‘Freaky Tales’ Review: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Deliver An Epic Sampling of Violence and Victory in a Supercharged Oakland | Sundance 2024
It’s 1987 in Oakland. Friends emerge from the movie theater discussing what they just saw and are immediately confronted by whistles and insults from a... Read More
Film Reviews
‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’ Review: André Holland and John Earl Jelks Powerfully Delve into the Complexities of Father-Son Trauma in Titus Kaphar’s Poignant Feature Debut | Sundance 2024
Tarrell (André Holland) is a loving father to his young son Jermaine (Daniel Berrier) and a loyal husband to his wife Aisha (Andra Day). When... Read More
‘A Different Man’ Review: Impressive Performances from Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson Highlight Aaron Schimberg’s Thought-Provoking Look at the Masks We All Wear | Sundance 2024
Edward (Sebastian Stan) lives a quiet life in an apartment building that’s falling apart. His face is highly disfigured, and while he acknowledges a childhood... Read More
‘Sujo’ Review: A Quieter Take on Growing Up in the Drug War | Sundance 2024
Sujo, premiering in the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s World Dramatic Competition, is the third feature collaboration between Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez. Their previous film,... Read More
‘Stress Positions’ Review: Pandemic-Era Disaster Gays Provide More Cringe Than Comedy | Sundance 2024
Stress Positions, the first feature from writer-director-actor-composer-editor Theda Hammel, isn’t concerned about being likable. The setting — New York City at the frightening start of... Read More
‘The Book of Clarence’ Review: Jaymes Samuel’s Personal Jesus Needs to Separate the Wheat from the Chaff
The Book of Clarence is British writer and director Jaymes Samuel’s third feature film and first departure from Westerns after 2013’s They Die By Dawn... Read More
‘Mean Girls’ Review: Reneé Rapp Shines but this Plastic is not Fantastic
“What’s wrong with me?” sings Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) about 30 minutes into Mean Girls, the new film adaptation of the stage musical, which is... Read More
‘The Beekeeper’ Review: David Ayer’s Latest is Not Buzz-Worthy
The roller coaster career of David Ayer, from hot screenwriter to exciting stylist to perceived Hollywood hack after his latest trifecta of Suicide Squad, Bright,... Read More
‘All of Us Strangers’ Review: Andrew Haigh Devastates with a Masterful Story of Love and Loss in the Best Film of the Year
“Is this real?” The connections to our past can be tenuous, where we lose grasp of even simple memories or they can tether us to... Read More
‘The Color Purple’ Review: Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson are Electric but the Film Can’t Break Free from the Stage
Adapting a stage musical for the screen has tripped up a fair share of filmmakers in the past. Hew too closely to the stage version,... Read More
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 141 – ’49th Parallel aka The Invaders’ (Powell and Pressburger, 1942) 
Frontrunner Friday Oscar Predictions: The Last Battle Before the War is Won (2/27/26) 
‘Sinners’ Leads 57th NAACP Image Awards with 9 Going Into Final Night 
Producers Guild (PGA) and Screen Actors Actors Guild (SAG) Awards Television Predictions: Stop Me If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before