Matt Shiverdecker, Author at MendoWerks

1970’s Charitable Frenzy Explained in ‘Dear Mr. Brody’ (Review)

4Mar

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

1970’s Charitable Frenzy Explained in ‘Dear Mr. Brody’ (Review)

In 'Dear Mr. Brody,' the latest documentary from director Keith Maitland ('Tower'), we're introduced to a seemingly well-intentioned 21-year-old named Michael James Brody Jr. Brody caused a genuine national frenzy in 1970 when he announced he would be giving away his entire inheritance, allegedly worth $25 million or more, to people in need. He encouraged people to write him letters to let him know why they needed money. The plan was to distribute as much of it as he could for the betterment of society. Or so the story goes. Maitland attempts to uncover the bizarre backstory behind Brody's giveaway by speaking to his widow, several friends, and multiple letter writers from the original campaign. You see, Brody was quickly overwhelmed by the response to his quest to give awa...

‘Cyrano’ Charms With Musical Remake (Review)

25Feb

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

‘Cyrano’ Charms With Musical Remake (Review)

Wikipedia lists at least 24 film adaptations of 'Cyrano de Bergerac,' either in direct or derivative versions. Based on a play from 1897, most versions find our lead character pining for a beautiful woman and afraid to put himself out there on account of his large nose. Joe Wright's charming new adaptation is based on an Off Broadway musical reimagining of the story that was done for the stage by Erica Schmidt and starring her husband, Peter Dinklage, in the titular role. Haley Bennett also reprises her role as Roxanne from this stage version, which includes a beautiful score and delightful original songs from Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Matt Berninger of The National. https://youtu.be/EpuImNBJXTE Edmond Rostand's original play was loosely based on the true st...

Catch Up With ‘Flee’ Before the Academy Awards (Review)

22Feb

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Catch Up With ‘Flee’ Before the Academy Awards (Review)

Danish drama 'Flee' is one of the most unique nominees at this year's Academy Awards. It earned a nomination for Best International Feature Film, but also made history for its inclusion in the categories for Best Animated Feature and Best Documentary Feature. The film, which world premiered at Sundance last year, introduces us to a man in Denmark who finally breaks his silence on being a child refugee. Director Jonas Poher Rasmussen tells the intensely personal story of one his best friends from high school. We're introduced to him as Amin Nawabi, but that's a pseudonym. Combined with the animation, it allows Amin to tell his story, but remain protected. Born in Kabul, Amin's family was torn apart after their father was arrested and the country was torn apart by war. In...

Interview: Actor/Writer Jessica Pinfield Discusses Award-Winning Short Film ‘Red Giant’

15Feb

By Matt Shiverdecker1 Comment

Features, Film, Interviews

Interview: Actor/Writer Jessica Pinfield Discusses Award-Winning Short Film ‘Red Giant’

In early 2020, actor and writer Jessica Pinfield was able to bring her first screenplay to life when cameras rolled on a short film called 'Red Giant.' Her co-star in the film, Leven Rambin, was also the director and the two women had a very successful run on the festival circuit last year picking up accolades at the Indie Short Fest, IndieXFest, and the Phoenix Film Festival among many others. The apocalyptic drama was recently posted online (watch 'Red Giant' on Vimeo) and I had a chance to catch up with Jessica to talk about the film and find out what she's working on next. Jessica Pinfield winning Best LGBTQ Film of 2021 at the Independent Short Awards Can you tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind 'Red Giant' and what the process was like going from an idea ...

YA Novel Adaptation ‘The Sky is Everywhere’ Premieres Today on Apple TV+ (Review)

11Feb

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

YA Novel Adaptation ‘The Sky is Everywhere’ Premieres Today on Apple TV+ (Review)

It's been a long road to release for 'The Sky is Everywhere,' a charming and occasionally heartbreaking adaptation of Jandy Nelson's 2010 debut young adult novel. Warner Bros. first optioned the book back in 2015. By 2019, the project ended up at Apple, where they used their partnership with indie studio A24 to hand it over to critically acclaimed director Josephine Decker ('Madeline's Madeline,' 'Shirley'). Grace Kaufman in “The Sky Is Everywhere,” premiering February 11, 2022 in select theaters and globally on Apple TV+. In this teenage melodrama, Lennie (Grace Kaufman) and her older sister Bailey (Havana Rose Liu) have grown up in the pacific northwest, raised by their grandmother (Cherry Jones) and uncle (Jason Segel). When Bailey tragically and unexpectedly dies, it sends Le...

