Michael Armbruster | Film Festival Today

Film Review: “End of Sentence” Offers a Mostly Moving Journey of Reconciliation

May 29, 2020

What to (Virtually) See at the 2021 Maryland Film Festival
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
May 18, 2021
The Maryland Film Festival (MdFF) returns this year, May 19-27, in a virtual format, with a few special events that involve some more in-person activities, the details of all of which may be found on the festival website. There are the usual great variety of shorts programs (13 in total), along with 20 feature films. Tickets and passes are still available, so be sure to check out the schedule of events and make your choices now. As a Baltimore ... >>
Film Review: “Los Hermanos/The Brothers” Is Beautiful, Sad and Joyous All at Once
By Robin C. Farrell
May 13, 2021
Los Hermanos/The Brothers (Marcia Jarmel/Ken Schneider, 2020) 4 out of 4 stars. Los Hermanos/The Brothers is a highly emotional ride. Especially coming to us after the global experience of lockdown and isolation, the themes of familial bonds and the lengths to which artists and creatives will go to maintain connection and collaborate over great distances are all the more potent. The film tells the personal story of virtuoso Afro-Cuban musicians ... >>
Film Review: “When Today Ends” Is Powerful, Emotionally Gripping and a Film Everyone Needs to See at Least Once
By Adam Vaughn
May 13, 2021
When Today Ends (Michael Leoni, 2021) 3½ out of 4 stars. One of many topics that have arisen in our millennial is the ever-growing awareness of mental health and suicide prevention through pop culture and media. This generation is extraordinarily sensitive to the effects of bullying, toxic masculinity, standards for women and negativity towards the LGBQT+ community. Michael Leoni’s When Today Ends captures these elements through the most ... >>
Film Review: “High Ground” Is Exquisite and Devastating
By Heidi Shepler
May 13, 2021
High Ground (Stephen Johnson, 2020) 3½ out of 4 stars. History is framed in a series of intensely personal tragedies and missed opportunities for humanity in Stephen Johnson’s High Ground. The first question in any period drama about imperialism with sympathetic white characters must be: to what degree does this film fall into the White Savior trap? And while the film isn’t perfect, Travis (Simon Baker, Here and Now), a white Australian man, is ... >>
Film Review: “The Water Man” Deftly Blends Realism and Fantasy
By Robin C. Farrell
May 7, 2021
The Water Man (David Oyelowo, 2020) 3 out of 4 stars. Between the new family in town, the somewhat-haunted forest, a local legend, one dying parent, an estranged relationship with the other, and running away from home, one might expect The Water Man to feel like a bundle of strewn-together clichés. Instead, David Oyelowo’s directorial feature debut is a well-paced and cohesive expedition into that strange and wondrous place where imagination ... >>

Film Review: “Spiral, from the Book of Saw”
May 18, 2021
Chris Rock has reached the apex of Hollywood stardom. He has a sure hit franchise. In a wacky Good ...>>
Film Review: “The Odds”
March 8, 2021
Bravo! A Herculean effort to deliver a highly original two-character horror movie. You want to ...>>
Film Review: “Nomadland”
March 7, 2021
NOMADLAND’s star and producer is two-time Best Actress winner, Frances McDormand. She was given the ...>>
Film Review: “Wonder Woman 1984”
December 30, 2020
What happened to Wonder Woman? She is a supporting character without much to do. The film starts ...>>