I vividly remember watching “The Case of Hana & Alice” for the Fantasia Film Festival in 2015, and it was a movie that managed to stick with me for a while. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece, but like a lot of its ilk, it’s a movie you have to go in with some knowledge acquired. “The Cast of Hana & Alice” is primarily a prequel, and a loose one at that, but it’s at least charming in its way, and allows a mystery to become the catalyst for an adventure with two best friends one fateful day.
The Lightest Darkness (2017)
A private eye is hired to help solve a mystery. As he boards a train, truths about himself and his cabin mates start coming to the surface as they discuss a serial killer who hits once per month on the very same train.
Miss Juneteenth (2020)
A former pageant winner registers her daughter in the same pageant hoping she can win and get a better chance at higher education. Together they navigate the pageant and life as best they can, trying to make their lives better along the way.
Money Machine (2020)
Following the Las Vegas shooting, documentary filmmaker Ramsey Denison goes to find answers as to what happened, how it was possible, how things were handled after the fact, and what may or may not have changed in Las Vegas following one of the largest mass shootings in the United States.
Victor and Victoria (1933)
Mostly unknown for years and years, Reinhold Schünzel’s musical comedy is a very good musical comedy that would set the template for the LGBTQ iconic movie and musical “Victor/Victoria.” Although known as “Viktor und Viktoria,” director Schünzel creates a funny, adorable, and entertaining musical that mixes cross dressing and heavy queer overtones. It otherwise salvages the pretty clumsy finale that doesn’t resolve much when all is said and done.
The Bootleg Files: Sneak Previews
BOOTLEG FILES 731: “Sneak Previews” (PBS series starring Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived reissue value.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
In 1975, the Chicago public television station WTTW debuted a monthly show with the somewhat awkward title “Opening Soon at a Theater Near You.” The show featured two of Chicago’s most prominent film critics, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, in a half-hour discussion regarding the merits and flaws of films in release. Clips from the films in question gave audiences a sampling of what they could expect on the big screen.
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Mädchen in Uniform (1931)
Often times when you’ve been indoctrinated to conform to what is perceived as societal norms, the emotions between two people can be mixed and misguided. Leontine Sagan’s romance drama is a brilliant tale of unrequited love between two women and the confusion of identity amidst such an archaic institution. There’s nothing really discreet when it comes to what happens behind the walls of the boarding school as the girls within have essentially adapted to turning to one another for comfort.