Tag Archive: Cinemania Student Critics

Cinemania Student Critic Review: Supa Modo

by David Sapp, Cinemania Student Critic The 2018 film Supa Modo, directed by Likarion Wainaina, tells the tale of Jo, a young Kenyan girl with a terminal illness and a desire to be a superhero along with her village’s  efforts to make a film portraying her, as the superhero she idolizes. It is somber, yet playful [...]


Cinemania Student Critic Review: Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

by David Sapp, Cinemania Student Critic All of the 2019 Oscar Nominated Animated shorts are brilliant, using unique techniques to make each one special. Memorable, the French short directed by Bruno Collet uses surreal imagery to portray a man slowly losing touch with reality and forgetting everything.  Also, it applies styles of famous paintings such [...]


Cinemania Student Critic Review: Mary Poppins

by David Sapp, Cinemania Student Critic Robert Stevenson’s 1964 film Mary Poppins is about how a magical nanny helps transform two kids’ relationships with their father through fun and liveliness.  The film is visually stunning and extremely impressive for the time period. Looking at it from a modern-day standpoint, it’s amazing what they were able [...]


Cinemania Student Critic Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

by David Sapp, 8th Grade Cinemania Student Critic Marielle Heller’s 2019 film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a drama about how a troubled journalist’s perspective on life is altered by renowned children’s show host Mr. Rogers. This film was much more dramatic and gripping than I initially assumed. It takes a story about a [...]


Cinemania Student Critic Review: Jojo Rabbit

by David Sapp, 8th Grade Cinemania Student Critic Taika Waititi’s 2019 film Jojo Rabbit is a film about a young boy who, influenced by the community he lives in, takes up being a Nazi.  It is one of the few films I’ve seen that can balance a dark drama and a comedy perfectly. It will be funny [...]


Celebrate Women’s History Month: Six Essential Films to Watch with Your Kids

Updated 3/1/23   March is around the corner, but with the inevitable sludge comes a beacon of light: Women’s History Month! In the article “Five Ways Museums Can Generate Empathy In The World,” Elif M. Gokcigdem poses the question: “How might one go about changing habitual and entrenched perspectives and behavior toward others?” As Gokcigdem [...]


{High School Student Critic Review: Shea} - The Breadwinner

By Shea Stevenson, High School Student Critic The Breadwinner is a 2017 animated film about Parvana, a young girl in Taliban controlled Afghanistan whose father is unjustly arrested, so she must dress as a boy to support her family while they try to find and save her father from prison. The film is directed by [...]


{High School Student Critic Review} - The Breadwinner

By Caleb Feinstein, High School Student Critic The Breadwinner, directed by Nora Twomey, tells the interesting story of Parvana and her life in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Living in poverty, Parvana and her injured father frequent the market to sell what little they have. Despite their living conditions, the family is comforted by the vivid stories told [...]


{Cinemania Student Critic} A Recycled Orchestra

By JBFC Cinemania Student Critic Ilani Denzer In a town that is home to Paraguay’s main landfill Favio Chavez, a resourceful ganchero, and many determined children came together and formed the Landfill Orchestra of Cateura. Here 40% of the youth don’t finish school because their parents need them to pick garbage in the landfill to [...]


{Cinemania Student Critic} Landfill Harmonic

By JBFC Cinemania Student Critic Ty Amsterdam Landfill Harmonic is an uplifting documentary that has such an incredible storyline, it could almost seem fictional! The film takes place in Cateura, a town in Paraguay where most of the residents try to find work at the garbage dump. We follow Favio Cháves, who decided to inspire [...]


1 2