2024 Middleburg Film Festival Diary Days 1 and 2: ‘Blitz,’ ‘The Brutalist,’ ‘Memoir of a Snail,’ ‘Better Man’
The Middleburg Film Festival is set against the picturesque backdrop of historic Virginia. The 12th edition of this wonderful event is taking place this weekend... Read More
Reviews
‘Memoir of a Snail’ Review: Adam Elliot’s Quirky and Beautiful Animated Tale is Profoundly Human | Chicago International Film Festival
There’s something magical about stop motion animation. Hollywood’s era of ever-escalating CGI tricks is over, replaced by substandard digital slop, or worse, AI-generated horrors. But... Read More
‘Joy’ Review: The Clash Between Religion and Science Over the Early Stages of IVF Feels All Too Prescient | London Film Festival
In Vitro Fertilization, IVF, is a modern miracle, with 12 million babies born out of this process since it was first pioneered in the 1970s.... Read More
‘Eephus’ Review: A Deceptively Simple, Nearly Pitch Perfect Non-Sports Sports Story | Chicago International Film Festival
Sports movies have a well-earned reputation for being inspiring. The thrill of victory, the exhilarating triumph of an underdog team, the joy of watching a... Read More
‘Smile 2’ Review: Light Up Your Face with Gladness; Parker Finn’s Horror Franchise Sequel is Overly Familiar but Boasts an Impressive Sense of Style
Smile 2, the sequel to 2022’s horror franchise breakout, opens with one of the boldest sequences you’ll find in mainstream cinema this year. We’re re-introduced... Read More
‘Three Kilometers to the End of the World’ Review: Emanuel Pârvu’s LGBTQ Story is Missing a Queer Path to Authenticity | London Film Festival
It’s no secret that not all countries are keeping pace with the most populous Western nations when it comes to progress in LGBTQ rights, which... Read More
‘The Summer Book’ Review: Charlie McDowell’s Delicate Finnish Tale Gives Way to a Compelling Performance from Glenn Close | London Film Festival
An island out at the Gulf of Finland was a haven for Tove Jansson, author of the famous Moomin books. It’s a place she would... Read More
‘Queer’ Review: Luca Guadagnino Conjures a Psychedelic, Sympathetic Fever Dream of Gay Love and Longing | NYFF
“What else could I say? Everyone is gay.” Quite an ironic beginning to Queer, Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ classic and controversial novel,... Read More
‘Blitz’ Review: A Solid Saoirse Ronan but Steve McQueen’s WWII Story Feels Too Tidy | London Film Festival
Anyone who has grown up in Britain will be intimately familiar with the narrative of the country’s enduring spirit in the Second World War. All... Read More
‘My Eternal Summer’ Review: Sylvia Le Fanu’s Debut Feature is an Intimate and Contemplative Tearjerker | London Film Festival
The Danish poet and philosopher N.F.S. Grundtvig is quoted fleetingly in My Eternal Summer. A father recites Grundtvig to his daughter, paraphrasing: “Love will never... Read More
Frontrunner Friday: First Take on 2026 Oscar Winner Predictions 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 136 – ‘Rules Don’t Apply’ (Warren Beatty, 2016) 
2026 Oscar Nomination Reactions from Timothée Chalamet, Rose Byrne, Wagner Moura and More 
AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 329 – 98th Oscar Nominations Reactions: For Good