Life Is A Film Fest

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 […]

Director Tiffany Paulsen introduced the Tribeca Festival screening of WINTER SPRING SUMMER OR FALL. Jenna Ortega and Percy Hynes White are very charming in this late high school/early college romance. The Talking Heads-led soundtrack is full of catchy tunes. The film’s budgetary limitations are reflected in some scenes, but that can be overlooked thanks to […]

Vera Brunner-Sung’s BITTERROOT is a slow burn indie with a mostly Hmong American cast set in rural Montana. Wa Yang gives a subdued performance as Lue, a janitor who gets laid off from his job shortly after his wife leaves him. He takes care of his ailing mother, works their stand at the farmer’s market, […]

Folk horror fans should keep Thordur Palsson’s THE DAMNED on their radar. 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 lone female in the village. There are many […]

Rachel Wolther’s THE FRENCH ITALIAN starts out as a traditional NYC couple comedy with millennials, which I was all eyes and ears for. Then the main revenge prank plot kicked in and my interest started fading. Catherine Cohen and Aristotle Athari are both funny and believable in their roles and whenever the script steered away […]

Federico Luis’ debut feature SIMON OF THE MOUNTAIN, which just won the Grand Prix at Cannes’ Critics Week, has an interesting starting point and appears to have a lot to say about disability, but it left me puzzled. Lorenzo Ferro, who was excellent in Luis Ortega’s 2018 Cannes selection El Angel, shows his versatility here […]

Louise Courvoisier’s debut feature HOLY COW, which screened at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, is a tender coming-of-age film set in the French countryside. Its pleasurable story with themes of family, friendship, and infatuation is enhanced by natural performances from the non-professional actors, a vivid color palette, and some […]