Highest 2 Lowest marks the fifth time Denzel Washington and Spike Lee have teamed up. This time, Lee decided to reinterpret Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 procedural thriller High and Low, which was based on Ed McBain's novel, King’s Ransom. Lee shifts the focus from a Tokyo shoe executive to a music mogul in modern-day NYC. The …
Author: ruth
I'm just an ordinary girl who loves flicks across all genres (except horror). From Jane Austen costume-dramas, lush fantasy epics to sfx-laden, full-throttle action, my taste in movies can be quite perplexing. My dad was in the film biz in the 70s in my home country Indonesia, so I guess I inherit his love for writing and movies. But it's my mother who first introduced Hollywood classics early in my upbringing. When I was about 11 or 12, she brought "Gone with the Wind," "The Sound of Music," and "My Fair Lady" VHS tapes from her European vacation. To this day, I still think Clark Gable is one hot & manly man (even for someone who despise mustache!); and who didn't have a crush on that stringent-but-hunky-in-uniform Captain Von Trapp? As for "My Fair Lady," the inimitably classy Audrey Hepburn was (and still is) the fairest maiden in Tinseltown.
Top 10 Favorite movies: Batman Begins, Ben-Hur, Casino Royale, Dear Frankie, Gladiator, Moulin Rouge, Return to Me, Roman Holiday, Sense & Sensibility, The Gods Must Be Crazy.
FlixChatter Review: East Of Wall (2025) – a stirring Neo-western that explores the journey of a mom + daughter, told from a female lens
Even though this film won Sundance's Audience Award earlier this year, somehow it escaped my radar until last month. Written and directed by Kate Beecroft in her directorial debut, East Of Wall is a docufiction, which mixes documentary with fictional storytelling. The main stars include mother and daughter duo Tabatha Zimiga and Porshia Zimiga, who …
Revisiting ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953) at EMAGINE Minnesota’s Monthly Secret Movie Night– a beautiful & timeless classic romance
I had the pleasure of hosting the August edition of Secret Movie Night at EMAGINE Willow Creek Theaters last night. It's a monthly event organized by EMAGINE Minnesota that takes place on the second Wednesday of every month at 7 PM. I haven't seen Roman Holiday since 2012, when I first saw it, though I …
French Cinema Double Reviews: Olivier Assayas’ pandemic drama SUSPENDED TIME + Music-themed dramedy THE MUSICIANS
In this double-review edition, I'm reviewing two new French dramedies that, although their stories are totally different, both showcase a quartet being confined under one roof and the fascinating dynamics that come from that. Suspended Time (Hors du temps) Most people likely remember where they were when the world went into lockdown five years ago, …
FlixChatter Review: FOLKTALES (2025) – a wondrous, uplifting documentary showcasing students learning survival skills in the Arctic wilderness
I saw this documentary back in April at MSPIFF, and I’m sure glad I saw this on the big screen. Great documentaries pull you into a world you might not know much about, thanks to firsthand and in-depth storytelling and stunning visuals. That’s the main appeal of Folktales, as it tracks the experiences of a …
Trio Trailer Spotlight – August movies I’d watch just for the cast: Highest 2 Lowest | EDEN | The Thursday Murder Club
Happy Friday, all! TGIF – it's been a hectic week, so I know I'm looking forward to the weekend! I haven't done a trailer post since May, which didn't feel that long ago, but that was three months ago! This year has been flying way too fast 😬 Well, since it's Friday, I thought I'd …
FlixChatter Review – Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024) – Eric Bana is always watchable in this convoluted Aussie mystery thriller set in the lush Victorian Alps
Eric Bana is back in this Australian detective mystery inspired by Jane Harper's novels. I enjoyed the first film, The Dry, which follows Bana's character, Detective Aaron Falk, as he looks into the mysterious death of his childhood friend during a harsh drought in a small farming town a few hours from Melbourne. In the …
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