.

Offering unbelievable insight into the mind of Bishop in her final days, a pair of notebooks left in the farmhouse detail her thoughts as she examines the world through its windows. Directors Todd and Jedd Wider weave together shots of the home’s interior and exteriors with interviews with friends and family as they tell the story of Linda Bishop her early life and her final days.

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I CALLED HIM MORGAN Review

I am usually not a fan of music documentaries; they often feel self-infatuated, and having worked as a music columnist, I am a bit fatigued by them. Yet I Called Him Morgan is a refreshing, absolutely fascinating doc about the life and death of jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, told by those musicians who played alongside him, as well as - amazingly - by his own murderess.

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WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS (2017) Review

One of the hottest topics on the national stage at the moment is the future of our country’s healthcare system. As I write this, there's probably no more timely discussion than that of accessible, affordable access to healthcare for all Americans.

It’s no mystery that the criminal justice and healthcare systems in the U.S. have yet to catch up with scientific research, most especially that of mental health. Point of View Pictures’ When the Bough Breaks (not to be confused with last year’s When the Bough Breaks by Sony Pictures or the 2006, 1994 or 1947 films of the same name) centers around the taboo topic of psychosis after giving birth, as well as postpartum depression and the more general “baby blues” that many women, across all walks of life, cultures, geography and age, experience.

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MOANA Blu-ray Review

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ DVD/Blu-ray digital combo for its latest princess pic, Moana, is absolutely packed with special features. A suitable follow-up to its big-screen release, the take-home version of Moana provides tons of footage from the years leading up to the film, when the filmmakers were visiting Oceania to research the characters, locations and music that would inspire the film.

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THE SENSE OF AN ENDING Review

It's always difficult to critique a film based on a beloved book. One has to judge the film on its own merits, no matter how true it hopes to stay to its original written form or despite whatever clever methods the filmmakers could concoct. For The Sense of an Ending, the screen adaptation of British author Julian Barnes’ 2011 novel, I’m afraid that the film fails to capture the same essence as the novel. Nevertheless, on its own, the picture is a great character study, and some might find it to be an important statement on youth and regret.

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BEFORE I FALL Review

What if you lived the same day over and over again? What would you do? If it were me, I might try to visit to every single city in the world that I could reasonably travel to in one day. I would try and meet interesting people, try every type of food dish, read every book. I would attempt to learn different languages, dance styles or musical instruments. Sure, I would have to lie, beg, borrow and steal, but in short, it wouldn’t be the same day for me; I would only wake up in the same place.