‘Predators’ Review: Engrossing Examination at How the Rise of True Crime Shows Revealed its Complicity [A] – Sundance Film Festival
If the phrase, “Hello, I’m Chris Hansen,” means anything to you, you are probably familiar with its source: To Catch A Predator. For the unfamiliar,... Read More
Alejandra Martinez
Alejandra Martinez is an award-winning writer, film critic, and archivist based in Austin, TX. She is a member of the Austin Film Critics Association. Her writing has been published in multiple outlets including The Austin Chronicle, The Wrap, RogerEbert.com, and Letterboxd Journal.
‘The Dating Game’ Review: Violet Du Feng’s Relationship Doc Struggles with the Balance of Political and Personal [C] – Sundance Film Festival
In The Dating Game, the latest documentary from Violet Du Feng (Hidden Letters, Nanking) the complications of modern-day romance are framed by a specific context:... Read More
‘Brides’ Review: Innocence is Lost as Two Girls Fall Prey to Extremism in Nadia Hall’s Empathetic Story [B] – Sundance Film Festival
When you don’t feel accepted or understood at home or in the world outside of it, where can you go? In Brides, two teenage girls... Read More
‘Train Dreams’ Review: Joel Edgerton Stars in a Moving Examination of Life’s Fleeting, Stunning Nature [A] – Sundance Film Festival
Days spent in the lush green forests of the Pacific Northwest, a child’s giggles bubbling up by a stream, a warm drink shared with a... Read More
‘Atropia’ Review: Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner Charm in Absurdist Tale of Love in the Time of the Iraq War [B] – Sundance Film Festival
Atropia exists somewhere between reality and fiction, between earnest emotion and absurdity. This title is also the name of the immersive training ground at the... Read More
‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ Review: The Award-Winning Musician Sings a Final Farewell to His Fans and For Himself | TIFF
There are only so many ways to capture an icon on film. In Elton John’s case, there are now two. In 2019’s Rocketman, the superstar’s... Read More
‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’ Review: Rungano Nyoni Blends Fantasy and Reality in Daring Story of Generational Trauma and Relief | TIFF
A car passes along a dark road at night, then stops when a body appears. The driver, dressed like Missy Elliot in the music video... Read More
‘The Life of Chuck’ Review: Mike Flanagan’s Offbeat Stephen King-Based Tom Hiddleston Drama Mostly Hits the Mark | TIFF
“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)” So goes Walt Whitman’s classic poem “Song of Myself.”... Read More
‘The Substance’ Review: Coralie Fargeat Feeds Us Moore Gore in Blood-Soaked Rumination on Female Body Image | TIFF
Women know body horror all too well. Before we can even really grasp what they mean, the standards embedded in us tell us our bodies... Read More
‘The Last Showgirl’ Review: Gia Coppola Gives Pamela Anderson the Role of a Lifetime in a Performance of Tenderness and Grace | TIFF
There is a scene towards the latter half of Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl that encapsulates the lonely, tender heart of the film. Shelley (Pamela... Read More
Academy Announces Janet Yang Endowment for Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander Filmmaking 
‘Hacks’ Season 4 Review: The LA-Set Late Night Season Finds Deborah and Ava in a War of the Words [B+] 
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 6 Review: The Revolutionary and Prescient Series Comes to a Thrilling Close [A] 
‘A Minecraft Movie’ Review: The Best-Selling Video Game of All Time Becomes Generic Building Blocks in Uninspired Adaptation [C]