Tag: movie review

NashFilm52: ‘Queen of Glory’ Review

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Festival Coverage, Reviews

Nana Mensah’s directorial debut is full of potential and shines a light on the immigrant experience.

Courtesy of NashFilm

Nashville Film Festival 2021 is finally here! I am so excited to be able to write tons of reviews for you all and tell you all about the films I am watching on my Twitter and Letterboxd. As you can see, I started my coverage a little early with my review of the music documentary, The Fable of a Song. Before the festival started I looked through the guide and pinned down which films would interest me to write a review on because I doubt I can write one for every single film that premieres here plus I need to share this space with Brad and Luis. Queen of Glory caught my attention instantly because of its beautiful poster, but as I read the synopsis I was intrigued. Let me tell you that this movie did not disappoint at all.

Queen of Glory focuses on Sarah, played by Nana Mensah (The King of Staten Island, Bonding, 13 Reasons Why) a Ghanaian American woman who is planning to move to Ohio with her secret lover. Life seems to be moving quickly and all of a sudden Sarah’s life is struck with a family tragedy. This tragedy leads to Sarah exploring her options and what she really wants out of her life. Along with having to confront her relationship with her estranged father. Through its runtime we are dissecting this character study and a portrayal of the immigrant experience.

Courtesy of NashFilm

Nana Mensah who serves as our writer, director, and main actress crafts a beautiful film about loss, identity, and the immigrant experience. Right off the bat, this film is beautifully crafted with its cinematography by Cybel Martin. There are some very pleasing lighting setups and the color palette is enticingly rich. The score and production design are impeccable as it really creates the atmosphere of Sarah’s culture. The film also includes some wonderful performances from actors like Meeko who portrays Pitt. Meeko and Mensah’s chemistry is wonderful and every time they both share the screen it is delightful. The story feels a bit rushed and leaves the viewer wanting a bit more time with some of our characters especially Sarah’s father. This could have used another extra 30 minutes to flesh out some more and I would not have mind at all. The strength of this film are there and its commentary and message about the immigrant experience joined by a struggle to know what Sarah wants make this film worth it. Nana Mensah’s directing career will be filled with better work as she continues and I am very excited for what is to come from her.

Queen of Glory will have its premiere at the Nashville Film Festival on October 4th, to purchase tickets to attend the event visit here.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage: A Detailed Review

Posted on by luigonword in Reviews

Let There be carnage: And Carnage there Shall

There is no secret that Venom was disliked by many fans of the character and the same goes for its sequel, which isn’t being welcomed with open arms. Many I questioned if they were going to go see it confidently told me if they were it was because of work, unlike myself who just wanted to see this sequel.

If you haven’t noticed in my other articles by now my taste in films are very different than the norm, liking what most people would call “trash.”

I have no problem admitting that this film wasn’t the best, even concluding that it falls under its predecessor, but I can also say that I enjoyed certain aspects of the film.

Overview

Venom: Let There be Carnage is a sequel that was overall disliked before it even came out, there’s no running from a preset destiny. Overall the film’s run time played against it having it feel rushed in certain acts and having the characters not go through a proper growth pattern. Andy Serkis had a good vision having certain scenes feel like a cheesy comic panel, which isn’t bad in my opinion, but having certain characters be too over the top gave out. I honestly can say it wasn’t a good rendition but I also don’t want to say that it wasn’t entertaining, as I enjoyed the overall time I spent watching the film. But it’ll ultimately comes down to you the viewer to decide if you are going because you want an accurate depiction of the characters or if you simply want to be entertained for an hour and a half.

Review

Overall I’ll keep this review short and spoiler free. Serkis from what I saw and understood, wanted to depict Eddie Brock and Venom, played by Tom Hardy, to be a sort of comedic anti hero. Similar to Deadpool they wanted to bring a joking relationship between the two and I don’t mind it at all, but it honestly doesn’t play well with such a short run time being about 30 minutes shorter than the first film. There were many scenes that had great potential showing the characters attachment to each other but the necessary movement forward in the film failed to provide such views into their relationship.

I personally feel if it wasn’t cut short, these characters could have had a greater opportunity to be fleshed out. On the other hand, Cletus Kasady played by Woody Harrelson did a good job at showing the psychopathic killer in a live action atmosphere. We all know how his love for murder and blood is what makes his symbiote attracted to him and Carnage’s hatred feeds off of this satisfaction of chaos and that can be shown in many parts of the film. Not to mention the incredible character design and the sound design which gave me chills when I first heard his screech in theaters. Although in this film there isn’t a bond between the both like in the comics it shows a lot for his character and his actions, which you can clearly see if you watch till the end.

