"Our Hero, Balthazar" is not really an elevator-pitch kind of movie. Sure, there's a log-line: A wealthy New York City teenager ( Jaeden Martell ) who, in a misguided attempt to impress a girl, travels to Texas to try to stop a school shooting. But it's the describing of it that gets tricky: It's a black comedy, but also sometimes just a comedy. It's a thriller and a satire. It's a commentary on performative activism, gun culture and toxic masculinity. Mostly, it's just an entertaining ride. Owen Gleiberman, writing for Variety, called it "a cutting, audacious, and at times astonishing movie." Perhaps it makes more sense to understand that "Our Hero, Balthazar," which is currently in theaters, comes from a filmmaker known for his collaborations with the Safdie brothers. Filmmaker and producer Oscar Boyson has been on the ground making independent films for nearly 20 years, from "Frances Ha" to "Uncut Gems." "Balthazar" marks his feature directorial debut. The idea for "Balthazar," which Boyson co-wrote with Ricky Camilleri, just felt electric, like the movies that made them want to make movies when they were younger. It's also the kind of that seems to be disappearing from American cinemas and has the makings of a cult classic. "There's a trend towards sameness and safety and familiarity that is making the movie industry a really uninteresting world to play and create and collaborate in," Boyson said. "I felt like because the industry was saying no to it, it was exactly what I should be doing. And that really fired me up." Boyson has come up against a lot of obstacles in the industry with "Balthazar," from festivals to distributors, who told him they loved it but couldn't market it. That resistance just made him even more emboldened to do it his own... Read More