Each of us has a window of time in our mind that tells us how long is appropriate between films, sequels specifically. Release one too soon and you run the risk of the new film being too heavily compared to… Read More ›
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Documentarian Sébastien Lifshitz’s “Petite Fille (Little Girl)” invites us to understand one girl’s story of personal acceptance.
When it comes to parenting, there is no rule book, no grade scale, no metric which immediately determines if a child will grow up happy and healthy or feeling less-than. Despite all the books that have been written by countless… Read More ›
“Emily the Criminal” eschews the familiar thriller trappings, decrying the subjugation of self, making for a memorable heist of identity. [Sundance Film Festival]
From May 11th, 2016 – August 19th, 2018, there was a one-man Broadway show titled In & Of Itself in which actor/magician/trickster Derek DelGaudio first challenged his audience to pick a single word identifier for themselves to finish the phrase… Read More ›
The answer to Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro’s rom-com “Am I OK?” is you will be. [Sundance Film Festival]
Whoever started the narrative that you’ll have yourself figured out by the end of your 20s should be drawn and quartered. Especially as the way in which the world has changed commercially, the expectation that someone will go to school,… Read More ›
Vietnamese childrens’ story “Maika” doesn’t tread any path you haven’t trod, but that doesn’t make it any less fun or emotional. [Sundance Film Festival]
A young boy struggling with loss. An outsider who brings the opportunity for healing. A journey that mixes the fantastic with the real. This describes any number of child-centered stories from cinematic classics like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and The… Read More ›
Sci-fi drama “After Yang” asks the audience to consider what we miss when distracted by our lives. [Sundance Film Festival]
Trigger Warning: After Yang contains scenes involving strobing. If you have any kind of light sensitivity, be advised that this pertains to the credit sequence and an intermittent exploratory sequence. Connection. Connection appears to be a universal need at almost… Read More ›
Once you find “Something in the Dirt,” the compulsion to explore it will never leave you. [Sundance Film Festival]
Creative multi-hyphenates Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have a fascination with the line between the explained and the unexplainable, crafting stories that walk the line on a razor’s edge. This continues with their fifth feature film, Something in the Dirt,… Read More ›
Danish horror “Speak No Evil (Gæsterne)” is pure nightmare fuel, powered by interpersonal tension and full-fledged dread. [Sundance Film Festival]
“I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself” – Kim Cattrall I like to believe I’m a pretty friendly person. My mother raised me that way. I’m inclined to view the… Read More ›
Director Riley Stearns’s duplicitous “Dual” is a deceptively disarming droll deposition delving into diacritic distinction. [Sundance Film Festival]
Last at Sundance with his short The Cub (2013), writer/director Riley Stearns is back and brought his new feature film Dual which is, at a glance, a science fiction film in which a woman faced with losing her life must… Read More ›
Phyllis Nagy’s “Call Jane” is an amalgamation of truth events which will hopefully get people talking about the past to preserve the present. [Sundance Film Festival]
At the time of this writing, January 22nd, 2022, it is the 49th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, a court case which ruled in favor of a woman’s right to privacy and governmental inclusion when choosing to abort a pregnancy…. Read More ›
Amid the discord, Jesse Eisenberg’s feature-length directorial debut “When You Finish Saving the World” finds bittersweet harmony. [Sundance Film Festival]
Over the course of his career Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg has played many roles. He’s been a nebbish hero (Zombieland), a sociopath (The Social Network), a stoner badass (American Ultra), and the greatest criminal mind of the DCEU (Batman v…. Read More ›
Director/co-writer Ryoo Seung-wan’s “Escape from Mogadishu” brings hope amid horror home.
Director/co-writer Ryoo Seung-wan’s 16th film and South Korea’s submission for the 94th Academy Awards, Escape from Mogadishu, is a reconstruction of events during the Somali Civil War (currently still on-going). It’s a film which didn’t make the shortlist of nominees… Read More ›
Saying goodbye in “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” doesn’t mean forever. Just, for now.
All things come to an end and it seems that even immortal monsters have to say goodbye so that something new can begin. This is the relative theme coursing through the fourth, and reportedly final, installment of Sony Picture Animations’s… Read More ›
The bonus features accompanying Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part One” delight longtime fans while enriching the experience of the novice.
There are some works of science fiction that never seem to let go once they get their grasp on society. William Gibson’s Neuromancer was published in 1984, but it still felt just as vital and prescient when I read it… Read More ›
Director Ridley Scott’s debate-worthy “The Last Duel” makes plain the fallacy of male superiority.
Trigger Warning: The film The Last Duel is centered on a rape. As such, the content of the film may be difficult to discuss without bringing up specifics that may be triggering to some individuals. More and more it seems… Read More ›
Despite the stylishly atmospheric setting and solid performances, “Antlers” can’t rise above weak screenplay elements.
Scott Cooper’s Antlers was one of my most anticipated films of 2020, back when it was still going to be released under the Fox Searchlight Pictures banner. Its trailer spoke to me in a haunting, beautiful voice that let me… Read More ›
No more waiting on a miracle. “Encanto” is available for home viewing.
Walt Disney Studio’s 60th animated film released in November with the same promise of any of its predecessors: 90-ish minutes of adventure, magic, and wonder. Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard (Zootopia) and co-director Charise Castro Smith (who shares co-writing… Read More ›
Own the final issue of “The French Dispatch” on home video.
Wes Anderson’s 10th film is about as Wes Andersony as it gets. To this point in his career, I’d argue that it’s also the *most* Wes Andersony, for good or for bad. This has delighted his fans (many of whom… Read More ›
“The Matrix Resurrections” offers a celebration of what was and a rebirth all at once.
In 1999, a question was posed that would have an unexpected impact on cinema and my life as a cinema-goer for years to come: “What is the Matrix?” It’s little more than tagline, a simple query that also serves as… Read More ›
Choose friendship, even when “Ron’s Gone Wrong.”
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” No matter how much we rely on technology to do things for us, we often lose a little piece of ourselves in the process. Sure, we may remember things more… Read More ›