Author Archives: Liz Whittemore

About Liz Whittemore

Liz grew up in northern Connecticut and was memorizing movie dialogue from Shirley Temple to A Nightmare on Elm Street at a very early age. She will watch just about any film all the way through (no matter how bad) just to prove a point. A loyal New Englander, a lover of Hollywood, and true inhabitant of The Big Apple.

Review: ‘The Night Clerk’ keeps you guessing until the very final moment.

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SYNOPSIS: While on duty, a young, socially challenged hotel clerk (Tye Sheridan) witnesses a murder in one of the rooms but his suspicious actions land him as the lead detective’s (John Leguizamo) number one suspect. Tye Sheridan is immensely talented, this is a solidly indisputable fact. In The Night Clerk, he takes on the role of Bart, a young man with Asperger syndrome, Read More →

Review: ‘You Go To My Head’ has a long lasting psychological effect on its audience.

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In a desolate stretch of the Sahara, a mysterious car accident leaves a young woman lost and alone. Jake, a reclusive architect, finds her unconscious. He drives her to the nearest doctor, to discover that she’s suffering from post-traumatic amnesia. Intoxicated by the woman’s beauty, Jake claims to be her husband. He names her Kitty and takes her to his Read More →

Review: Based on the children’s novel, ‘Waiting For Anya’ comes to theaters tomorrow.

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Adapted from the novel by the author of War Horse, Waiting for Anya follows Jo Lalande (Noah Schnapp), a thirteen-year-old shepherd boy, and reclusive widow Horcada (Anjelica Huston), who come together with their village to help smuggle Jewish children into Spain during the harrows of WWII. This powerhouse cast gives earnest performances. That being said, some things are amiss with Read More →

Review: ‘Toxic Beauty’ documentary reiterates that beauty is pain… and the industry knows all about it.

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Synopsis: Toxic Beauty reveals the harmful health consequences of chemicals found in everyday cosmetic and beauty products, the huge corporations that knowingly use them and the lack of governmental regulations to protect consumers. The first thing I did after the credits of Toxic Beauty rolled was rabidly google chemical names of the ingredients on the labels of our products. I filled Read More →

Panic Fest review: ‘Greenlight’ – Making movies takes a killer instinct.

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A young director is looking for his big break, but when a producer asks him to goes beyond his limits the opportunity could break him. Coming this month to Kansa City, MO’s Panic Fest, Greenlight is an industry thriller you’ll want a ticket to. Jack’s passion for filmmaking is put to the test when he is hired to direct his Read More →

Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020 review: The world premiere of ‘The Night’ is as captivating as it is terrifying.

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Kourosh Ahari’s THE NIGHT The Iranian-American Ahari makes a startling feature directorial debut with a stylish psychological thriller about a young couple trapped in a mysterious hotel that hungers for their secrets and may not release them or their child back into the world. The film stars Shahab Hosseini (star of A SEPARATION and THE SALESMAN). What a knock out Read More →

Review: Indie Sci-Fi Comedy ‘The Wave’ starring Justin Long and Donald Faison, directed by Gille Klabin is one insanely weird trip.

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Justin Long (Die Hard 4.0, Accepted) and Donald Faison (Scrubs, Clueless) lead the unique modern-day parable that follows Frank (Long), an opportunistic insurance lawyer, who thinks he’s in for the time of his life when he goes out on the town to celebrate an upcoming promotion with his co-worker, Jeff (Faison). But their night takes a turn for the bizarre Read More →

Review: ‘Three Christs’ brings heavenly performances.

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In 1959, psychiatrist Dr. Alan Stone (Richard Gere) arrives at a mental hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan armed with the radical belief that schizophrenic patients should be treated not with confinement and electroshock therapy but with empathy and understanding. As his first study, he takes on the particularly challenging case of three men—Joseph (Peter Dinklage), Leon (Walton Goggins), and Clyde (Bradley Read More →

Review: ‘Reality Queen’ is funnier than actual reality.

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In the tradition of Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, and inspired by today’s obsession with reality TV and social media stars, writer-director Steven Jay Bernheim’s clever mockumentary fixes on a Paris Hilton-esque heiress named “London” (newcomer Julia Faye West) who is struggling to regain fame after being pushed out of the limelight by three Kardashian-type sisters named “The Read More →

Review: ‘The Sonata’ has a script and score to die for.

