Members

Jaren Agbannaoag

Maui film critic Jaren Agbannaoag has been producing "Jaren's Movie Reviews" on his YouTube channel for a decade and, as of July 2026, has made over 500 short films showcasing his fast, witty film critiques. Jaren began reviewing films during the early days of Facebook, before writing for Baldwin High School’s Courier in 2009. After five years at Queen Kaʻahumanu Theatres, he transitioned to video reviews on Instagram and YouTube. Jaren is also a weekly guest on Braddah Tony Midnite's "Thursday Afternoon Frights" TV show on Akakū, where the two discuss the latest and greatest in horror movies. Jaren was recently a panelist on a televised January 2026 Akakū panel showcasing the HFCS.

Bill Best

Born and raised as an artist by beatniks in San Francisco, disciplined by nuns of The Little Sisters of Perpetual Motion, attended the finest schools, was at the opening of Disneyland, joined an all-girl theater troupe at 13, turned sixteen, ran a gallery in the early 60s, attended the finest art schools, had sex, attended the Human Be-In, turned 21, lived in a veterinary hospital, rode the rails, met the Messiah, lived in a commune, more sex, got enlightened, got married, got divorced, performed, toured and recorded with The Messiah's Own Social Grace And Blessed Deliverance From The Demons Of Dualism Double Band And Chorus, got married, quit the band, moved to Maui in '75, opened Faroutfits on Front Street in Lahaina, moved back to San Francisco, worked as maître d' at Dennebeim's Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant, got divorced, returned to Maui, air brushed for Faroutfits and island shops, produced The Bill Best Video Variety Show for MCTV on West Maui Cable, worked as DJ for KHEI, KVIB, KAOI and currently mid-day Monday through Friday 10AM til 2PM on Manaʻo Radio, KMNO 91.7 FM.

Rick Chatenever

Rick is an award-winning film critic and journalist whose career spans more than five decades. A former entertainment editor and reporter in Santa Cruz and Maui, he hosted film review programs and conducted tribute interviews at the Maui Film Festival. For decades, Rick was the film critic for the Maui Scene section of The Maui News. His documentary scripts aired nationally on PBS, including the Emmy-nominated "When the Mountain Calls."

Myong Choi

Myong is an Oʻahu movie critic who published his reviews in Honolulu Magazine and on his YouTube page "MC on Film." A blogger for the local entertainment website Frolic Hawaiʻi, he’s always on the lookout for the latest news in film, TV and pop culture. Sometimes vocal and always opinionated, Myong is ready to share his thoughts and experiences on what’s going on around town.

Gary Cogill

Gary is a talented writer with a multi-faceted background in film (film producer, speaker, actor, host and journalist...I'm probably missing a few job titles!). Formerly a film critic for Big Island newspaper West Hawaiʻi Today, Gary also co-hosts a podcast with his wife, Hayley, called "Cogill Wine and Film: A Perfect Pairing," which can be found on Spotify and reVolver Podcasts.

Lisette Flanary

Independent filmmaker, educator, and hula dancer, Lisette Marie Flanary creates films that celebrate a modern renaissance of the hula dance and Hawaiian culture. She completed a trilogy of documentaries on hula and is the director of the recent MĀHŪ: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter (2025). Lisette is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and after having lived in New York City for over 20 years, she moved to Hawaiʻi in 2011 and is a professor at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She supports the local filmmaking community in Hawaiʻi through her work with Good Pitch Local Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking, and ʻOhina Labs.

Emerson Goo

Emerson Goo is a Deaf writer, film curator, and planner/landscape designer from and based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. His writing on film, moving-image art, and environmental design can be found in publications such as e-flux Criticism, Film Comment, MUBI Notebook, Screen Slate, Design Museum Magazine, and the New York Review of Architecture. He has programmed films with the Honolulu Museum of Art, multi.projects, and the Cal Poly Film Production Society. He has twice mentored the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival's Online Critics and Creators Immersive, served on the Letterboxd Piazza Grande jury at the Locarno Film Festival, and was a Documentary Magazine Editorial Fellow at the International Documentary Association. Most recently, he was a 2026 Hoʻākea Source grantee and is the founder of UNDERCURRENTS, a pop-up microcinema/screening series in Honolulu that focuses on screening documentary and experimental film. He is also a current member of NETPAC.

Terry Hunter

Terry Hunter is the longtime movie critic for Hawaiʻi News Now. A retired television news photographer, reporter, and editor, he spent 30 years working at Honolulu’s NBC and CBS affiliates. He has reviewed films on air since 1992 and has lived in Hawaiʻi since moving to the islands in 1971.

