Thursday, October 8, 2020

Posted By on Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 5:30 PM



Millie Bobby Brown shines as the title character in Enola Holmes, a bubbly, fun detective yarn that gives the little sister of Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) her own vehicle. Let’s hope it’s the first of many such mysteries.

Brown, who has been gloomy in most of her biggest roles thus far (Stranger Things, Godzilla: King of the Monsters), gets to show she’s a full-force movie star with complete control of the camera. The movie has her talking to the camera, à la Ferris Bueller, at many turns, and it works like a charm. The film’s mysteries, involving Enola’s missing mother (Helena Bonham Carter) and a runaway boy (Louis Partridge), are fine as starters, but the film is more of a place-setter for future installments than anything else.

Cavill adds class as Sherlock, imbibing his few scenes with plenty of oomph, but never stealing them from the movie’s true star. Brown—who has already proven that she has major dramatic chops, which are on further display here—has impeccable comic timing. I see pure comedies and musicals in her future.

It’s a fair guess to say sequels will be in order, because this is too much fun to stop here. (The film was intended for a theatrical release, but it was sold to Netflix due to the pandemic.) Brown (who has another Godzilla movie and a new Stranger Things season coming up) has another franchise, and this is the one that will show what she really brings to the party. Watch with the whole family, and enjoy.

Enola Holmes is now streaming on Netflix.

Friday, October 2, 2020

Posted By on Fri, Oct 2, 2020 at 3:00 PM

Every Friday, The Loft Cinema adds a new selection of streaming films to their already robust standing list. These are the films that would normally be playing on their screens at this time rather than in your living room. First run, all new movies for you to view on your personal big screen.

The Open Air Cinema series also continues. It's a fun, safe way for you to visit the Loft and catch a movie in the great outdoors.

For more info on both series, visit their website.

Here are this week's new streaming films:

Herb Alpert Is...



John Scheinfeld profiles the legendary musician, artist and philanthropist who has sold more than 72 million albums, outsold The Beatles in 1966, and co-founded the most successful independent record company in history.

Myth of Colorblind France


Posted By on Fri, Oct 2, 2020 at 1:47 PM

click to enlarge Tucson filmmakers highlight the history, importance of voting in new documentary
Courtesy photo

The struggle to expand the electorate to all Americans and restrictions of who is allowed to cast their ballot are two competing stories at the center of the latest and perhaps last documentary by Tucsonan Steve Waxman of ShadowWave Media, Vote Here: A film for the people by the people.

“I just felt that voting is the essence of democracy and I've always been big on voting,” Waxman said. “I felt that this country, if it had a little bit more of a civic background on the evolution of voting, it might understand the sacrifices other people made and realize that the more people participate the more people who decide.”

Vote Here is a nonpartisan documentary that tells the story of the electoral process and current issues facing voters. Waxman said the three-year filmmaking journey was inspired by the book “The Fight to Vote” by Michael Waldmen. However, the film took a different turn after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018 when Waxman was living in Florida. 

Seeing 14-year-old Parkland students telling their senior classmates they could pre-register to vote inspired Waxman; it cut to one of the film’s major focuses: That youth political involvement is a rediscovered American movement and that positive peer pressure works. 

“This was just a fascinating thing that I had not seen in my lifetime which was a dedication of young people to make voting part of their cultural DNA,” he said.

Vote Here looks beyond our own lifetimes to the early days of the nation and reveals a different demographic of citizens heading to the polls and offers some tantalizing insights into how current political movements may reawaken the coveted youth vote. 

America’s youth were the driving force of the mid 19th century political process, according to historian Jon Grinspan in Vote Here.

“What makes this era so exciting,” Grinspan said. “Voter turnout for eligible voters is often in the high ‘70s and gets up over 80 percent in some states that are particularly engaged in politics have turnout over 90 percent in five or six presidential elections in a row, but that high turnout was driven by these 21-year-olds who are so excited to go vote.”

Grinspan said several different motivations drove these youth to the polls: the desire to find a romantic partner, the political process being the main shared cultural experience and voting seen as a rite of passage into adulthood.

“What I had found out and what I think is true in a transcending way is that the most driving force for people to register to vote I believe now is peer pressure,” Waxman said.

