Tribeca: Facing the Certainty of Death in ‘Pink Moon’

By Abe Friedtanzer

 

There is one thing that is true for everyone: we’re going to die. Some worry that talking about it will make it happen sooner – that’s a quote that my wife, who works in the end-of-life space, often uses to dispel the stigma around the idea of planning for a good death. Just because one person might be ready to open up about it, doesn’t mean others in their immediate vicinity will be. In Pink Moon, a Dutch-Slovenian film premiering at this year’s Tribeca festival, one 74-year-old father, Jan (Johan Leysen), decides he’s ready to end his life, something his children, particularly his daughter Iris (Julia Akkermans) are not okay with at all...

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Tribeca 2022: Ray Romano’s Directorial Debut ‘Somewhere in Queens’

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Nearly two decades after the end of his beloved, Emmy-winning sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray Romano continues to churn out consistently solid work. His follow-up TV shows include Men of a Certain Age and the just-cancelled Made for Love. He also starred opposite Mark Duplass in the underrated Paddleton, which you can stream on Netflix. And now he’s stepped behind the camera to direct himself in the very funny Somewhere in Queens, featuring a very loud family of Italians with plenty of spoken and unspoken issues.

The role Romano plays is one that tracks with his resume, that of a moderately awkward husband and father who hasn’t achieved much success in his life...

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Tribeca 2022: "Land of Dreams" Gives Sheila Vand The Star Turn She Has Been Deserving

by Jason Adams

A splendidly surreal spin on the immigrant experience, Land of Dreams stars the always-great Sheila Vand, best known as the burqa-rocking vampire in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. In the new film she plays Simin, an Iranian-American artist turned census worker in the near-ish future.

She's been tasked with recording the dreams of the people the government’s keeping track of. Not dream as in “The American Dream,” not dream like, “One day I hope I will become a doctor.” But the actual literal dreams that these people dream as they sleep at night...

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Review: "Jurassic World Dominion" Proves Franchise Charms Are Near Extinct

By: Christopher James

The wonderful teaser moment of a dinosaur walking through a drive-in... not in the final film.All that’s old is new again at movie theaters this summer. However, not all nostalgia plays are created equal. Top Gun: Maverick has successfully delighted audiences old and young, marrying nostalgia with strong storytelling and jaw-dropping stunts. The final chapter of the new Jurassic World trilogy tries to do the same hat trick. Bringing back the original trio - Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum - checks off the 90s nostalgia box. A doomsday plot around terrifying dino-locusts eating crops acts as the great thread bringing all our characters together. Finally, is there any spectacle quite as jaw-dropping as dinosaurs?

Unfortunately, all these elements sloppily come together in this letdown of a final chapter. Though it comes alive in fits and starts, the result is far less than the sum of its parts...

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Review: Lebanon’s ‘1982’

By Abe Friedtanzer

There are many different reasons that nations go to war, and what unites all of them is that many of those affected have nothing to do with the inherent conflict. It’s a concept that might be difficult for modern-day Americans to relate to since most of the wars from our lifetime have been fought on foreign soil; the domestic population doesn’t feel the impact in the same way. But there are so many civilians, throughout history, who have seen their lives irreversibly changed by a war they never asked for that doesn’t benefit them. Oualid Mouaness’ feature debut 1982, which was Lebanon’s official Oscar entry for 2019 (and finally getting a US release) offers a strong and stirring take on that idea with the 1982 Lebanon War.

1982 takes place over the course of a day in the title year when a group of schoolchildren go about their ordinary lives as military clashes in the distance come ever closer...

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