“Jonathan”

To read the entire review, click HERE.

Once in a blue moon, I come across a film that refuses to spoon feed the audience. Instead, it requires us to be active participants. From the comfort of our cushy seats, we are asked to untangle the web of a complex story. As we do, we find ourselves swimming through a river of emotions; ridiculousness, aghast, shocked, and awed are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how this movie made me feel. As I realized I wasn’t witnessing twin brothers, but instead watching brothers in shifts trapped in a single body with two separate streams of consciousness, I was both proud and excited to see where the director and writers were going to take this story next.

“Galveston”

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Roy, Ben Foster’s character, after receiving the diagnosis, returns to work. His boss wants him to do a hit, but there is a catch. No guns. From the beginning, this doesn’t seem right. As Roy and an associate enter the house, their fear of a setup is realized. Luckily for Roy, he has never been very good at following the rules. All that stands between him and certain death is the gun he wasn’t supposed to bring. With death all around, he meets a young woman played brilliantly by Elle Fanning. Fearing for her safety, he rescues her, but that doesn’t mean she is free. Roy’s boss wanted him dead for a reason. This means life in Louisiana will be put in the rearview and a life on the run will begin. This is where this film really draws the audience in by slowly revealing layers of complication.

“Ashes in the Snow”

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This movie begins in an ideal setting. Father home from work, roughhousing with the boy, daughter consumed with her art, and mother holding the home together. This is a house of love, but instantly you know something is brewing underneath the surface. Soon, lives will be torn apart and you as an audience member will be asked to wrestle with a profound question; What is worse, the evil men do in the darkness or the evil they do in the light?

“Banana Split”

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High school relationships are doomed to fail. It is written in the very fabric of their DNA. To do otherwise is to defy one of the very laws of nature. The love between April and Nick succumbs to destiny and ends in heartbreak. Yet, it is Nick’s new love interest, Clara, that serves as the true beginning to this film. See, despite her best intentions, April and Clara are about to become the best of friends which, of course, spells complication.

“Museo”

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This film does some things very well. Lots of scenes are shot very tightly. With some movies, this can be an annoyance. Here, it makes the action very personal, because to our thieves it is. Next, this film does a superb of job of knowing when to turn up the noise and when to allow silence reign supreme. Combined together, these two achievements make the heist scenes enthralling and captivating.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

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