Patty Lee

Patty Lee is a lover of film and the arts. As a hyper-local news anchor on Akakū and radio DJ for 99.9 KISS FM (Patty Lee from 10-3) she is deeply involved in media. She is also a stage and screen actor, most known for television roles in Moku Moku (2023-2024), Untamed (2026), and Magnum P.I. (2018), commercial roles for the Department of Health (2026), Lexus (2022), Spectrum (2017) and Bank of Hawaiʻi (2021), film roles in Deadly Yoga Retreat (2022) and Terrestrial (2024), and theater roles in Steel Magnolias (2025), Evil Dead the Musical (2019) and The 39 Steps (2018). She has worked both on screen as an actor and behind the scenes as a director and producer as well. Outside of the world of film and the arts, Patty is a dog mom and a mutual aid worker who was named The Gutsy Woman of the Year!

Michael McCartney

No stranger to Hawaiʻi's airwaves, Maui resident Michael McCartney has spent the last fifty years on the radio dial and local television hosting music programs, reviewing movies, and interviewing filmmakers, authors, comedians, and musical superstars. He has worked on a handful of indie motion pictures including: "The Appearing" (2014 - Lionsgate), "Addiction: This Is Not A Love Story" (2014), "Kuleana" (2017), "The Casino Job" (2009 - Maverick Entertainment Group), "Hereafter" (2010 - Malpaso/Amblin/Warner Bros), "Bacon Flavored Girlfriend" (2015), "The Last Page of Summer" (2020) and "I Want Her For Myself" (2026), along with the upcoming films "Kite Kids" and "No Matter What: The Power Pop Movie." In addition to his resume, Michael is also coming up with alibis as to why the company's paperclips are missing.

Aron Medeiros

Aron has published film reviews for MAUIWatch and currently adds weekly updates to his vast movie review database on Letterboxd. Aron lives on the beautiful island of Maui, was a former movie critic for MAUIWatch, and is a commentator and cast member of the NerdWatch podcast. He is a 2003 graduate from King Kekaulike High School. His favorite film of all time is "Back To The Future." He has worked at Consolidated Kaʻahumanu Theaters for nearly 13 years as a Sales Associate and made his way up to Assistant Manager. He has loved movies since he was a young boy, learning about movies from his grandfather and being self-taught. He is the fastest movie critic on Maui, having once written a fully formed review of Martin Scorsese’s "The Irishman" before he exited the movie theater lobby.

Braddah Tony Midnite

Here’s Akakū's Anthony Gaspar, aka Braddah Tony Midnite! Tony hosts "Da Local Show" on Akakū (both on radio and television) and "Thursday Night Frights," his cult favorite series, where he and a guest discuss horror films for 60 minutes. Tony also sports an uncanny collection of horror movie-themed T-shirts, is an authority on horror movies, and is passionate about the preservation and availability of physical media.

Greg Turner

Greg, who also goes by "G-Money," is the former co-host of Maui's former #1 morning radio program, "The Big Phat Morning Show," on 98.3 Da Jam, along with AZD and the Fresh Morning Crew. "The Big Phat Morning Show" was unique for its focus primarily on community issues and politics, as well as pop culture and the world of cinema. One of the inaugural members of the HFCS, Greg published reviews on MAUIWatch and can be counted on for an instant movie review blurb on the DVD box. Greg is also among the most consistently contrarian film critics on Maui, frequently offering a hot take that is in contrast to everyone else's. In other words, he's essential.

Barry Wurst II

Raised in Riverdale, NJ and Makawao, Maui, Barry is the founder of the Hawaii Film Critics Society. He wrote film reviews and cover stories for Maui Time Weekly/Maui Times (2006-2023) and is now the film critic for The Maui News (2025-present). Barry taught film classes and hosted student film festivals at University of Colorado in Colorado Springs (2006-2014) and now teaches film classes at University of Hawaiʻi Maui College (2019-Present). He also writes for Maui Pulse, Hollywood in Toto and ScreenGeeks.com. Barry has been published in Bright Lights Film Journal and co-hosts a podcast with his wife, Julia, called SO I MARRIED A FILM CRITIC, a strangely popular show in which he passionately tells listeners about his favorite movies, while his wife tells him why he's wrong. His favorite movie is "The Tree of Life" (2011). Barry savors the memory of when he met Wim Wenders, who doodled angel wings on his "The Million Dollar Hotel" soundtrack CD cover.

In Tribute
Jason "Phormat" David (1976-2025)

"Phormat" was a true original, a one-of-a-kind connoisseur of cinema, comic books and gaming. He was a bear hug of a man, with soulful eyes, a laugh that shook the room and a sense of humor that was delightfully savage. "Phormat" was passionate in his debating, gaming, and with his typically in-depth, even surprising film reviews. He was, along with Rick Chatenever and Greg Turner, among the first to ever be a part of the HFCS. "Phormat" was quick to defend a work of art that would later be deemed misunderstood. Art had a great defender in "Phormat," who we lost far too soon.