J Don Birnam

J. Don Birnam has been a NYC-based freelance film critic since 2014 and an obsessive Oscars fan since Titanic took the top prize in 1997. He is a member of various critics groups, including GALECA, and is a founding member of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association. His favorite film is They Shoot Horses, Don't They, which mostly describes his mood, particularly when he posts from @jdonbirnam on X or @awards_predix on Instagram

Interview: ‘Emilia Pérez’ Breakthrough Karla Sofía Gascón Discusses Her Soul-Bearing Performance and Historic Potential Oscar Nod

In Jacques Audiard latest film, Emilia Pérez, a fearsome drug lord in Mexico hires an overworked attorney to assist in… Read More

October 24, 2024

‘Without Blood’ Review: Angelina Jolie Directs Salma Hayek and Demián Bichir With Lots of Looks But Little Content | TIFF

Writer/director Angelina Jolie has shown a penchant for challenging films depicting war when she is behind the camera—think First They… Read More

September 9, 2024

‘Pedro Páramo’ Review: Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto’s Adaptation of the Classic Mexican Magical Realism Novel is Otherworldly | TIFF

Long before M. Night Shyamalan’s characters saw dead people, author Juan Rulfo wrote about a whole bunch of them roaming… Read More

September 8, 2024

‘Nightbitch’ Review: Amy Adams Goes Feral in Marielle Heller’s Neutered Adaptation of Stressed-Out Mom Novel | TIFF

‘Motherhood is a Bitch.’ So says the tagline of the new Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) film starring… Read More

September 7, 2024

‘We Live in Time’ Review: Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield Romantic Drama is Less a Tear-Jerker and More Like a Forced Extraction | TIFF

Life affirming dramas or tear-jerking romcoms should do at least one of those things—affirm life, or make you cry a… Read More

September 6, 2024

‘Presence’ Review: Steven Soderbergh’s Haunted House Drama is Quietly Terrifying | TIFF

Haunted houses are scary, but the hidden personal demons that are common in our modern society are at least just… Read More

September 6, 2024

‘Emilia Pérez’ Review: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdance | Telluride

French auteur Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez took the Cannes Film Festival by storm, winning the Jury Prize as well as… Read More

September 3, 2024

‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ Review: A Ghostly, Ghastly Tale of Growing Up During an African Civil War | Telluride

Alexandra Fuller’s award-winning memoir Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight gets cinematic treatment, courtesy of first-time writer/director Embeth Davidtz,… Read More

August 31, 2024

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