Category: Film Festivals

Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s THE DEVIL’S BATH is slow burn psychological horror that gets increasingly more disturbing. Even though it has the appearance of folk horror at first, it is less interested in the supernatural and more on the effects of religious extremism on the psyche. Not for audiences looking for quick thrills, but […]

Absolutely loved the humor in Michael Angarano’s road movie SACRAMENTO starring himself, Michael Cera, Kristen Stewart, and Maya Erskine, where two estranged old friends reconnect on a car ride from LA to Sacramento. Stewart and Erskine were delightful in the limited screen time they got, but the film is about Cera and Angarano’s characters and […]

Watched two of the funniest films of the year back to back at Tribeca. The first one was Nicholas Colia’s feature debut GRIFFIN IN SUMMER, an adorable coming-of-age comedy with 14-year-old wannabe playwright Griffin, played with utmost confidence by newcomer Everett Blunck. There are also wonderful turns from Owen Teague, Kathryn Newton, and Abby Ryder […]

Premiering in the Midnight section of Tribeca, Roxy Shih’s BEACON is an intense psychological thriller horror fans should seek out. It is a two-person chamber piece with the great Demián Bichir and Julia Goldani Telles. A young sailor is rescued by the lighthouse keeper on a deserted island and she is not sure what his […]

In Chilean director Vinko Tomicic’s THE DOG THIEF, a 13-year old orphan works as a shoeshine boy on the streets of La Paz. When he suspects one of his clients, a tailor played by Alfredo Castro, might be his father, he steals his dog in an attempt to get closer to him. It is a […]

Yen Tan’s sun-filled Los Angeles indie ALL THAT WE LOVE starts with the loss of a beloved pet and takes us along with Margaret Cho’s Emma on her journey through healing, forgiveness, and second chances. It’s a straightforward story with no big surprises, but thanks to Cho and Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s effortless ability to make […]

Don Hardy’s LINDA PERRY: LET IT DIE HERE is as personal as it gets, following the 4 Non Blondes frontwoman, singer-songwriter, and record producer as she goes about her daily life writing songs for herself and others, scoring films, dealing with health issues and other problems. There are interviews with Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera, and […]

Neil Berkeley’s GROUP THERAPY brings together a diverse group of comedians for a session hosted by Neil Patrick Harris where they talk about mental health and their upbringing. As expected from an ensemble that includes Mike Birbiglia, Tig Notaro, Atsuko Okatsuka, Nicole Byer, Gary Gulman, and London Hughes, there are many hilarious moments. Separately filmed […]

Mike Ott’s McVeigh chronicles Timothy McVeigh’s days leading up to the Oklahoma City bombing he perpetrated. As someone who prefers evil to be portrayed in all its atrocity, the restrained, almost neutral approach taken here did not appeal to me. That said, there are fine performances from Alfie Allen, Tracy Letts, Anthony Carrigan, and a […]

What if the machine in Cronenberg’s The Fly also cured cancer? That is the starting point of Calvin Lee Reeder’s THE A-FRAME, a sci-fi horror comedy hybrid with an amusing concept that sometimes feels like it was poorly executed on purpose. It is a good looking film and there are funny moments, but the dramatic […]