English writer-director Fridtjof Ryder’s directorial debut is a taut, well-made micro budget feature. After a successful crowdfunding campaign and production moving ahead, Ryder’s film caught... Read More
Film Festivals
The remarkable prolificacy of Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, and the even-more-remarkable spirit of subversiveness that has only burgeoned in his work since his arrest and... Read More
It is both the blessing and the burden of just about every modern horror movie that it must be about trauma. It’s not just an... Read More
Thomas Wright’s Australian detective drama stars Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris, and it’s a gripping film that is unconventionally delicate. This delicacy in the storytelling... Read More
It’s 1988 in Tyneside, North East England, and Margaret Thatcher has been Prime Minister for a year when the conservative government enacts Section 28, a... Read More
The opening frame of Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical is startling, absurd, as animation-like rays beam off of newly born children as their parents sing... Read More
Juan Diego Botto’s directorial debut pulls no swings when it comes to social realism, it is a restless drama that follows a set of people... Read More
The job of an investigative journalist is to dive deep into the fray, willing to get their hands dirty to undercover the truth of the... Read More
As long as cinema has existed, there have been “based on true events” films. George Méliès’ Joan of Arc (Jean D’Arc), released in 1900, is... Read More
From the opening scene of Smile, the feature film debut of writer-director Parker Finn, you know exactly what kind of horror film you are getting... Read More

‘Inland’ review: Mark Rylance enchants in this realistic yet enigmatic folklore-influenced directorial debut from Fridtjof Ryder | LFF
‘No Bears’ review: Jafar Panahi turns the camera on himself in powerful, subtly playful examination of limits personal, political and artistic | LFF
‘Nanny’ review: Predictability hobbles what could have been a fascinating take on the horror of trauma | LFF
‘The Stranger’ review: Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris face off in this taut, unnerving Australian detective drama [B+] | LFF
‘Blue Jean’ review: Georgia Oakley’s searing feature debut is a remarkably poignant British drama of the viciously homophobic Thatcher era [A] | LFF
‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’ review: A joyous, magical, fun-filled adventure [B+] | LFF
‘On the Fringe’ review: Juan Diego Botto’s directorial debut with Penélope Cruz is an ambitious but fractured effort [C] | Zurich
‘Mister Organ’ review: Obsession take centerstage in David Farrier’s twisted documentary about an insidious liar [B] | Fantastic Fest
‘The Swimmers’ review: Sally El Hosaini’s drama is a harrowing true tale of survival and dreams [B+] | Zurich
‘Smile’ review: Inventive jump scares and Sosie Bacon’s committed performance are just enough to carry Parker Finn’s horror debut [C+] | Fantastic Fest
FINAL Frontrunner Friday Oscar Predictions of the 2025/2026 Season
FINAL 2026 Oscar Predictions: BEST PICTURE and BEST DIRECTOR
‘I Love Boosters’ Review: Boots Riley’s Dressed to Excess Cartoon Revolution is Too Much and Not Enough [B-] SXSW
‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ Season One Review: Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer Momedy Hits the Mark [B+]