As I write this, Democrats are working to push the $3.5 trillion economic plan. If passed, the plan would invest enormous amounts of federal money into child care, climate change programs, and immigration. This package was floating in the back of my mind as I watched Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou. It tells the story of Antonio (played by Chon), a Korean-American adoptee who’s lived in Louisiana since he was 3 years old. But he faces deportation due to an error in his adoption papers. When we meet Antonio, he is working hard to turn his life around. He’s married, his wife Kathy (Alicia Vikander), is expecting her second child, Antonio’s first. He is also helping to raise Kathy’s first daughter, Jessie (Sydney Kowalske), who has become firmly attached to him. Feeling the pressure to provide for his family, Antonio makes the decision to steal motorcycles to flip for money with his old gang. This is something he already has a criminal record for. He gets away with it briefly but a confrontation with Kathy’s ex partner leads to an altercation with police. And with that encounter, Antonio finds out that he is not a true American citizen and is sent to a detention center to await deportation. Desperate to find a way to stay, Antonio and Kathy meet with an immigration lawyer. And despite all their efforts Antonio’s status in the U.S. looks grim. Chon not only directed and acted in this film but he wrote it as well. Blue Bayou is deeply affecting. Chon, who we know from Sundance 2019’s Ms. Purple, continues to explore the lives of middle-class Koreans in the United States with a sharp and critical lens in this movie. He highlights the injustices the community faces but also does not exclude the other people who are affected by devastating situations. But what made this movie truly shine was the beautiful exploration of relationships, be they a married couple, a step parent and child, or a citizen to the state. There are many layers to thumb through that would make you want to watch this film over and over again. Blue Bayou is also cinematically gorgeous. Each shot is full of depth and emotion. Chon plays a lot with tone and color in this film, ranging from warm bright tones for joyful moments, to cool, ghostly ones for sorrow and memories. Ultimately what makes this film stand out is the subject at the center of the film: adopted Americans. At the end of the film, a postscript describes the alarming number of Americans who thought they had citizenship when they were adopted but are now facing deportation or who have been forced out of the U.S. to a birth country they never knew. And it brings me back to what Congress is hashing out now; an economic plan that would aid immigrants in this country. But will it help those who grew up American but on paper are not? Blue Bayou is definitely in my top 5 must-see films for 2021, and it will remain with me for a very long time. See Blue Bayou in theaters now. Kaely's grade: 5 Shots 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃
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Downeast "We are all running from something" is the tagline line for this Maine-made movie. Downeast takes the noir genre and gives it a 2021 update. Lobsterer Tommy lives in a small fishing town that is under the thumb of a gangster. Emma is the sister of his now deceased friend Mikey. The need for answers and closure drive Emma to return to the town. But secrets lie around every lobster trap, and a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins. Hear our full review here. 12 Months of Kai It's 2025. Kyoka works as a web director in Tokyo. She's still grieving a breakup that tears at her heart. Lonely she decides to purchase a personal care humanoid, a PCH. He arrives and she names him Kai. Able to simulate 60% of human behavior, Kyoka quickly develops feelings for Kai. But things take a creepier twist when she suddenly discovers she's pregnant. Something that should be impossible. 12 Months of Kai takes the concept of artificial intelligence a step further than most films of the same concept. Beautifully directed with riveting acting, it's no wonder this movie won the 2021 Phoenix Film Festival Best SciFi Feature. Click here to hear our review. What happens when you call out for one thousand rock musicians to come to your town and play together, all in the hopes of attracting your favorite band? You get an incredible documentary full of joy, spirit, and human greatness. And that's exactly what We Are the Thousand gives us. It's the story about the world's largest rock band and how they got started. We loved this film a lot. Check out the original music video below to see what 1,000 rockers can do. And you can hear our full review here. And be sure to check out the rest of our Phoenix Film Festival coverage here! The caliber of films at the Phoenix Film Festival keep going up every year. And the same holds true for the Arizona-made films. Here's our favorite from the AZ series: Planet George.
