Panhandle (1948)

We chat with Penelope Lawson about her short film, The Dinner Party, her experience founding her own production company, and fun cinema.

Tired of being cooped up in their cages, the critters escape the Australian zoo and try to find their way to the outback.

Evan Goldman, a child of divorced parents, is planning a memorable bar mitzvah for his 13th birthday. However, middle school has a few obstacles along the way.

The film is a simple love story reminiscent of stories like The Notebook released in 2004. Sylvie and Robert are rarely actually together in the film, however; time and circumstance keep them away from each other, and the audience waits with bated breath to see them find one another over and over.

If you were to watch it on streaming when you have nothing to do, it’s still probably a giant waste of time, but you could do far worse.  Paying $18 for a movie ticket and who knows how much for concessions turns this from an exercise in boredom to an exercise in frustration. 

Gretel & Hansel falters due to its razor thin story and lack of characterization. It loses sight of horror’s key rule: In order to create an effective tale, characters and emotions must be emphasized.