FEATURED
Film Reviews
Film Review – Flora and Son
Ever since his critically acclaimed Once (2007), writer/director John Carney has routinely come back to explore the connective power of music. Whether it’s in Begin Again (2013) or Sing Street (2016), Carney has taken a deliberately sentimental approach in how music can heal, inspire, and draw empathy. He basks so deeply in this…
READ MORE
Film Review – No One Will Save You
No One Will Save You (2023) is one of the most effective sci-fi thrillers of recent memory. Written and directed by Brian Duffield, this is a lean, taut, and confident alien invasion movie. It gets down to business right away, only amplifying the tension the further along…
READ MORE
Film Review – El Conde
El Conde (2023) operates on two fronts. On one hand, it is a beautifully gruesome horror fantasy, in which we dive once more into the world of blood sucking vampires. On the other, it is a biting (ba dum!) satire of Chile’s most ruthless dictator, Augusto Pinochet.…
READ MORE
Film Review – Sitting in Bars with Cake
The title of Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023) is a little bit of a misnomer. Yes, it does in fact feature people sitting in bars eating cake. The film is an adaptation of the book by writer Audrey Shulman (who also wrote the screenplay), which detailed a year…
READ MORE
Film Review – Perpetrator
Writer/director Jennifer Reeder juggles several themes throughout Perpetrator (2023). Although the final result is messy and disjointed, I found myself wrapped up in the story if only to see where it all goes. This is a slow burn horror flick with a lot on its mind – from female…
READ MORE
Film Review – You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
The title says it all, doesn’t it? You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023) is not only an examination of a specific Jewish tradition, it also covers the ups and downs of a kid quickly coming of age. The transition is not an easy…
READ MORE
Film Review – The Monkey King
If Netflix really wanted to, they could place themselves firmly as one of the top producers of animated films. Not beholden to the kind of narrative restrictions of say, Disney/Pixar, the streaming giant has released some of the most interesting animation of recent memory. Klaus (2019), The Mitchells…
READ MORE
Film Review – Bad Things
Writer/director Stewart Thorndike makes explicit the influences that pervade Bad Things (2023). A spooky hotel and the violent events that happen inside of it will undoubtably call to mind Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, The Shining (1980). Thorndike makes several visual and thematic callbacks to that film, and keen observers will have a running…
READ MORE