The latest film in The Loft Cinema's virtual screening series follows the work of the attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union. The Fight examines the struggle for civil rights when "a migrant mother is separated from her child, when a transgender soldier is at risk to lose his career, when reproductive rights and basic voting rights are under attack" and more. The Fight releases digitally July 31.

For more information, visit The Loft's website.

Dave Franco, brother of James, makes his directorial debut, based on a screenplay he co-wrote, with The Rental, a serviceable slasher film that shows the novice director can do a solid job creating a creepy vibe.

The film isn’t anything all that original, and you won’t feel any major sense of surprise when the story ends. You might, however, refrain from ever renting a vacation home on the Oregon coast anytime soon.

Charlie and Michelle (Dan Stevens and Alison Brie) are looking to get away for the weekend. They rent a fancy house and bring along Charlie’s brother, Josh (Jeremy Allen White) and girlfriend, Mina (Sheila Vand) for company. After an awkward meeting with the caretaker (Toby Huss, who is amassing a decent horror film resume with this and last year’s Halloween), the weekend gets off to a pleasant enough start. Then the drugs come out, and bad things happen. When Mina discovers a camera in the shower, justified paranoia reigns, followed by bodies piling up.

Credit Franco for keeping you guessing as to who is creating the bloody mayhem. The resolution i
irked me at first, but it’s growing on me. The performances put the film over the top, as does the effective score by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians. They definitely use sound to keep you on edge.

It’s a promising debut for Franco that, while owing a lot to past film’s like Luke Wilson’s Vacancy, manages enough coolness to warrant a rental if you are a horror aficionado.

Available for rental on iTunes, Amazon Prime, etc.

The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film and Television’s 15th annual I Dream In Widescreen student film festival faced several challenges this year due to COVID-19. However, these complications turned the showcase into an online festival, allowing more viewers to see the student films than ever before.

 

Originally planned to be hosted at the Fox Theatre, I Dream In Widescreen will be held on Aug. 8th and 9th on Youtube live.

 

For more than 30 years the Screening Room brought the Tucson community together through independent film festivals and events – the Arizona International Film Festival, Arizona Underground Film Festival, Terrorfest and Keep Tucson Sketchy comedy show to name a few. Now suffering from the pandemic like many others, the downtown theater is facing the struggle to survive.

The Screening Room’s current operator David Pike recently created a GoFundMe page to “Save The Screening Room,” reaching out for the community’s support.

“It’s paying the bills. It’s paying on loans, electricity, water and the rent that is due,” Pike said.

Cinephiles, rejoice. The Sundance Film Festival Shorts Tour continues with a virtual edition, and The Loft can get you access to it. I've seen it...it's a great watch. The Shorts tour, and four other new streaming movies, are now available for in home viewing. Visit The Loft's website for details on how to order movies, and perhaps some Curbside Concessions.

Here's what's doing this week:

2020 Sundance Film Festival Shorts Tour


The annual tradition continues with a "virtual edition." For a review of the program, and instructions on how to order, see this post.

Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful


A documentary in which celebrities including Charlotte Rampling, Isabella Rossellini, Catherine Deneuve and Grace Jones reflect upon the career of trailblazing fashion and art photographer Helmut Newton.

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets


In a time where simply going to a bar has all sorts of potential political and physical consequences, this is an interesting watch. Part documentary, part drama, it tells the story of the final days for a Las Vegas dive bar called The Roaring 20s.

Amulet


An ex-soldier living in London moves in with a mother and her daughter. He falls for the girl, which is a bad idea because this is a horror movie and something is seriously screwed up about her. The trailer for this one is freaky. Looks good.

Yes, God, Yes


Alice (Natalia Dyer of Stranger Things), a devout Catholic, discovers masturbation, and also discovers that, naturally, she kind of likes masturbation. Crippled with guilt, she goes to a religious retreat in hopes of conquering her urges but, of course, things don't go as planned. Written and directed by Karen Maine, maker of the funny Jenny Slate vehicle, Obvious Child. 

The Sundance Film Festival Shorts Tour “Virtual Edition” is coming to you via The Loft’s streaming series, and this collection is a winner. The Festival has helped launch the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson (Both Andersons!), Lynn Ramsay, and Taika Waititi, and this year’s selection has some new candidates for greatness.

The program is definitely goat centric. The opening film, Benevolent Ba, features a goat that sounds human when it screams, and a Goat Boy that is much different from the one Jim Breuer played on Saturday Night Live. The closing film, So What if the Goats Die, features a supernatural element similar to the recently released The Vast of Night. (If you haven’t seen that yet, it is streaming on Amazon Prime and is highly recommended.)

Best in show would be the insane Meats, written, directed by and starring Ashley Williams in a semi-crazy performance as a pregnant vegan grappling with meat cravings in a very graphic way. Also terrific would be the animated Hot Flash, where a female meteorologist experiencing hot flashes is accidentally seen naked when she tries to air everything out. The results are quite funny.

There are six shorts in all, and they range from decent to great. It begins streaming on July 24 and can be purchased on The Loft's Website. 

Got a short attention span these days? MOCA has got you covered with their third annual 5-Minute Film Festival, showcasing 20 short films that clock in at 300 seconds or less. Arizona residents submitted their film art to this juried, shortform online festival, and the first, second and third place winners received cash prizes from the UA Hanson FilmTV Institute.

Join the fun on MOCA's YouTube channel at 6 p.m. tonight

The Outpost—based on a real-life battle that took place at an American base poorly placed in the middle of a mountainous Afghanistan—is a harrowing and frustrating experience.

The frustration is not the result of bad filmmaking—quite the contrary, because the film is superbly directed by Rod Lurie. It’s frustrating because you know American soldiers were dropped into a situation in which they would surely be ambushed—a modern-day Little Bighorn. The battle they had to fight occurred under appalling circumstances that should’ve been avoided.

One long-unseen classic, one eccentric British comedy, and a gothic vampire story you probably didn't know existed headline this week's streaming films in The Loft's ongoing series.

Starting Friday, July 17, visit their website to stream these and other movies designed to enhance your ever-expanding, and extended home viewing experience.


Shanghai Triad


Released theatrically in 1995, this historical drama from director Yimou Zhang (Raise the Red Lantern, Hero) has not been readily available for streaming. Based on actual criminal underworld figures from 1930's China, it's now available to watch at home.

DON'T WATCH THIS TRAILER...IT IS HERE STRICTLY TO STAY CONSISTENT WITH OUR MOVIE REVIEW BLOG POST FORMAT! IT WILL RUIN THE MOVIE FOR YOU! DON'T WATCH IT!



So, how does one write about Palm Springs in a spoiler free way?

For starters, you probably don’t ask that question, because now I’ve revealed the movie has the sort of twists and turns that would make it very easy to spoil in a review. So, now you might go watch the trailer, or read a synopsis somewhere else because I’ve sparked your curiosity.

If you’ve read this far, and you’ve never seen the trailer or a synopsis for Palm Springs, immediately proceed to Hulu after reading this review and watch the movie. Going in blind would be the best way to see it.