AwardsWatch - Film Festivals

‘Ali & Ava’ review: A well-rounded, typically British, social realist study [Grade: B] (London Film Festival)

Ben Rolph October 13, 2021

Coming off the Ruth Wilson-starring film Dark River, Clio Bernard’s new film, Ali & Ava, is a sensitive exploration of two complexly troubled people, who... Read More

‘Great Freedom’ review: Franz Rogowski is transformative in this sombre period prison drama [Grade: A-] (London Film Festival)

Jack King October 13, 2021

Take it from someone who has lived here for all of his twenty-five years: Englanders, for the most part, are so blinded by exceptionalism as... Read More

‘The Tender Bar’ review: Ben Affleck raises the bar in George Clooney’s largely inept newest directorial outing [Grade: D+] (London Film Festival)

Jack King October 11, 2021

When you’re at a festival populated by indie slow-burners, a maudlin, easy-to-watch soap opera can be a wonderful, soupy balm. Just before the pandemic sent... Read More

‘The Humans’ review: Richard Jenkins and Jayne Houdyshell marvel in the year’s most haunting film – Nashville Film Festival [Grade: A]

Jacob Throneberry October 9, 2021

Play to film adaptations have always been a thing, but it seems like over the past few years they have really started to become a... Read More

‘Luchadoras’ review: A haunting film that goes behind the mask with the female wrestlers of Juárez [AFI Docs]

Carson Timar June 26, 2021

Luchadoras is a powerful look at standing up to threats and finding pride and power in one’s identity and strength. A fundamental piece of Mexican... Read More

Review: ‘Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain’ honors the legacy and vibrant spirit of a brilliant but broken soul

Dewey Singleton June 16, 2021

When one thinks of Anthony Bourdain it’s easy to fall in love with the image of a towering man who went to all corner of... Read More

New Directors/New Films Festival review: In ‘Short Vacation,’ the end of the world is just the beginning

Amelia Merrill May 7, 2021

If you knew that the number of photos you could take on your phone on any given day was limited, and that instead of deleting... Read More

New Directors/New Films Festival Review: ‘All Light, Everywhere’ teaches us how to see

Amelia Merrill April 30, 2021

Theo Anthony’s experimental documentary All Light, Everywhere confronts you with images you might not want to see: An inside look at someone’s sinewy optic nerve;... Read More

Film Review: ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ is a personal, pulse-pounding adventure

Film Festivals

Film Review: ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ is a personal, pulse-pounding adventure

Nguyên Lê March 1, 2021

Kumandra, the setting of Raya and the Last Dragon, is fictional, but it is also not. It is not on any map, but one can... Read More

Amplify! Film Fest review: Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut ‘Falling’ is misguided and reductive

Alistair Ryder November 13, 2020

It’s truly remarkable just how much Viggo Mortensen has mellowed out over time. After reinventing himself as a darling of the gritty arthouse following the... Read More

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