Movie Reviews

Get the latest movie reviews from our in-house critics, Shirrel Rhoades and Ian Brockway. You’ll also find reviews from film festivals and advance screening movies. Do you have what it takes to be a Guest movie reviewer? Send us your review to info@TropicCinema.com for approval and maybe you’ll earn a spot! Want to make sure you never miss a review? Follow the Tropic on Facebook for daily updates!

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: The Cuban

Louis Gossett Jr. captures both the haunt and the euphorias that can accompany the elderly. At times, he has the joy of a teenaged paramour, at others he seems to see Lucifer himself. “The Cuban” is an affectionate and emotional study that is as much about the eerie ghosts of love as it is about the joy of friendship.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Moynihan

Narrated by Jeffrey Wright, “Moynihan” will give you a sense of nostalgia and righteous regret at times now past. Perhaps the most meaningful thing in the film is the awareness that Moynihan was a political person of spirit empathy, and conscious action.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Before Stonewall

Greta Schiller directs the now classic documentary “Before Stonewall” from 1984. The film vividly illustrates the progress of gay rights and the struggle leading up to the tumultuous events of the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets

This is a singular film that may well irritate some in its unflinching portraiture of the aimless and embittered. “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” is very much a Charles Bukowski story come to life—an acquired taste.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Flannery

Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) is known for creating outrageous characters: manic ministers, eccentric children and mystic loners. A new documentary has arrived from Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco that presents the author as is, with trials, tribulations, offenses and spirit.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Waiting for the Barbarians

Ciro Guerra ("Embrace of the Serpent") adapts J.M. Coetzee’s "Waiting for the Barbarians" for the screen. The film, written by the author, is conventionally handled. Though a bit heavy handed, it is solidly done with a fine performance by Mark Rylance.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: The Tobacconist

“The Tobacconist,” from a novel by Robert Seethaler, succeeds because it is not just about Freud or Nazism, but also about a young boy’s desire and the ability of dreams to both warn us and point to way to different experiments in living.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things

In a new documentary “Just One of Those Things” by Leslie Woodhead, Fitzgerald looks like a sensuous flower floating in a sea of red velvet about to sing. Though the film is somewhat pedestrian, it is peppered with lively interviews by Tony Bennett and the star’s self-deprecating son Ray Brown, Jr.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Marona’s Fantastic Tale

This film is animated but to say that simply is to limit its power. This film blazes upon the screen in brilliant color with life, quirk and vitality. It is thoughtful and full of joy. It is also the best meditation on dogs that you are ever likely to see.

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own

Here, singularly by herself, is sculptor and survivor Ursula von Rydingsvard who used her abilities to create guardians out of cedar, copper and bronze. “Into Her Own” is a potent testament to self-reliance and the power of imagination.

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Movie Reviews

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: The Cuban

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Moynihan

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Before Stonewall

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Flannery

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Waiting for the Barbarians

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: The Tobacconist

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Marona’s Fantastic Tale

Tropic Sprockets Goes Streaming: Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own

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