As I type this intro, the verdict to the Darrell Brooks trial has just been read, ending a weeks-long shitshow of an abuse of a public system of representation for someone who was clearly guilty (I can say that now,… Read More ›
Film Fest 919 2022
Writer/director Elegance Bratton’s “The Inspection” signals a talent to keep an eye on. [Film Fest 919]
A lot of (not all, don’t swarm me) these new kids like to think everything is peachy keen and hunky dory in the world of queerness in the modern world. Unlike so many generations before them, there are actual chances… Read More ›
Sam Mendes’s “Empire of Light” is a love letter to theaters themselves and the significance they hold. [Film Fest 919]
Empire of Light immediately had me on its side because I too work at an independent, two-screen cinema that features grand Beaux Arts architecture, an eclectic group of regulars, and perhaps an even more eclectic staff. Operating as a sort… Read More ›
Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking” will force you to examine all your contradictory ideas and make you better for it. [Film Fest 919]
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›