Vertical Entertainment – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK February 7, 2025: JAZZY

February 2, 2025February 2, 2025 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, Jazzy, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, Lily Gladstone, liz whittemore, loren king, Morrisa Maltz, nell minow, Oglala Lakota, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, Spearfish South Dakota, Syriah Fool Head Means, Vertical Entertainment

As it follows Jasmine “Jazzy” Bearkiller Shangreaux (playing herself), a young Oglala Lakota girl growing up in rural Spearfish, South Dakota, the film — a follow-up to Morrisa Maltz’ The Unknown Country — puts a fresh spin on familiar topics like friendship ups and downs, first crushes, and family dynamics. Filmed over a span of six years as its main characters navigate the transition from childhood to adolescence, Jazzy is made up of beautifully everyday moments in the lives of Jazzy and Syriah (Syriah Fool Head Means), Jazzy’s best friend in both the movie and in real life. The girls ride to school together on the bus, giggle about class gossip, play with favorite stuffed animals, talk about how they wish they could stay kids forever, and generally stay glued to each other’s side. Until Syriah’s family ends up moving away.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 7, 2024: LATE BLOOMERS

June 2, 2024July 9, 2024 Jennifer Merin Anna Greenfield, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, jennifer merin, Karen Gillan, Late Bloomers, leslie combemale, Lisa Steen, liz whittemore, loren king, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Margaret Sophie Stein, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Vertical Entertainment

An unlikely friendship with a woman three times her age leads to personal growth for a struggling twentysomething in director Lisa Steen’s charming feature directorial debut, Late Bloomers. Starring Karen Gillan as floundering 28-year-old would-be musician Louise and Margaret Sophie Stein (aka Malgorzata Zajaczkowska in her native Poland) as Antonina, the testy Polish woman Louise unexpectedly finds herself spending time with and caring for, the film is a thoughtful take on what it really means to grow up.

Reviews

LATE BLOOMERS – Review by Jennifer Merin

May 30, 2024June 1, 2024 Jennifer Merin Anna Greenfield, Karen Gillan, Late Bloomers, Lisa Steen, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Margaret Sophie Stein, Vertical Entertainment

Late Bloomers is a soulful film that gives way to compassionate consideration of some heart heavy subjects like loneliness, abandonment, self esteem and the agonies of aging. The story has enough quirky embellishments to to be thoroughly engaging throughout. And the performances by Karen Gillan as Louise and Margaret Sophie Stein as Antonina are so utterly charming that you can’t help rooting for their endearingly troubled characters to find their way to joy.

Reviews

LATE BLOOMERS – Review by Cate Marquis

May 28, 2024August 23, 2024 Cate Marquis Anna Greenfield, Karen Gillan, Late Bloomers, Lisa Steen, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Margaret Sophie Stein, Vertical Entertainment

The indie film Late Bloomers is an odd couple dramedy starring Karen Gillan as a 28-year-old, Louise, who is stuck in a post-collegiate mode, denying her depression, and still not over being dumped by her long-term boyfriend a year ago, and Margaret Sophie Stein (aka Malgorzata Zajaczkowska in her native Poland) as Antonina, an angry, strong-willed older woman who speaks only Polish. The two women who form a wildly unlikely friendship after meeting in a hospital, Along with the insightful performances, Late Bloomers evolves to a surprisingly funny, charming dramedy that touches on issues of loneliness, aging, compassion and facing life and its changes.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK October 6, 2023: MIRANDA’S VICTIM

October 1, 2023October 1, 2023 Jennifer Merin Abigail Breslin, betsy bodech, Cate Marquis, donald sutherland, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Luke Wilson, Michelle Danner, Miranda's Victim, nell minow, nikki fowler, Ryan Phillippe, sandie angulo chen, Sebastian Quinn, Vertical Entertainment

We’ve all heard the opening of the Miranda warning a million times in movies and on TV cop dramas: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” etc. And those rights are an essential part of the American criminal justice system. But the story behind them is a fraught one, as director Michelle Danner makes very clear in the earnest drama Miranda’s Victim.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 29, 2023: SHE CAME TO ME

September 24, 2023September 24, 2023 Jennifer Merin Anne Hathaway, betsy bosdech, Cate Marquis, Evan Ellison, Harlow Jane, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, marisa tomei, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, Peter Dinklage, rebecca miller, sandie angulo chen, she came to me, sherin nicole, Vertical Entertainment

If the idea of Marisa Tomei as a romance-addicted tugboat captain sounds like your cup of tea, then grab the popcorn and settle in for Rebecca Miller’s She Came to Me, a quirky, well-acted dramedy about the intersecting lives of two families of New Yorkers and the people in their orbit. By turns heartfelt and slightly absurdist, it’s ultimately the kind of cinematic escape from the real world that we all sometimes need.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Rebecca Miller’s SHE CAME TO ME to be released via Vertical – Brandy McDonnell reports

July 6, 2023July 7, 2023 Brandy McDonnell Anne Hathaway, Berlinale2023, marisa tomei, Peter Dinklage, rebecca miller, she came to me, the week in women, Vertical Entertainment

Global independent distributor Vertical has secured U.S. rights to the romantic comedy She Came to Me, which had its world premiere in February as the opening night selection for the 2023 Berlin Film Festival. Vertical is planning a theatrical release for the comedy about love in all its forms. Set in the bustling metropolis of New York City, She Came to Me follows Steven Lauddem (Peter Dinklage), a composer who is plagued by a creative block that leaves him unable to finish the score for his big comeback opera.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Krystin Ver Linden’s ALICE sells pre-Sundance – Brandy McDonnell reports

January 20, 2022January 26, 2022 Brandy McDonnell Alice, Keke Palmer, Krystin Ver Linden, Peter Jarowey, Roadside Attractions, sundance film festival 2022, Vertical Entertainment

Ahead of its upcoming world premiere as part of the Sundance Film Festival 2022, Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions have snapped up U.S. rights to the dramatic thriller Alice, written and directed by Krystin Ver Linden. The highly anticipated film marks the feature debut of Ver Linden, who was recently named one of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch” for 2022.