Naomie Harris also does an incredible job at portraying Shriek, now although she doesn’t have a symbiote in this film like the comic counterpart, I thoroughly enjoyed her performance. Although without having spoilers we may be in for a Shriek variant in the next film, although I can’t say for sure if it will happen. Not to mention having the mid credits makes it worth the viewing of the entire film, which was a BIG surprise for fans all around.

Now before I go in a train of confusion, I’ll keep it short. Venom: Let There be Carnage wasn’t a film that will obtain a nomination for an award but it does a good job at keeping me entertained. This is my own opinion though, and I understand majority rules against such expressed opinion but if you enjoyed the first one then you may enjoy this one as well. Granted I want to hear others’ opinions before I would give a full spoiler included talk, but for now check it out if you want, and let me know what you think in the comments. Till next time, peace.

NashFilm52: ‘The Fable of a Song’ Review

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Festival Coverage, Reviews

Andy Strohl’s deep dive into the Americana duo The Young Fables is a pleasant examination of life and art’s symbiotic relationship.

Courtesy of Hope Tree Entertainment

Life is filled with various obstacles. Sometimes we are able to move past them, or sometimes it is tough to move on. The road to healing feels so long that you feel it may never end. Some of us have been dealt a tougher hand than others but it still doesn’t take away from the various challenges we face. Us artists have a special relationship with these hardships. At times we can use our art to help move on from these hardships, for example I talk a lot about one of my favorite albums of all time, The Notorious B.I.G’s Ready to Die. Ready to Die is poetic in every sense of the word. Biggie Smalls gives us a raw and honest look into his life and he never looks back on it. Sometimes we just feel that art is the only way for us to move on.

The Fable of a Song is a music documentary that chronicles the songwriting process of Americana duo The Young Fables members Laurel Wright and Wes Lunsford. Throughout this documentary, we are watching the writing process of “Daddy’s Girl” which is being written after Laurel Wright’s father had suffered a heart attack. We also hear about the writing process of other songs like “Your Kind of Company” that is about Laurel’s sister’s fight with her personal demons. Along with the process, we are also dissecting the importance of the group’s faith, family, and experiences.

It is always a pleasure to watch documentaries like The Fable of a Song because we rarely see the real people behind the instruments. Most of the time we are just left to get to know these artists by their music or their shows. Rarely, are we given the chance to actually get to know what makes them unique. That is what I loved about The Fable of a Song, we had the chance to really get to know these musicians. We got to see them laugh, smile, and cry throughout this film, but we also had the chance to get to know those who inspire them to create music like Laurel’s family. Even though there were moments where the documentary felt like it was straying off of the path of its central direction it still found its way to make its way back. The most important part lesson we leave with after credits roll is the role of everyone in Laurel’s life and how she needs all of them to continue being the musician she is.

This is a wonderful documentary for people like me who have never heard of The Young Fables as it includes their music so you get to experience their music for the first time and get to know the artists. The Young Fables can be found on their Instagram and YouTube channel. You can listen to The Young Fables on Spotify, Apple Music, and other music streaming platforms.

The Fable of a Song will have its premiere on October 2nd at the 52nd Nashville Film Festival at the Rocketown at 9:30 PM CDT in Nashville, Tennessee. You can buy tickets to its premiere by visiting here. If you are not able to attend the event the film will be available to watch through their virtual cinema.

The Nerd Corps #449: ‘The Sword of Doom’ Review

Posted on by The Nerd Corps in Podcasts

Raul and Brad are ready to finally close out International Film Month as September finally starts to come to an end. Today they discuss the 1966 samurai film, The Sword of Doom! Get those swords ready because this was quite the polarized review. Listen to find out why Raul is spoiled by Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films. What did they think of the film? Listen to today’s episode to find out!

IMDb Synopsis: “Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.”

The Nerd Corps #448: ‘Candyman’ Review

Posted on by The Nerd Corps in Podcasts

It is time for another Saturday Morning Review and these nerds are ready to talk some horror today! Raul and Brad discuss the newest film from Nia DaCosta, Candyman. Candyman is the sequel to the original film of the same name from the 90’s and we talk all about it! How did this live up to the hype? Listen and find out all about what the nerds thought about it on this episode!

IMDb Synopsis: “A sequel to the horror film Candyman (1992) that returns to the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.”