Tag Archives: Film
‘Hurdle’ Is a Gritty Tale of Hope and Survival
The new documentary intimately captures the pressure, pain and aspirations of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.
On May 2, 2017, crowds of Israelis flow through East Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter, clad in blue and white to celebrate the country’s 69th independence day. Th...Read More
‘The River and The Wall’ is a Visually Stunning Borderland Adventure
The film strives to step beyond the sensationalist rhetoric and show America what its southern boundary actually looks, sounds and feels like.
On a crisp December morning in 2017, Austin Alvarado paddles his canoe along a remote stretch of the Rio Grande’s Lower Canyons. The 25-year-old Guatemalan-Am...Read More
‘Man on Fire’ Searches in Vain for the Truth About Racism in East Texas
The new documentary asks why a minister self-immolated in the town of Grand Saline, but doesn’t uncover any new answers.
On June 23, 2014, 79-year-old retired Methodist minister Charles Moore drove to the parking lot of a Dollar General store in his hometown of Grand Saline, east ...Read More
A New Pray-the-Gay-Away Drama Suggests Conversion is Possible (Just Not the Kind You Think)
Poignant awards-season fare, Boy Erased makes the case against the Christian “cure” for homosexuality.
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? That, more or less, is the question asked by the new Joel Edgerton-directed film Boy Erased, w...Read More
‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado’ Plays into Dangerous Borderland Tropes
Texan Taylor Sheridan created the 21st-century Western, but his attempts at political nuance are overshadowed by the failures of “Soldado.”
Taylor Sheridan’s movies are depressing. The native Texan has a knack for a script, and he’s largely responsible for bringing the modern Western into being,...Read More
Drag Queens and Churchgoers Find Common Ground in ‘The Gospel of Eureka’
With arms outstretched, the 67-foot-tall mortar Christ of the Ozarks sculpture towers over Eureka Springs, Arkansas, literally and figuratively. For decades, to...Read More
‘Lean on Pete’ Sheds Light on Youth Homelessness, but Not Its Main Character
Featured at SXSW this week, the film magnificently portrays the problems faced by homeless youth — but fails to develop its protagonist in a compelling way.
As attendees of this week’s SXSW festival rush from one sold-out event to the next, they’ll likely walk right past some of Austin’s approximately 2,000 ho...Read More
Oscar-Nominated Documentary Highlights the Routine Brutality of a Texas Traffic Stop
Breaion King’s arrest was quotidian to police, life-altering for her and reveals the chasm between police and the people they’re supposed to protect and serve.
“I’m in my car. Why do I have to put out my cigarette?” That’s what an irritated Sandra Bland asked the Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who pu...Read More
‘Disgraced’ Nails the Selective Amnesia That Follows College Sports Scandals
A new documentary on the 2003 Baylor athletics scandal sheds light on just how fleeting institutional memory can be. ...Read More