Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘My Darling Vivian’ Review

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The biggest challenge for any documentary filmmaker is not only to tell a compelling, unique story but to present it in a fresh, moving way. And that’s exactly what director Matt Riddlehoover does with “My Darling Vivian”. The name Vivian Liberto likely means nothing to you. When you learn she was Johnny Cash’s first wife, […]
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‘Marona’s Fantastic Tale’ Review

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“Marona’s Fantastic Tale” was actually one of the 32 eligible contenders for a 2019 Best Animated Feature Academy Award nomination. But last year was very competitive and “Marona” was overlooked. The GKIDS release comes out digitally/online on June 12. That’s when this creatively elaborate, innovative and deeply moving film will finally get its day.  Romanian […]
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’40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic’ Review

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Just when you thought “Rocky” was out of the cinematic ring for good… he’s back. And he proves he has one more great round in him. “40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic” is a documentary short, narrated by — who else? — Sylvester Stallone. Writer, director, producer and editor Derek Wayne Johnson […]
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‘And We Go Green’ Review

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Outside of cheering on my Philadelphia Eagles, I’m not what you would call an avid sports fan. But I clearly understand and feel the effects of the lack of live sports over the past several months. Thankfully, there’s a documentary debuting on Hulu this week that gets both casual and diehard sports junkies back on […]
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‘End of Sentence’ Review

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Indie drama “End of Sentence” is one 2020’s most frustrating movies. And it has nothing to do with the central performances of lead actors John Hawkes and Logan Lerman. They play father and son Frank and Sean Fogle. The mild-mannered Frank is outside the gates to greet the high-strung Sean when he’s released from an […]
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‘The Ghost of Peter Sellers’ Review

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For nearly 50 years, the film “Ghost in the Noonday Sun” has lived in infamy. Back in 1973, hot, young British director Peter Medak made this swashbuckling 17th century action comedy. With the legendary Peter Sellers in the starring role and comic partner Spike Milligan also attached, “Ghost” was expected to be a runaway hit. […]
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‘The Painter and the Thief’ Review

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While watching “The Painter and the Thief”, I had to keep reminding myself that this isn’t a narrative film. It’s a documentary — that really doesn’t feel like one. And that’s not just because of the way it’s shot, that there’s no omniscient narrator, or because the timeline keeps jumping back and forth. It’s mainly […]
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‘Driveways’ Review

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“Driveways” was filmed a few years ago near my neck of the woods in rural Upstate New York. Hong Chau (who deserved an Oscar nomination for her performance in 2017’s “Downsizing”) stars as single-mom Kathy. She’s studying to be a nurse (doing medical transcriptions to make money) while raising 8-year-old Cody (Lucas Jaye from “Fuller […]
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‘Spaceship Earth’ Review

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“Spaceship Earth” is not an inside look at the popular Disney World EPCOT attraction. Instead, it’s a  documentary on the ground-breaking human science experiment called Biosphere 2. If you lived during the early ‘90s, you may remember Biosphere 2: eight people were quarantined for two years inside a research structure — built in the Arizona […]
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‘Bad Education’ Review

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“Bad Education” debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last September. At that time it was still seeking a distributor. Many industry analysts predicted the film would be bought-up by a studio looking to, both release it theatrically, and make it immediately eligible for the 2019 awards season. That strategy would’ve complicated things for a […]
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