AwardsWatch

‘The Ugly’ (얼굴) Review: In Yeon Sang-ho’s Dark Mystery, It’s the Soul That Needs the Surgery [B+] TIFF

Kevin L. Lee September 6, 2025

Train to Busan’s Yeon Sang-ho returns to the low budget mystery thriller genre by adapting his debut graphic novel (Face) into a feature film. The... Read More

‘Eagles of the Republic’ Review: Behind the Scenes of an Empty, Dull Propaganda Film [C-] TIFF

Brandon Lewis September 6, 2025

If a propaganda film is dull, does it make a sound? Probably not, since the whole point of propaganda is to influence perception, which requires... Read More

‘Elisa’ Review: Di Costanzo’s Film is a Story Lost in Its Own Silence [B-] Venice

Mia Pflüger September 6, 2025

Leonardo Di Costanzo’s Elisa is a deliberate and methodical exploration of guilt, memory, and the psychology of extreme acts of violence. At the center is... Read More

‘Exit 8’ Review: The Viral Indie Horror Game Stuns on the Big Screen [B+] TIFF

Kevin L. Lee September 5, 2025

It’s always a fun and exciting exercise to see how a videogame gets adapted or reinterpreted on the big screen. Such is the case with... Read More

Jon M. Chu to Receive Vanguard Director Award from SCAD Film Festival

Erik Anderson September 5, 2025

The 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival announced today that acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu will receive the Vanguard Director Award in recognition of his visionary storytelling. Chu will be honored on... Read More

‘Driver’s Ed’ Review: Bobby Farrelly’s Middle of the Roadtrip Teen Comedy is Stuck in Neutral [C] TIFF

Kevin L. Lee September 5, 2025

Driver’s Ed is exactly what you would expect from a Bobby Farrelly teenage comedy — awkward, weird, unfunny, and shockingly tame despite all the swearing,... Read More

‘The Sun Rises on Us All’ Review: Cai Shangjun’s Latest is Often an Aimless Take on ‘Past Lives’ [C] Venice

Roberto Ruggio September 5, 2025

The underlying theme of the 2025 Venice Film Festival seems to be the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by human beings: the implications of one’s... Read More

‘Maddie’s Secret’ Review: John Early’s Directorial Debut Isn’t Quite the Gag-Worthy Parody It Should Be [C+] TIFF

J Don Birnam September 5, 2025

Once upon the 1980s there was a little NBCmovie about Kate, a seemingly perfect, beautiful housewife who harbored a dark and disturbing secret—she furtively ate... Read More

‘Late Fame’ Review: Willem Dafoe and Greta Lee Sparkle in Kent Jones’s Fizzled Fable [C+] Venice

Yasmine Kandil September 5, 2025

Sudden fame would feel unnatural for anyone—let alone Ed Saxberger, an aging post office worker turned native New Yorker. One evening, he returns home from... Read More

Chloé Zhao’s ‘Hamnet’ to Open 48th Mill Valley Film Festival, Star Jessie Buckley to Receive MVFF Award

Erik Anderson September 5, 2025

Hot off its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival last week, Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet is set to open the 48th Mill Valley Film Festival... Read More

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