Opiniones de catherinetarleton

This longtime "karate movie" fan has never seen anything like Quantae Love in action.

Seriously.

And POPOLO is not all action. The themes of brotherhood, family honor and secrets bob and weave through the complex backstories of a hidden Honolulu, and the story delivers a powerful punch.

Its diverse and skilled cast includes a very scary version of Allan Y. Okubo, from The Fishing Club Movie.

And it was made in Hawai'i on love and lunch money by young filmmakers, and director Edo Natasha. And he better bring us more. ALOHA!

As a Hawai'i resident, it's a joy to see made-in-Hawai'i movies that stand up to any large studio project, with regards to acting, directing, story, production values, impact and education. Particularly to the family films genre, "Under the Blood Red Sun" is a major contribution.

Tim Savage and Red Sun Productions' excellent expression of Graham Salisbury's award-winning youth novel brings the WWII attack on Pearl Harbor into sharp focus. Against that historical background, the story of two boys--one Japanese, one Caucasian--is well-told and powerfully portrayed by young actors Kyler Sakamoto and Kalama Epstein.

As the boys and their families and friends (including up-and-coming 'ukulele star Aidan James) deal with the days and months that follow, they learn about loyalty, honor and strength in a hero's journey that's close to home, yet universal in heart.

Made with skill and aloha, "Under the Blood Red Sun" is a must-see.

Difficult to watch but impossible to look away, "3:13" sheds a light on one man's experience with homelessness in a way that is frighteningly easy to relate to--and is based on a true story.

From his gradual descent, through the everyday indignities, minor triumphs and major setbacks, "Peter" is poignantly played by Paul Alexandro with respect and finesse. This is a film to watch with a friend, to help process the experience of it.

Filmmakers, the Jaure brothers, donate a percentage of the film's revenue to Homeless World Aid, the advocacy foundation they established.

You don't have to be Hawaiian or from Hawai'i to appreciate this well-told story about respect and responsibility, with beautiful music and excellent choreography by some of hula's best.

A down-and-out club show host is tasked to take on the responsibility for a young men's halau (hula school) as they prepare for competition. As he and his haumana (students) work and learn, they come to terms with the sometimes conflicting responsibilities of family, religion, sports, girlfriends and their hula brothers.

Men's hula is a powerful expression, and this first-ever feature film about traditional hula is a wonderful film.

I fell in love with "Chasing Shakespeare" more than once during the 2013 Big Island Film Festival at The Fairmont Orchid, Hawai'i. Director Norry Niven flew in from Cannes where he'd just won an AFI Award, and added to it BIFF's Best Feature and Audience Choice.

It's an interracial love story of Venus and William, a Native American woman of the lightning clan and an African American man destined to run his father's farm. But to stop there would be a disservice.

The film tells of many kinds of love - love of family, of tradition and culture, of Shakespeare and horses and laughter, as well as romantic love between the two. It crosses boundaries of time and race, even spirit.

At times it speaks in symbols we call "ho'ailona" in Hawai'i - natural phenomenon that communicate to us in very special moments - a sudden gust of wind, a butterfly that lands on your hand. Venus' affinity with the lightning, which charges important points through the story, is a great example.

One night after an outdoor screening of CS, I was driving home to a breathtaking lightning display over the mountain. I had to email Norry right away, and he said something to the effect, that it happens pretty often. I would love to know if other viewers experience something similar!

This is one I can watch over and over, and laugh, out loud, every time. I love to share it with friends for that reason.

Why? Unlike some so-called "regional" films that only tickle funny bones locally, "Get A Job" uses an island voice to tell a universal story about work, play and love. Yes, you will laugh more if you're from Hawaii, if you've been to Hawaii, if you like mangoes, love Hawaiian music or have ever heard of Willie K, Eric Gilliom or Jake Shimabukuro. And, yes, the film delivers even without those connections.

Willie K is "William," the employment recruiter walking in two worlds. He wears a wild 'Fro with his noose of a suit and tie; he's got a meditation fountain on his desk, a guitar in the closet, a wheezing old car, and a girlfriend who wants to get married.

"Merton," played by Eric Gilliom, is the clueless surfer who goes with whatever, waiting for the big wave or cruising around the neighborhood. When a random encounter with a bicycle, a mango and a traffic jam bring the two together, William makes it his mission to help Merton get a job.

Hilarity ensues, of course. But what is more interesting, and important, is how Maui filmmaker Brian Kohne manages to bring the story to the screen with such affection and insight. By using, rather deploying, some of Hawaii's best-known entertainers like musicians Willie K, Gilliom, Henry Kapono, Amy Hanaiali'i, Augie T (as a motorcycle cop) and Jake Shimabukuro (as a Japanese tour bus guide), Kohne makes Hawaii folks feel like we're in the company of friends.

For other folks, there isn't a neighborhood in the country that doesn't have a William and a Merton - and all the others who think they know what's what and what's best for them. Their journey might play out in the snow instead of surf, or on the streets instead of sugar cane fields, but we know these characters because they are us, and we are healed by laughing at ourselves, our missteps and our funky successes in whatever form they take.

Plus it's got a killer soundtrack.