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Jan 26, 2024 | 
bostonhassle.com | Anna Hoang
When a film’s identity meshes the crisis of creative stillness and the precarious affirmation-foddering between a student and teacher, it frankly sounds like a fixing for character disaster. The two players in the wreckage are Jonathan Miller (Martin Freeman), who can be identified by his white tennis shoes and form-fitting shirts as a Vanderbilt-alum Cool Teacher, and Cairo Sweet (Jenna Ortega), a high school senior who joins his class in her last semester.
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Jan 18, 2024 | 
bostonhassle.com | Kyle Amato |Oscar Goff |Anna Hoang |Nick Perry
It’s that time of year again: the studios have released their most prestigious offerings, Oscar nominations are imminent, and you’re about to realize (if you haven’t already) just how many movies you missed this year. Whether boning up for the awards-season blitzkrieg or simply looking to fill in your cultural gaps, catching up with a year’s worth of movies can be daunting. Thank god for the Brattle.
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Dec 11, 2023 | 
bostonhassle.com | Anna Hoang
All images provided by Kevin Mazur. Relatively speaking, the format for Beyoncé’s Renaissance had been her return to traditional music release in a long time. Along with the album’s official announcement and a lead single to follow (“Break My Soul”), it had been one of the few recent instances in which Beyoncé had participated in the regular, radio-charting rollout of her own solo music.
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Nov 17, 2023 | 
bostonhassle.com | Anna Hoang
I believe that behind the longevity of an Internet story is the applied imagination of the reader. The online folk tales in which the person is pictured or there’s a full name that can be easily doxxed to oblivion is like a respiratory infection— explosively present but temporary (God willing, at least). But the stories where we can project our experiences and conjure our own images possess a longer shelf life, allowing them to float in the space between nonfiction and imposed embellishments.
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Oct 24, 2023 | 
bostonhassle.com | Alexis den Boggende |Kyle Amato |Anna Hoang
Oscar Goff, Editor-in-ChiefTo me, Halloween is less a holiday than a semester, a portion of the year that begins on September 1, reaches a crescendo with the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s annual Halloween Marathon (which I have not missed since 2006, give or take a plague year), and doesn’t end—if it ever does end—until the candy runs out.
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Oct 16, 2023 | 
bostonhassle.com | Anna Hoang
Also known as the unofficial Asian American photographer laureate, Corky Lee’s name has often been mentioned by AAPI filmmakers that I’ve talked to, whether as a source of inspiration or because they are still reeling from his unexpected death in January 2021. I had no doubt that there was going to be a shot at documenting his legacy, though I didn’t realize at the time how extensive it was.
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Oct 12, 2023 | 
bostonhassle.com | Anna Hoang
The Boston Asian American Film Festival will be presenting feature films and shorts in a hybrid format this year (you can find more information on where things are shaking on their website). Ahead of its 15th anniversary, Boston Hassle spoke with BAAFF director Susan Chinsen for a look on this year’s programming, being part of the Joy Ride Club, and some cool new events happening. The conversation has been edited for brevity and flow.
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Aug 11, 2023 | 
bostonhassle.com | Anna Hoang
When perusing director Ira Sachs’ filmography, one can’t help but feel that Sachs has some thoughts about marriage. Married Life, a post-WWII film involving marital unhappiness and murder attempts, might not feel akin to Love is Different, a modern tale about a married pair physically separated by urban rent gouging, but the dissolution (or evolution, depending on your take) of commitment seems to preoccupy the director’s mind for years.
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Jul 21, 2023 | 
bostonhassle.com | Anna Hoang
In between the successful variations of Barbie over the years, there are discontinued ones. Backlash came for certain Barbies (“Math class is tough!“) and didn’t stop for her friends and family (pregnant Midge and puberty Skipper, for starters). But were they failures? The history of Barbie, in its entirety of celebrations and rejections, contributes to Barbie the Product — a concept that lives in recycled relevance for the next generation.
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Jun 27, 2023 | 
bostonhassle.com | Anna Hoang
Film, Film ReviewPart of the 25th Roxbury International Film Festival by Anna Hoang“Mr. Hardaway, are you ready?” the receptionist asks Mickey (Rashad Hunter) as the title card appears on screen, which occurs several minutes into the movie. Mickey sits for his first therapy session with Dr. Harden (Samuel Cofield Jr.), which plays out in the predictable cadence of clinician-patient familiarization — family history, personal goals, the next appointment date.