In the film, executive director of the Environmental Voter Project Nathaniel Stinnett said that peer and social pressure to vote are the biggest tools to get registered voters to actually vote.

However, peer pressure is not the only challenge in getting people to the polls. Vote Here also tells of minority groups’ struggles to gain their franchisement with a focus on Pima County and the efforts of local group Mi Familia Vota to register Latino voters.

“They are very hesitant to want to turn out and get involved in the system at all either being concerned that they themselves will be scrutinized or as somebody who they might know would then be scrutinized and deported,” Waxman said.

These fears can be exacerbated by COVID-19 because of lack of healthcare or access to healthcare, according to Mi Famila Vota coordinator Ulises Ventura. In Pima County, Mi Famila Vota registered 7,000 voters during the 2016 election cycle according to the film, this year they have registered 4,530, with 460 digitally registered according to coordinator Sandy Ochoa.

Arizona’s battleground status is anticipated to play a critical role in the presidential election. Additionally, with the recent passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the senate race between Martha McSally and Mark Kelly takes on a new dimension. Because the senate race is a special election to fill the rest of John McCain’s term, the winner could be sworn in once the votes become certified according to the Associated Press.    

Just as the filmmakers believe voting should be accessible as possible, they’re also offering Vote Here for free on YouTube . Register to vote online before the Oct. 5 deadline at servicearizona.com/VoterRegistration

Friday, September 25, 2020

Posted By on Fri, Sep 25, 2020 at 3:00 PM


Some movies are made to make viewers miserable. It’s what they set out to do, and if done well, cinema geeks such as myself will tip our hats to them.

The Devil All the Time is one of those movies. It’s an ugly film—and it’s supposed to be. I understand that a lot of people do not need this sort of movie in their lives right now. I, for one, found it a mildly rewarding viewing experience, even though I had to take two showers afterward.

The film starts in World War II, where soldier Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgard) makes a discovery that will pretty much fuck him up for the rest of his life. Upon returning stateside, he tries to live the American life: He gets married to Charlotte (Haley Bennett) and has a boy named Arvin (Tom Holland, when the character grows up). Try as Willard might to live a good, pious life, tragedy strikes multiple times.

Arvin grows up with a decent-enough head on his shoulders despite the trauma, and has a strong bond with his stepsister, Lenora (Eliza Scanlen). When a creepy preacher (Robert Pattinson) moves to town, things—rather predictably—go bad again.

Meanwhile, in another subplot, a sadistic couple (Jason Clarke and Riley Keough) drives around picking up hitchhikers and asking them to do some strange things. There’s also a corrupt sheriff (Sebastian Stan), the brother to the woman doing the strange hitchhiking things. There are a lot of other characters in the mix as well.

Bottom line: The film has way too much going on. It needed to be a miniseries rather than a single 138-minute film. That said, Holland and Pattinson are especially good, and the film is worth seeing for them. Skarsgard, Keough, Clarke and Scanlen all do just fine, but the movie is way too crowded.

The Devil All the Time is streaming on Netflix.

Posted By on Fri, Sep 25, 2020 at 11:00 AM

A documentary on the Beatles trip to India, Jessica Chastain as a hired killer, and ghosts are ready to be watched via The Loft's weekly streaming films. For more info on what films to stream and how to stream them, click here.

While at the site, also check out the popular and ongoing Open Air Cinema series.

This week's films:

The Artist's Wife


The wife of a famous artist tries to contact his estranged family before his dementia worsens. Starring Oscar-nominees Lena Olin and Bruce Dern.


Meeting The Beatles In India


Filmmaker Paul Saltzman retraces his journey of 50 years ago when he spent a life-changing time with the Beatles at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram on the banks of the Ganges River.

Friday, September 18, 2020

Posted By on Fri, Sep 18, 2020 at 11:00 AM

Five new streaming films and a continuation of their popular Open Air Cinema series are the highlights this week at The Loft Cinema.

Want to go enjoy a movie sitting under the stars? Visit here to get the details.

As for your streaming options, well, here they are:

Blackbird


Oscar-winners Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet star in this touching family drama from Notting Hill director Roger Michell.


