In Stephanie Laing’s Tow, Rose Byrne is at the top of her game as Amanda, a homeless woman who has been sleeping in her car until a company tows it and demands thousands of dollars from her. With help from young lawyer Kevin (The Holdover’s Dominic Sessa), she works relentlessly to get it back. The script, […]
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 […]
East of Wall – Tribeca 2025
The concept of Kate Beecroft’s docufiction EAST OF WALL closely resembles Chloé Zhao’s The Rider and the film has some of the similar gorgeous and serene South Dakota scenery on display. The non-professional cast of mostly family members is much larger and they do a fine job. They are more or less playing themselves, but […]
2025 Fantasia Festival Curtain Raiser
2025 horror and genre film festival season officially starts on July 16 with the 29th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival taking place in Montréal. There will be coverage of films posted here throughout the festival. Ari Aster’s EDDINGTON starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone will kick things off. Genndry Tartakovsky’s […]
Horsegirls – Tribeca 2025
There have been some wonderful sad films at Tribeca this year. Writer/director Lauren Meyering’s confident debut HORSEGIRLS is one that manages to uplift and constantly make you laugh thanks to a clever script and the incredible performance of autistic actress Lillian Carrier as Margarita. Gretchen Mol breaks your heart as her ailing mother, who relentlessly tries […]
Sham – Tribeca 2025
I was not expecting Takashi Miike’s latest to be a courtroom drama, but the bone-chilling details of the case in SHAM keeps him in familiar territory. We spend the first 20 minutes of the film witnessing a racist and sadistic teacher tormenting one of his students. Just when we can’t hate this monster more, Miike […]
Fior Di Latte – Tribeca 2025
Charlotte Ercoli takes obsession with nostalgia to new levels in her West Village comedy FIOR DI LATTE. Tim Heidecker is hilarious as playwright Mark, who is addicted to huffing the perfume he bought when he was on vacation in Florence to bring back memories of that magical time she shared with Francesca (Marta Pozzan) and […]
Twinless – Tribeca 2025
James Sweeney’s TWINLESS has the most cleverly constructed script of any film I have seen this year. It starts out as a drama about losing a twin, and takes unexpected turns into a thrilling dark comedy territory. Dylan O’Brien and Sweeney are pitch perfect in their roles, their characters receiving both sympathy and disapproval from […]
Westhampton – Tribeca 2025
Christian Nilsson’s WESTHAMPTON is an understated homecoming drama that distinguishes itself thanks to its strong visuals and Finn Wittrock’s nuanced performance. After causing an accident in high school and moving to LA, filmmaker Tom returns to his hometown where he is not wanted. Nilsson peels the layers of the story slowly switching between the present […]
Re-Creation – Tribeca 2025
Jim Sheridan and David Merriman’s jury deliberation drama RE-CREATION takes its cues from 12 Angry Men. It’s a fictional account since the real murder case never went to trial in Ireland. Sheridan plays the wise head of the jury, Vicky Krieps is the skeptical Juror #8 and John Connors is the annoying, angry Juror #3, […]