Baggage Claim

Review by Pamela Zoslov

It's not uncommon for a popular novel to be badly adapted for the screen, but it is unusual when the writer and director of the bad adaptation is also the book's author. That's the case with BAGGAGE CLAIM, a romantic comedy based on David E. Talbert's “chick lit” novel about an airline flight attendant looking for a husband. Talbert, an accomplished playwright, wrote the screenplay and directed the film, which stars Paula Patton and, for some reason, elides much of the book's wit and charm. It's as if the two Talberts are at odds: Author Talbert was betrayed by Director-Screenwriter Talbert. It's not a terrible film, just terribly uneven. Given its appealing source material, it should have been so much better.

Repost: Disconnect (August 16th and 17th at the Cleveland Cinematheque)

[DISCONNECT screens Friday August 16th at 9:30 pm and Saturday August 17th at 7:15 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Review by Pamela Zoslov

What did the Internet ever do to the filmmakers behind DISCONNECT, a cautionary tale about modern computer technology? The independently made film is thematically reminiscent of antique propaganda flicks like REEFER MADNESS, except that the perils it warns against are smartphones, PCs and iPads rather than marijuana. In the mode of Paul Haggis' CRASH, DISCONNECT is composed of intertwined stories about the emotional alienation produced by our techno-crazy society. Evidently the benefits of computers – information, knowledge, entertainment, the review you are reading – mean nothing in the face of the Web's many scary dangers.

Disconnect

Review by Pamela Zoslov

What did the Internet ever do to the filmmakers behind DISCONNECT, a cautionary tale about modern computer technology? The independently made film is thematically reminiscent of antique propaganda flicks like REEFER MADNESS, except that the perils it warns against are smartphones, PCs and iPads rather than marijuana. In the mode of Paul Haggis' CRASH, DISCONNECT is composed of intertwined stories about the emotional alienation produced by our techno-crazy society. Evidently the benefits of computers – information, knowledge, entertainment, the review you are reading – mean nothing in the face of the Web's many scary dangers.

Jumping the Broom

Review by Pamela Zoslov

Having reviewed my share of ethnic wedding comedies – including, memorably, one about the clash between a Latino family and an African-American family that featured a priapic goat trying to mate with guests – I cannot fail to commend JUMPING THE BROOM for its taste and humanity.

Few new wineskins are available for the old wine of this brand of matrimonial farce, in which future in-laws converge for a wedding and clash comedically, but director Salim Akil (TV’s The Game, Girlfriends) handles Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs’ thoughtful screenplay with poise and a fine visual sense. Whereas too many comedies made for African-American audiences resort to over-the-top slapstick, JUMPING THE BROOM manages to weave cultural, historical, linguistic, economic and religious issues into an otherwise commonplace formula. The contrast in this case is between "uptown" — a wealthy black family living in New England — and "downtown," a working-class black family from Brooklyn.