We follow the hijinks of George, a trustworthy doorman fed up with a rash of low-level crimes in the luxury condo complex where he works and lives. With pleas for help going unanswered, by management, George enlists the help of his goofy childhood friend and the pretty girl next door. The mission: solve the mystery of break-ins and reinvent his lackluster life. Check out our full review here. Our next review from the Phoenix Film Festival is a fantastic film from the Native American category. Beans is a coming of age story set in the backdrop of the 1990 standoff of Oka Crisis, between the Mohawk people and Canada's white population. A heart-pulling story that made us go "wow!" Check out our full review here. We're back at the home festival and very excited to be here! We have a slew of amazing films to share with you. Starting with our first film The Immortal Jellyfish. Find our full review of this and other films on our festival page.
Mark Wahlberg and Reid Miller star in this tender story of love, loss, and acceptance. Following the story of father Joe Bell, we learn how his son committed suicided after severe bullying led him to taking his own life. Propelled to walk across the country, Joe tries to come to terms with his son's death while learning to accept his own failings as a parent.
This film split us on its merit. Does the story hold up? Is it missing something? Kaely, Tuesday, and returning guest reviewer Jen, dissect this film. You can see Joe Bell in theaters now. And if you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255 They are available 24 hours a day in both English and Spanish.
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Kaely Monahan
Guest review by Jen Barraza The thing about M. Night Shyamalan movies is that they are either brilliant or you've wasted precious hours of your life that you can never get back... there is no in-between with him. And for me, it was the latter for this go around. We arrive at an island paradise with an 'ideal' family of four taking a dream vacation. The father, Guy (Gael García Bernal) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps), seem to be a happy couple but you then find out that this is a sort of the last hurrah for them. They are on one last vacation with their two children 11-year-old Maddox (Alexa Swinton later played by Thomasin McKenzie then Embeth Davidtz) and 6-year-old Trent (Nolan River later played by Alex Wolff then Emun Elliott) before they make their split official. As you can tell from the actor swaps, there is something fishy happening on the island. The secluded beach that they are told to explore ends up possessing a mysterious quality that ages everyone who finds it. Every half an hour, you get one year older. They end up being stuck on this beach with a myriad of characters including a rapper, a medical doctor and his wife, a daughter and mother (and her little dog too), and another couple who happen to be a nurse and therapist. All this matters as tensions rise. They band together then fall apart, sometimes literally, as they try to figure out what the heck is going on and try to escape their paradise turned prison. Now we come to the expected M. Night twist... Part of the appeal of his movies is what he is going to do at the end to make you second guess everything that you just witnessed. Before the movie began we guessed island sacrifice, they are all dead already... aging algae... SPOILER ALERT: Our guesses were wrong though. I think our twists would have been a better payoff than what we got. In the plus column, the cinematography was beautiful and the special effects were solid. The storyline just isn't his best. If you are an M. Night Shyamalan fan I'd wait until this is available on TV and if you're not then I'd watch one of his better ones like Split. I give it 2 stars out of 5 for being pretty.
The story of Anthony Bourdain has in many ways been eclipsed by the shocking news of his suicide. But the chef with the rockstar life style was so much more than that one moment. This incredible artist lived to push boundaries and fill the void in his soul with as much as he could, be it for good or bad.
Director Morgan Neville (Won't You Be My Neighbor), pieced together interviews from family, friends, and production team to paint the complex life Tony lived. Choosing to not dwell on Tony's end but still giving it its due, Neville allows the audience to decide for themselves the truth about the brash yet shy, artist and romantic that was Anthony Bourdain. In this review, we also feature a special guest reviewer who has been a long time fan of Tony's work. You can see Roadrunner: A Film About Bourdain in theaters now.
And if you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
They are available 24 hours a day in both English and Spanish.
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Kaely Monahan
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Kaely
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