You can now rent and watch many of the 2023 Outfest LA selections online. Additional films will be available to watch next Monday. Here’s a Letterboxd list of the features in their virtual lineup: https://letterboxd.com/filmfestival/list/outfest-la-2023-virtual-lineup/
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Aitch Alberto’s Outfest LA Opening Night selection Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is an affecting YA coming of age romance that is full of empathy towards its characters. Many will find it inspirational. Both leads are very believable and there is a strong supporting cast that includes Veronica Falcon, Eugenio Derbez, […]
Theater Camp
Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s THEATER CAMP is like a Christopher Guest mockumentary for theater people and they will love it. There are many inside jokes, which might prevent it from having universal appeal, but it definitely entertained me. It had premiered at this year’s Sundance and it is in theaters now.
Favorites of 2023 so far
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.