Friday, September 11, 2020

Posted By on Fri, Sep 11, 2020 at 2:50 PM

As announced last week, The Loft has started an Open Air Cinema series, screening films outdoors Thursday-Saturday nights. The tickets sell out fast so you will want to keep an eye on their website for film announcements and the ability to buy tickets. This week's offerings, including Jaws, the greatest film ever made, had mostly sold out by the time this note went to press.

For those of you looking to keep things indoors for the time being, The Loft's streaming series continues. Here are this week's offerings:

The Hole


Set just prior to the start of the 21st century, this vaguely futuristic story follows two residents of a quickly crumbling building who refuse to leave their homes in spite of a virus that has forced the evacuation of the area.

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President


Part-rockumentary, part-presidential portrait, Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President traces how rock music helped propel Jimmy Carter to the White House.

Feels Good Man


When indie comic character Pepe the Frog becomes an unwitting icon of hate, his creator fights to bring Pepe back from the darkness.

Buoyancy


This gripping drama tells the story of a Cambodian teenager sold into forced labor on a Thai fishing boat, offering a passionate testimony against social injustice and a moving coming-of-age tale about a boy whose humanity is put to the test.

Friday, September 4, 2020

Posted By on Fri, Sep 4, 2020 at 11:00 AM

While the streaming goodness continues at The Loft this week, they've also seen the kickoff of their Open Air Cinema series. Unfortunately, if you haven't picked up tickets yet, the screenings of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Do the Right Thing and Selena have already sold out but next weekend's showings of Jaws on Friday night and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon still have tickets available.

For the Open Air Cinema series, The Loft is providing you a sanitary, socially distanced opportunity to go outside for a seated movie experience. For more details, visit their website.

As for streaming...here are this week's movies:

MADE IN BANGLADESH


In this compelling and inspiring drama from writer/director Rubaiyat Hossain, a young factory worker in Bangladesh fights against the odds to make a better life for herself and her co-workers.


Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Posted By on Wed, Sep 2, 2020 at 2:00 PM


It’s been nearly 30 years since Bill and Ted of San Dimas, Calif., went to hell, played Twister with Death, and supposedly saved the world with a sorta-crappy song that was actually performed by Kiss.

Now, after many failed attempts, we’ve finally gotten a third Bill and Ted film, in which the middle-aged dudes grappling are with parenthood, marital troubles and a killer robot.

Was it worth the wait? Yeah, sure.

If that doesn’t seem like a resounding endorsement, that’s because it isn’t. This film sometimes feels flat, with Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) at the helm, and the writers of the first two films returning for a third go. Alex Winter is back as Bill, and he basically steals the film from Keanu Reeves as Ted, who doesn’t seem to be feeling the joy this time out.

I thought they’d saved the world with “God Gave Rock and Roll to You,” but apparently that’s not the case. The film begins with Bill and Ted performing at a wedding; their career is a mess after Death (William Sadler) quit Wyld Stallyns, and their many albums failed to chart.

Enter Kelly (Kristen Schaal), the daughter of Rufus (played previously by the late George Carlin), who shows up in a time-traveling pod. Reality as we know it is collapsing upon itself, and if Bill and Ted don’t come up with a universe-saving song, everything is going to go away. Bill and Ted, shortly after leaving marriage counseling, get back in the time-traveling phone booth and visit themselves in the future in an attempt to steal what could be the already-written universe-saving song.


Friday, August 28, 2020

Posted By on Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 11:00 AM

It's another documentary-centric week at The Loft, with four of the five new streaming offerings falling into that film space.

For those who have been keeping tabs and partaking in The Loft's streaming services during the pandemic, you already know; your favorite local theater has kept it going with the good movie fuel, with fresh films every week to enrich your forced-home entertainment soul.

To stream these films, visit loftcinema.org

House of Cardin


A career retrospective on fashion great Pierre Cardin.

The August Virgin



A Madrid based, breezy romantic charmer from director Jonas Trueba.

Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin


A new documentary from director Werner Herzog. What more do you need to know? Have at it.


Epicentro


A doc on post-colonial Cuba.


Mr. SOUL!


A film studying Ellis Hazlip, host of Amerca's first "Black Tonight Show."