CYPHER, which won the best narrative feature award at Tribeca Festival did not really work for me. I would have preferred if it was a straightforward documentary about Tierra Whack. The acting was not always believable when it started going into fiction and I just couldn’t get into the conspiracies.
The Lesson
Impeccably directed and splendidly acted, Alice Troughton’s feature debut The Lesson with Richard E. Grant, Julie Delpy, and Daryl McCormack is a gripping thriller with a fantastic waltz score by Isobel Waller-Bridge. Hard to believe it’s screenwriter Alex MacKeith’s debut as well. Bleecker Street will release it in theaters on July 14th.
Cold Copy
Director Roxine Helberg and cinematographer Matteo Cocco at Tribeca Festival screening of COLD COPY, which she described as “a manipulation and betrayal thriller.” This was the ‘Wall Street’ of journalism movies. A compelling feature debut from Roxine Helberg. It was Tracee Ellis Ross’ best performance so far. Bel Powley and Jacob Tremblay were excellent as […]
Our Son
Director Bill Oliver and talented actor Christopher Woodley at Tribeca Festival screening of gay custody drama OUR SON. Christopher said he enjoyed the Coney Island scene the most since he loves the rides there. The film poses worthwhile questions about gay divorce and custody. Unfortunately, parts of the story and the written dialogue do not […]
Mountains
Monica Sorelle’s MOUNTAINS portrays immigrant hopes, dreams, and disappointments through the eyes of a family in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami. It is an accomplished realist feature debut that makes you look forward to what the director will do next.
The Good Half
Anybody who has lost a beloved parent is bound to get teary eyed at some point during Robert Schwartzman’s THE GOOD HALF starring Nick Jonas, Elisabeth Shue, Brittany Snow, and Alexandra Shipp. Films about grief are hard to pull off. This one mostly succeeds by balancing emotions and humor and not wearing out its welcome […]
The Listener
Steve Buscemi’s fifth feature as a director, THE LISTENER, consists of Tessa Thompson’s Beth answering help hotline calls from inside of her apartment. While that might not be an appealing premise for everyone, others will find it captivating thanks to her ability to bring out her character’s humanity to the screen. Her conversation with Rebecca […]
Lost Soulz
Following a group of musicians touring Texas, SoundCloud rap drama LOST SOULZ from Tribeca Festival is light on plot and is full of catchy, soulful hip hop songs. The relationships depicted on screen were maybe unrealistically conflict-free, but it is so uplifting for most of its running time, you don’t mind it.
Downtown Owl
Despite some tonal issues, especially towards the end, Lily Rabe & Hamish Linklater’s ‘80s-set comedy DOWNTOWN OWL entertained me. Elvis Costello songs on the soundtrack definitely helped. Rabe’s performance as English teacher Julia was the highlight.
You’ll Never Find Me
Australian horror YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME is one of the best looking films I’ve seen at 2023 Tribeca Festival so far. Despite it being a slow two-character single location film, it was hard to keep your eyes off the screen. Ultimately it relies too much on symbolism for my taste, but it’s an easy one […]