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Synopsis: After being informed of the sudden death of her long lost composer father (Rutger Hauer), a young virtuoso violinist Rose (Freya Tingley) inherits an old mansion in which he used to live. There, she discovers her father’s final work: a mysterious music score marked with strange symbols. With the help of Charles (Simon Abkarian), her agent and manager, she deciphers Read More →

Review: With a script by Shia LaBeouf, ‘Honey Boy’ is a personal triumph.

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I’ve been watching Shia LaBeouf since he made his Disney Channel debut on Even Stevens. A kid so talented he was scooped up by Hollywood and exploited like many a young child star. We’ve seen him shine and fall from grace and make some of the wildest career moves. But remove that veneer and you have a genuine artist. Honey Read More →

Review: ‘The Wolf Hour’ will close in on your comfort level.

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SYNOPSIS: It’s July 1977, and New York City is awash with escalating violence. A citywide blackout is triggering fires, looting, and countless arrests, and the Son of Sam murders are riddling the city with panic. June, once a celebrated counterculture figure, attempts to retreat from the chaos by shutting herself inside the yellowed walls of her grandmother’s South Bronx apartment. Read More →

Review: ‘Grand Isle’ is much like the hurricane it’s set against.

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Grand Isle follows Walter (Nicolas Cage) and his neglected wife (Strickland) who lure a young man (Benward) into their Victorian home to escape a hurricane. When the man is charged with murder by Detective Jones (Grammar), he must reveal the couple’s wicked secrets to save himself. Kelsey Grammer plays a southern detective with an old-world charm, attempting to get the truth in Read More →

Review: ‘After Class’ pits generational activism against itself with thoughtful writing and a lot of laughs.

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Synopsis: AFTER CLASS follows a New York City professor (Long) as he spends a week reconnecting with his family while defending his reputation over controversial behavior at his college. After Class is one hell of a film. Lead by Justin Long as an adjunct professor of creative writing, the plot revolves around a moment in class that triggers his students. While Read More →

Review: ‘LOVE IS BLIND’ is unlike anything you’ve seen this year.

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 funny and irresistible story of a young girl who literally cannot see or hear her mother, even though she is living with her under the same roof. With the help of an eccentric psychiatrist, and a local, accidental hero, our heroine has to grow up, but falls in love and eventually takes hold of her future – despite not being able to Read More →

Review: ‘Cold Brook’ is charming directorial debut from William Fitchner.

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COLD BROOK is the story of Ted & Hilde, two ordinary guys in a small town who embark on an extraordinary adventure and risk everything for a stranger in need. It’s a story about coming home; something everyone, everywhere has an innate desire to do. Cold Brooks shines both in its incredible casting and genuine script. This is a story Read More →

Review: ‘Adopt A Highway’ sees Ethan Hawke challenging societal stigmas.

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ADOPT A HIGHWAY Starring Academy Award Nominee Ethan Hawke Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in Read More →

Review: ‘BADLAND’ – a western gone south.

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BADLAND More than a decade after the Civil War, a nation tries to rebuild as an outlaw faction takes root across the West. Gunslinging detective Matthias Breecher (Kevin Makely) is hired by one of the first African American Senators (Tony Todd) to track down the worst of the Confederate war criminals (Trace Adkins, Bruce Dern and Jeff Fahey), with nothing Read More →

BHFF 2019 review: ‘The Swerve’ is striking and complex.

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The Swerve East Coast Premiere USA | 2019 | 95 Min | Dir. Dean Kapsalis High school English teacher Holly (Azura Skye) has always taken the stress and thanklessness of motherhood in stride, but a dark secret weighs heavily on her. The sudden appearance of a mouse and a betrayal by her self-absorbed husband send her spiraling down into catastrophe Read More →

BHFF 2019 review: ‘This Is Our Home’ proves grief is a ghost that haunts eternal.

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THIS IS OUR HOME USA | 2019 | 73 Min | Dir. Omri Dorani A struggling couple’s weekend getaway goes awry when a child arrives in the middle of the night claiming to be their son. Grief carries a power that is beyond our understanding. It can be all-consuming or a numbness. Each person deals with it in a very Read More →