It’s no secret that Suspiria is one of my favorite films of all time, with the 2018 remake just ever so slightly edging out the 1977 original thanks to its expansion on the film’s themes and plot to make something… Read More ›
Film Fest 919
“The Aeronauts” doesn’t seek to exist as a quiet, introspective costume drama, but as an adventure of the grandest scale imaginable. [Film Fest 919]
Whatever happened to wonder in films? Whatever happened to the sweeping scores layered over long, grand shots of adventure and peril? Why does everything feel so commercialized and insincere nowadays? I feel like whenever big blockbusters make you feel something,… Read More ›
If you want a Prestige Picture, look elsewhere. If you’re in the mood for some fun, then it’s hail to “The King.” [Film Fest 919]
The idea of another prestige period drama is almost physically exhausting to my body at this point. Hell, The King isn’t even the first prestige period drama for Netflix in the last year, with David Mackenzie’s admirable, but not heavy-hitting,… Read More ›
“Honey Boy” is both brave and admirable, even if hard to reconcile. [Film Fest 919]
The world is a cruel place, and we are a cruel people within it. We love to put others down for the sake of making our own selves feel better, and we’ve all done it at some point or another…. Read More ›
“The Report” has all the makings of a bombshell political drama without the pizzazz or flare. [Film Fest 919]
There’s an argument today that everything is hyper-politicized, from our news to our movies to the signs lining the freeway during our daily commute. It’s a hard thing to escape and being exposed constantly to it can rightfully feel exhausting…. Read More ›
Fabulous performances and beautiful aesthetics aren’t enough for “Sorry We Missed You.” [Film Fest 919]
In a new world where mega-corporations run the world and are bigger than ever before, it’s becoming harder to levy legitimate criticism towards these parables of late-stage capitalism because…well…these corporations also own distribution companies. Amazon has its own Amazon Studios… Read More ›
“Waves” is an utterly transportive experience as it presents the ups and downs of pure love. [Film Fest 919]
“Stick to what you know” is something we’re told as kids to keep us stuck to the ways we’re used to and to not question authority, keeping us confined. It’s an adage that unfortunately sticks in many of our minds… Read More ›
Craig Brewer’s “Dolemite is My Name” is an absolute joy from beginning to end. [Film Fest 919]
Everyone loves a good comeback story. Everyone cheered when Rudy made that touchdown at the end of Rudy, everyone loves Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and today, we get to celebrate not only one, but two,… Read More ›
Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria)” is a quiet, intimate, and retrospective piece. [Film Fest 919]
There are certain filmmakers who simply embody the essence of what their country, culture, and style are at their core; that the sheer mention of their name conjures a body of work worthy of showing off as the crème de… Read More ›
Taika Waititi’s period comedy “Jojo Rabbit” lacks the bite satire requires. [Film Fest 919]
It used to be that everyone agreed that the Nazis were bad. It was one of the world’s universal truths, but unfortunately, because everything today has to be terrible and awful at all times, we’ve re-entered the age of neo-Nazism… Read More ›
Fernando Meirelles’s “The Two Popes” explores the push-pull involved in church reformation via the conversation of two old men. [Film Fest 919]
In another life, I swear I’d be Catholic. Of course, I’m too much of a dirty sodomite to get away with it in this life, but something about the sheer pageantry of it all feels more like drag than RuPaul’s… Read More ›
James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari” exudes cool, placing his undeniable stamp on the car film genre. [Film Fest 919]
Despite my aversion to the complexity of the vroom-vroom-crashy-crashy machines called “cars” today, there was once a time I was obsessed with automobiles. I had every Matchbox car under the sun and, as a three-year-old, I could talk a car… Read More ›
“Motherless Brooklyn” possesses a strong statement on gentrification, which is mired by cliché noir tropes and bland filmmaking. [Film Fest 919]
Being from Durham, North Carolina, I have seen a lot of changes happen in my city over the last few years. Durham kept a large, mostly black, working-class population due to the employment of so many citizens at the tobacco… Read More ›
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu)” is unlike anything else released in 2019. [Film Fest 919]
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 ›
“Bacurau” is a unique experience hurt by total tonal inconsistency. [Film Fest 919]
Let’s spare the fluff. Out of the gate, it’s hard to describe Bacurau in a concise manner. It’s many things working in tandem to create something of a hybrid that the world has never seen before. A ton of filmmaking… Read More ›
Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency” forges a trail through the pale abyss of state-sponsored executions from the damning and the damned. [Film Fest 919]
The death penalty is currently one of the most densely nuanced topics in American society, an issue that presents both moral, economical and judicial stakes that present a bevy of arguments from a range of viewpoints across a vast spectrum…. Read More ›
“Parasite” exists to torture your brain and you’ll love every painful second of it. [Film Fest 919]
South Korea is a country technically younger than Helen Mirren, smaller than the state of Kentucky, with a population slightly higher than the state of California. Yet, when it comes to countries leading the way in the realm of technology,… 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 ›
Underneath the tough material of “By the Grace of God (Grâce à Dieu),” audiences will discover something far more gentle and loving.
“A priest, a rabbi and an imam walk into a bar…,” a setup to many jokes heard worldwide. Sometimes, the jokes are funny. Other times they might be offensive, but you’ve heard at least one that somehow pertains to the… Read More ›
Dark drama “Everybody Knows” focuses on character to create a compelling and beautiful film. [Film Fest 919]
Representing EoM as press, contributor Hunter Heilman attended the first annual Film Fest 919 in Raleigh, NC, to review several films that are either in limited release now or are yet to be released. For a filmmaker, at least from… Read More ›