I’m happy to report that I actually liked Julia Ducournau‘s Alpha after making the long trip to AMC Bay Plaza in The Bronx, where it is having its awards qualifying run this week. At least some of the mixed reviews out of Cannes must have been due to the sky-high expectations after Titane. This is […]
Left-Handed Girl
Shih-Ching Tsou’s delightful Left-Handed Girl instantly became a favorite. If you’re a fan of co-writer Sean Baker, you can pinpoint the parts that are likely his contribution, but this is a women’s story and distinctly Tsou’s own film. Janel Tsai, Ma Shih-yuan, and the adorable young actress Nina Yeh portray these three-dimensional characters brilliantly. It […]
Urchin
Urchin is a very impressive feature directorial debut with a brilliant central performance from Frank Dillane. Harris Dickinson and his team make excellent use of colors, light, and zoom all the while telling a compelling story of poverty and self destruction with surreal touches. It was nice to hear Desireless’ Voyage Voyage again after Compartment […]
One Battle After Another
Others were not exaggerating. With its impeccable script, humor, performances, and visuals, One Battle After Another is easily the best film I have seen this year. Chase Infiniti, Sean Penn, DiCaprio, and Teyana Taylor stand out among an all-around exceptional cast. It’s hard to overstate Jonny Greenwood’s contribution to the film through his incredible score. […]
Together – Fantasia 2025
Michael Shanks’ TOGETHER is an absolutely insane body horror movie that puts Alison Brie and Dave Franco’s natural chemistry to excellent use. It makes you laugh, jump out of your seat, and reassess your perspective on intimate relationships while grossing you out every step of the way. The effects look fantastic, and the film was […]
Life After
After winning the Directing Award in U.S. Documentary section of Sundance 2022 with his self-portrait I Didn’t See You There, Reid Davenport was back at the festival this year with the eye-opening LIFE AFTER, which explores the right to die laws for people with disabilities in Canada and U.S. Davenport starts the film with a […]
Oh, Hi! – Tribeca 2025
Sophie Brooks’ Oh, Hi! has a lower-stakes, comedic Misery scenario going on and is an entertaining hour and a half thanks to Molly Parker, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, and John Reynolds. Just like a slasher, it might make you shout “What are you doing?” to Lerman’s character at times. There are no big dramatic turns […]
Sovereign – Tribeca 2025
Christian Swegal’s SOVEREIGN with Nick Offerman and Jacob Tremblay is one of the best films at this year’s Tribeca. I had a pit in my stomach the whole time I was watching it. It slowly builds towards something explosive that you know is coming. However, the moment is still startling when it arrives. Offerman was born for […]
Sorry, Baby
It’s not often that a new writer-director-actor comes along and blows you away. Eva Victor does that with SORRY, BABY, the Closing Night film of both Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and Seattle International Film Festival. It is a sorrowful, humorous, and ultimately comforting look at trauma and its aftermath. The character of Agnes might at times […]
The Damned
Thordur Palsson’s Tribeca Festival selection THE DAMNED is now in theaters and should be of interest to folk horror fans. In a 19th century Icelandic fishing community, the residents’ inability or even willingness to rescue the survivors of a sinking ship puts a curse on them. Odessa Young is perfectly cast as the widow, the […]