I have two small gripes about the naming of Women Talking, which are my only two jokes I’m allowing myself to make about this film since it is such a serious affair. 1. I’m sad this movie has that name… Read More ›
In Theaters
Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” is so boldly unconventional, it makes this white whale of an adaptation feel somehow even more tremendous. [Film Fest 919]
Three years ago, Film Fest 919 opened the 2019 festival with Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, and I was taken. It was a much more muted affair for the Frances Ha and While We’re Young filmmaker, known for his quirkier approach… Read More ›
For all its exploration of grief and loss, Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” reminds us that everything is gonna be alright.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe experienced more than a typical reset after the conclusion of the Infinity Saga which made up the first three phases of films, ending with Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Navigating a shifting schedule due to COVID-19… Read More ›
Director Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” maintains the magic of the absurdist mystery in this setting outing. [Film Fest 919]
Three years ago, Rian Johnson’s humble follow-up to …let’s just say, polarizing… Star Wars: The Last Jedi came out in the form of Knives Out. Unlike said film set in a galaxy far far away, the consensus on Knives Out… Read More ›
“Causeway” captivates due to stirring performances from leads Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry.
At the time of her new film’s release, it’ll have been close to a year since audiences will have seen actor Jennifer Lawrence at work. Last year’s Don’t Look Up (2021) certainly divided audiences and critics, some marveling at its… Read More ›
Brandon Dermer’s “I’m Totally Fine” comedically, yet truthfully, explores the complexity of grief and healing.
“This, too, shall pass.” None of us ever really knows how much time we have. Depending on your outlook, that’s either an optimistic or pessimistic notion, one which will either spur you on to take chances or freeze you in… Read More ›
By not allowing for self-reflection, “She Said” comes off as a buzzword-ridden and self-congratulatory. [Film Fest 919]
When the hammer finally came down on Harvey Weinstein in the Fall of 2017, it felt as if Hollywood as a whole was having to reckon with the collective keeping of the industry’s worst-kept secret. Everyone knew Weinstein was a… Read More ›
Director Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” is hilariously over-the-top look at the life of Elisabeth of Austria. [Film Fest 919]
Costume dramas are far from rare, and because of that, there is a want from production companies to justify new costume dramas by taking a tried and true concept and twisting it on its head. This was made perhaps most… Read More ›
Lorcan Finnegan’s “Nocebo” plays on expectations, twisting what you think you know to present a disquieting, rage-inducing thriller.
Sometimes it only takes one film to make an impression on an audience. With his 2019 film Vivarium, writer/director Lorcan Finnegan did exactly that via a tale that takes a dark view of the life cycle, trapping a couple in… Read More ›
Paolo Strippoli’s “Flowing (Piove)” explores what resentment can do if left unchecked. [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival]
“Hell is other people.” -Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit In Sartre’s novel Huis Clos (No Exit), he tells a story of three people locked in a room together who share things about themselves, coming to a conclusion that in their inability… Read More ›
James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” is technically impressive yet emotional cold. [Film Fest 919]
In 2019, James Gray, a filmmaker I always had generally liked, unleashed Ad Astra into my orbit, and that film hit me like a ton of bricks. Taking home the gold as my #1 film of 2019, it’s perhaps my… Read More ›
Writer/director Laurence Vannicelli’s psychological thriller “Mother, May I?” is a cautionary tale regarding denial of self. [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival]
There’s an old adage that women seek out men like their fathers and men seek those like their mothers. To me, this reeks of a presumption that individuals are destined to be stuck in cycles, constantly perpetuating the same broken… Read More ›
Cartoon Saloon’s “My Father’s Dragon” is a potent family adventure that plays with the idea of knowledge and memory.
Since its first film release, The Secret of Kells, in 2009, animation studio Cartoon Saloon has made a name for itself by developing remarkable stories of adventure, catharsis, and healing through the lens of adolescence. Each of the four films… Read More ›
The performances within novel adaptation “Devotion” will ensnare your heart. [Film Fest 919]
I think we should get an ugly little detail out of the way so we don’t have to mention it again in this review as it’s a rather unfair talking point, but one that I do believe deserves touching on…. Read More ›
Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” is funny and tragic in equal measure.
The Banshees of Inisherin is the new film from Academy Award-winner Martin McDonagh. As a former visitor, seeing a film shot in his proverbial backyard is a nice reprieve from watching his previous film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which… Read More ›
Writer/director Marie Alice Wolfszahn’s “Mother Superior (Mater Superior)” upends expectations in a tense cat-and-mouse chiller. [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival]
August 2017: A group of White Nationalists gathered at the University of Virginia, carrying torches and chanting “You Will Not Replace Us.” This slogan within White Nationalist beliefs that speaks to the fear of the White race being replaced. This… Read More ›
“Halloween Ends” explores the changing shape of evil as it closes out David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” trilogy.
It all began in 1978 on Halloween Night for Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) as she survived an attack by Michael Myers (Nick Castle), though her friends were not so lucky. This story, co-written by Debra Hill and John Carpenter… Read More ›
The best way to go into “Deep Fear” is with deep silence. [Fantastic Fest]
There is something special about glancing briefly at a synopsis of a movie and solely making a decision to jump in on the film based on what the PR team decides to compare the film to. Reading that a film… Read More ›
Writer/director Zach Passero’s “The Weird Kidz” is an ode to the latchkey kids. [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival]
There’s a reason humanity refers to adolescence as “the formative years” — everything we experience, everything we engage with, shapes who we become as adults. The things we love, the things we fear, all of them are born of a… Read More ›
Fasten your seatbelts, “Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday” is an action-packed joyride.
Sometimes you watch a movie being completely oblivious that it’s a sequel to a movie of the same name and unaware that possibly watching the first installment would have shed a little light on the sequel. There are also times… Read More ›