In Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun continues to explore the themes from their previous films by framing them within a slasher this time and adding plenty of humor and romance to the mix. As a result, it is my favorite of their films so far. Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson are […]
Tight Lettuce – Fantasia 2026
Harrison Houde and his co-writer/lead Dakota Daulby based TIGHT LETTUCE on the true story of one of Houde’s friends and the friend’s father, who has battled addiction for most of his life. What sets the film apart from most addiction dramas is its ability to infuse the story with comedy without trivializing the seriousness of […]
Her Private Hell – Fantasia 2026
Nicolas Winding Refn does not offer much in terms of a narrative or conventional thrills in HER PRIVATE HELL, but he delivers atmosphere in spades and a fantastic looking giallo. The constant stream of stunning imagery set to a beautiful orchestral score by legendary composer Pino Donaggio was enough to keep me engaged for its […]
2026 Fantasia International Film Festival Curtain Raiser
The 30th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival kicks off in Montreal on July 16. There will be coverage of films posted here throughout the festival. The festival will open with Nicolas Winding Refn’s Cannes-premiered HER PRIVATE HELL starring Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, and Diego Calva. The World Premiere of […]
Julián – Annecy 2026
Louise Bagnall’s JULIÁN is the animated film adaptation of Jessica Love’s beloved book Julián Is a Mermaid. The story of the 7-year-old Julián, who spends the summer with his abuela in Brooklyn, is about heritage, family, and both the joys and the challenges that come with self-discovery and growing up. The 2D hand-drawn storybook-inspired animation […]
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass – Tribeca 2026
David Wain’s Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is a super silly riff on The Wizard of Oz that finds Gail (Zoey Deutch), a naive hairdresser from Kansas, and her companions, played by John Slattery, Ken Marino, Ben Wang, and Miles Gutierrez-Riley, on the streets of LA on a quest to find Jon Hamm. […]
We Are Aliens – Annecy 2026
In his animated film We Are Aliens, writer-director Kohei Kadowaki tells the story of a brief but close friendship between two children, their subsequent falling out, and its repercussions as they grow into adulthood. It explores whether one seemingly insignificant event from childhood can ruin someone’s life forever. The use of multiple perspectives and fragmented storytelling […]
Blaise – Annecy 2026
Fans of the awkward moments in Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office will likely get a kick out of Jean-Paul Guigue and Dimitri Planchon’s adult animated film BLAISE. Carole (Léa Drucker), Jacques (Jacques Gamblin), and their teenage son Blaise (Timéo) are all conformists who don’t want to offend anyone and just want to be liked. […]
In Memoriam – Tribeca 2026
It’s hard to make a comedy about death work, but writer-director Rob Burnett manages to pull it off with In Memoriam, his first film since 2016’s The Fundamentals of Caring. Marc Maron stars as Langston Stanfield, a seasoned actor and a self-proclaimed a-hole, who gets obsessed with being included in the Oscars “In Memoriam” montage […]
Memorizu – Tribeca 2026
Miiku Sakanishi reflects on memory, family, and photography in his quiet and tender drama Memorizu. Yuta (Tasuku Emoto) leaves his wife Yuki (Moeka Hoshi) and their young daughter behind in Tokyo and heads to the countryside to help his father-in-law Makoto (Issey Ogata) at his photo studio, while he is recovering from a leg injury. […]