There is no doubt that The Coppola family gene is infused with above-normal talent. Gia Coppola’s sophomore effort as director, “Mainstream,” doesn’t reach the deeper level of her first film (2013’s “Palo Alto”) but she and co-writer Tom Stuart’s screenplay has a lot to say.

Frankie (Maya Hawke) is a young woman on a journey to find herself in an artificial world. She works in a dive that features

With a nod to the dreamlike opening to Paul Brickman’s 1983 classic “Risky Business,” writer/director Scott Boswell’s “A Wake,” opens (and ends) with an ambient melancholy led by a moody score from Tim Halo.

After the death of a teenager, his family struggles with the emotions of loss that come with his passing. Their family dynamic has been shattered, yet we find out

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” - John Lennon

Season Three of Aziz Ansari’s excellent Netflix series “Master of None” is quite the departure.

Season One was a lite and funny take on the New York dating lives of Ansari’s Dev and his close friends Denise and Arnold.

Festival season is in full swing, even with fests either going hybrid or one-hundred percent virtual as the pandemic continues. Here are some films I was able to catch at this year’s Garden State Film Festival, Santa Barbara Film Festival, as well as another interesting film that will be available on demand soon—hopefully along with these other ones. “The Knot” (SBIFF) is an intriguing work from filmmaker Ashish Pant, an unusual work that can’t precisely be

I really enjoy David Ayer’s work. His screenplays can occasionally bring about intense and powerful portrayals of cops and street criminals.

When he hits, he hits hard such as with his screenplay for Ron Shelton’s excellent crooked cop drama “Dark Blue” starring Kurt Russell, and his sensational police drama “End of Watch” with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. I even found Ayer’s 2014

Journalist Maria Ressa was convicted of “cyber libel” just as Ramona S. Diaz’s documentary about her, called “A Thousand Cuts,” was due to premiere at AFI Docs in June. Ressa had for years worked for a press outlet called the Rappler, which was severely critical of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime and stifling of the free press. “We anticipated it," said Diaz, whose “A Thousand Cuts” began streaming earlier

“We decide for ourselves what will hurt.”

Ah, the past and the memories it leaves us. Be they good or bad they make a home in our mind and soul, guiding our life decisions and shaping who we will become. Sometimes warm, sometimes dark, our remembrances become our true and constant life companions.

Hans Petter Moland’s adaptation of Per Petterson’s novel

The documentary is called “The Fight,” which could not be a more à propos title for a film about the ACLU’s ongoing quest to defend not only civil rights, but also the necessity for everyone to enjoy free speech, no matter how odious their views might be.

But the civil rights organization’s mandate became even more demanding during the Trump administration, as the president and his cabinet have sought to make

Films about investigative journalism exposing a dramatic event and/or cover-up have been popular for decades, from Billy Wilder’s “Ace in the Hole” and Sam Fuller’s “Park Row” to Alan Pakula’s “All the President’s Men” to 2015’s Oscar winning “Spotlight,” all have expertly captured what it means to be a dedicated journalist tirelessly searching for the truth.

The best films about journalism offer viewers a potent story and relatable

It’s rare that a documentary will film for a decade, but that’s precisely what New York Times reporters Catrin Einhorn and Leslye Davis accomplished with their new film “Father Soldier Son.”

The documentary, which premieres Friday on Netflix, follows two generations of upstate New York’s Eisch family. The father, Master Sgt. Brian Eisch, is a veteran of the Afghanistan