I love lesbian romance movies. Please, hear me out before you think I’m a total sleaze. As a gay man, there’s no “entry point” for me in queer love stories involving two women. I am taken out of contention to… Read More ›
drama
Quinn Else’s short film “Fort Irwin” does more to convey social responsibility and personal health than most features.
There’s an unflinching aspect of writer/director Quinn Else’s short film, Fort Irwin, which makes it a film audience may be unprepared for. Working across multiple levels, Fort Irwin is first a story about a veteran still dealing with his trauma… Read More ›
Alice Waddington’s “Paradise Hills” uses a fairytale motif to demolish the chains of the patriarchy.
Throughout the centuries there’s been one constant: women get the short-end of everything. They’re expected to be virginal, yet sexual; wise, yet naïve; knowledgeable, yet silent. They are instructed through social norms on how to comport themselves publicly and privately…. Read More ›
Through nuance, “Marriage Story” blooms into full emotional devastation. [Film Fest 919]
Soulmates are bullshit and you know it. The idea that there is a single person for you in the entire world only for you is laughable at the very least. There are dozens of people in your town who you… Read More ›
Andrew de Burgh’s “The Bestowal” is a journey of self–reflection through the examination of humanity.
When most films are focused on action, there’s something to be said for a film more interested in dialogue over everything else. A stripped down, bare bones, minimalistic tale where the audience sits and listens as ideas are presented and… Read More ›
The special features make “Shaft” (2019) worth picking up on home video.
A social and cultural shift took place shortly after Shaft hit theaters in 1971. Inspired by Ernest Tidyman’s novel and with influence from director Gordon Parks and actor Richard Roundtree as the titular character, Shaft became more than a household… Read More ›
Writer/director Aaron Schimberg’s “Chained for Life” successful satirizes the cinematic tropes of the disabled with charm, grace, and humanity.
There’s much about writer/director Aaron Schimberg’s (Go Down Death) Chained for Life that is striking. It’s the languid storytelling; the direction which shifts between extended still long takes and listless, flowing movements; and the endless sensation of a persistent dream-like… Read More ›
“Neither Wolf Nor Dog” challenges our unconscious bias in an adaptation of the award-winning book.
There are many ways to deal with the past. For some, it’s easier to move on and look to the future rather than process deeds done. For others, ignorance is a way of life, though it doesn’t excuse them from… Read More ›
Techno-thriller “Empathy, Inc.” puts the question of identity up for examination.
The things we want out of life don’t often go the way we planned. Sometimes it feels like planning is just a way people go about trying to control an outcome. Even now, with apps, gadgets, and tech of all… Read More ›
Be careful when you peel back the layers in “Freaks,” what looks back may frighten.
After spending some time on the festival circuit in 2018, and providing a fan screening during 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con, genre-bending Freaks finally gets the theatrical treatment. Freaks relies far more on character work than action and writing/directing team Zack… Read More ›