What’s Past is Prologue With Kanye West in ‘jeen-yuhs’ (Review)

10Feb

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

What’s Past is Prologue With Kanye West in ‘jeen-yuhs’ (Review)

In recent years, the mention of Kanye West's name has become an automatic tune out for me. His ridiculous antics, including launching a failed Presidential campaign, might be comical if they weren't indicative of a man struggling with mental illness surrounded by people who enable his worst impulses. A new documentary film series from Netflix takes us back to the start. Filmmakers Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah have taken 21 years worth of intimate footage and given us the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's all here, perhaps much to Kanye's chagrin. Right before Act 1 premiered at Sundance last month, he declared that he must have final cut. As recently as this Monday, Kanye posted online that he thought all the narration should be redone by Drake (in the film, it's us...

Woody Allen’s Long-Delayed ‘Rifkin’s Festival’ is Painfully Unfunny (Review)

4Feb

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Events, Film, Reviews

Woody Allen’s Long-Delayed ‘Rifkin’s Festival’ is Painfully Unfunny (Review)

Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment. Despite it all, I've never been able to cut Woody Allen out of my cinephile life. Many have and I completely respect that, but I've had an entire shelf of his films in my movie collection for decades. He's made some of my all-time favorites and, even though there are incredibly diminishing returns, I still watch everything he releases. 'Rifkin's Festival,' his 49th feature film, might be the straw that broke the camel's back. I had not heard encouraging things, but when it recently snuck onto VOD with zero fanfare, I knew I had to rent it. After all, it stars Louis Garrel, one of my favorite actors from France. I was going to watch it just for him, if nothing else. And, so I clicked the rental button and sat down for what is at least a merc...

‘The Fallout’ Premieres on HBO Max (Review)

1Feb

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

‘The Fallout’ Premieres on HBO Max (Review)

Even with the pandemic shift to online learning in some locations, last year there were 34 school shootings in the United States. In Megan Park's directorial debut, a group of students struggle to cope after a fellow student guns down several of their classmates. While Fran Kranz's recent drama 'Mass' deals with parental grief several years after a school shooting, 'The Fallout' handles the immediate aftermath of survivor's guilt from the student perspective. Jenna Ortega gives a revelatory performance as Vada, a 16-year-old who just happens to be on a hall pass in the restroom when the tragic incident begins. Vada grabs Mia (Maddie Ziegler), another young student who happens to be in the restroom at the time, and they hide in one of the stalls, getting up to stand on the toilet ...

Sundance 2022: ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ (Review)

28Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Sundance 2022: ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ (Review)

The news first broke in late 2017 that Lizzy Goodman's Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock & Roll in NYC 2001-2011 would be adapted into a four-part docuseries by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, the directorial duo behind the LCD Soundsystem concert documentary 'Shut Up and Play the Hits.' The best-selling book named after a song by The Strokes chronicled the rise of New York City's music scene in the wake of 9/11. By the summer of 2001, I was three years out of college and had become Music Director and on-air DJ at the legendary WOXY-FM (aka "97X...BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll") in southwestern Ohio. Our listeners loved British bands and music from overseas, but this new batch of upstart bands from NYC were a hit on the air and The Strokes were actually our thir...

Sundance 2022: ‘Nothing Compares’ (Review)

25Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Sundance 2022: ‘Nothing Compares’ (Review)

In her documentary feature debut, Irish director Kathryn Ferguson pays tribute to an artist who changed her life. 'Nothing Compares' could have easily been a docuseries and gone into greater depth on the career of Sinead O' Connor, but it focuses mostly on the key years of 1987-1992 when O'Connor experienced an meteoric rise and fall. As O'Connor burst onto the international music scene in 1987 with her ferocious album "The Lion and the Cobra," it was clear that she was a force to be reckoned with. She had already recorded and scrapped the first attempt at making the record, starting over to get things right. The songs on it were the culmination of young life already fraught with internal struggles, doubts, and demons. O'Connor turned it into a surprise hit, with multiple cha...