Tony Ruggio, Author at Films Gone Wild

Alexander Jeffery’s MOLTO BELLA: Sound Unseen film festival REVIEW; Great chemistry and dialogue in romanticore film

By Tony Ruggio 5 years ago

Peterson and Von Kampen enjoy wonderful chemistry together. Molto Bella wouldn’t work were it not for their charming, endearing turns as artists in love and mostly ignorant to it. Hal’s writing is sometimes genuinely enlightening and Josie’s voice is unmistakably easy on the ears, so any time you might tire of watching these two walking and talking, know there’s always a verse or two around the corner that’ll catch you by surprise.

Stephen Kunken and Jack Lewars’ BEFORE/DURING/AFTER: NAPLES INTERNATIONAL Film Fest REVIEW: delves into the woman’s perspective post-divorce

By Tony Ruggio 5 years ago

Directed by Jack Lewars and Stephen Kunken, their film has a keen eye for detailing the various feelings that bubble to the surface when a schism forms, and when serendipity is no longer on their side.

Hannah Black and Megan Petersen’s DROUGHT: NAPLES INTERNATIONAL Film Fest REVIEW: celebrates the eccentricities that make a family

By Tony Ruggio 5 years ago

Indeed, Drought is a film about family dysfunction. It’s also a film about celebrating the oddities and eccentricities and foibles that make tight knit family members so integral to one another. It’s no wonder then that the Duplass brothers were drawn to fund such a story.

Hong Khaou’s MONSOON: Review from OUT ON FILM 2020; a reprieve from the loudness of modern cinema

By Tony Ruggio 5 years ago

What stuck with me beyond themes of cultural identity or expat aimlessness were Khaou’s images, often colorful and symmetrical, emphasizing the spaces around Kit, around Vietnam where new capitalism is fast encroaching on old traditions. There are many words about how fast and how much the country is changing, and you get the impression there’s both good and bad to be had in so much memory being lost to the march of time.

Olivia Peace’s TAHARA at Women Texas Film Festival review; all the tools to deliver a funny, but personal and touching film

By Tony Ruggio 6 years ago

Utilizing stop-motion animation at pivotal moments, Olivia Peace’s inter-disciplinary talents are on full display. She uses artwork to convey the dramatic, often illusory feelings of late-stage adolescence. Along with nimble writing by Jess Zeidman and some astute observations, these moments lend credence to Olivia Peace as a promising filmmaker to watch, should she continue down that path.