My personal favorites among the films I have watched in the first half of 2023: Past Lives Afire Slow Suitable Flesh Blue Jean Totem Scrapper Tori & Lokita Beyond Utopia John Wick: Chapter 4 Full Time Fair Play Last Night of Amore The Beasts Burning Days Blackberry
May December – NYFF Opening Night
Todd Haynes’ MAY DECEMBER with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore will open the New York Film Festival on September 29th. Can’t imagine a better way welcome the fall!
Fantasia Festival 2023 Curtain Raiser
Fantasia’s 27th edition is currently in session and will continue until August 9, 2023. The beloved film festival focuses on genre films, but there are always some great dramas to be discovered alongside the horror and sci-fi standouts that people will be talking about in coming months. I will be covering the festival remotely this year […]
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
Stephen Kijak’s ROCK HUDSON: ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWED, which premiered at Tribeca Festival last week, is a terrific documentary about the actor and the devastating AIDS crisis in the 80s. It is well researched and provides everything you want to know in under two well-edited hours with insight from individuals who knew him firsthand. It […]
Öte
Esra Saydam & Malik Isasis’ ÖTE stars Iman Artwell-Freeman as a NYC teacher backpacking through Turkey. It captures the experience of traveling alone as a woman in a foreign land and then steers into a direction I had not expected. This shift in storytelling might bother some viewers, but I thought it was carried out […]
Boca Chica
Gabriella A. Moses’ Dominican drama BOCA CHICA, which is currently streaming via Tribeca At Home, takes its time to arrive at its shattering revelations. The arresting visuals and young actress Scarlet Camilo, who can say a thousand words with a stare, keep us engaged until we get there.
A Strange Path
It’s only been two days since Father’s Day. It is OK to put on a movie for the occasion still and I suggest streaming the beautiful film A STRANGE PATH, available from Tribeca At Home. It has surreal touches, delightful subtle humor, and packs an emotional punch at its conclusion.
Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds
HIDEO KOJIMA: CONNECTING WORLDS is a mid-length documentary about the iconic video game designer. Many film directors and musicians praise him on the screen. While it will be of interest to his many fans, it feels like a promotional piece most of its running time. It had its World Premiere at Tribeca Festival.
Smoking Tigers
So Young Shelly Yo’s SMOKING TIGERS is a restrained coming-of-age story about a Korean-American teenage girl. It touches on class divide, having a broken immigrant family, and overall teenage angst. The emotional final scene was the highlight for me. It is now a streaming via Tribeca At Home.
The Line
Disturbing fraternity hazing film THE LINE has good performances from Alex Wolff and Austin Abrams. While it does not break any new ground, it looks fine and is completely believable. It is worth watching on Tribeca At Home if the subject interests you. It has a fine score by Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen, who also […]