Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s ‘Manta Ray’
“Featuring powerful lead performances, ‘Manta Ray’ is like a perfectly wrapped present that needs to be opened with care.”
Review: Nisha Ganatra’s ‘Late Night’
“‘Late Night’ struggles to define almost all the characters in the ensemble beyond providing the majority with a single, instantly recognizable trait.”
Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Agnès Varda’s ‘Varda by Agnès’
“Playing almost like a self-eulogy, ‘Varda by Agnès’ resonates as both a manifesto to untamed creativity and a testament to future generations of artists.”
BAMCinemaFest Review: Diana Peralta’s ‘De Lo Mio’
“While moments of grace and levity abound, Peralta remains clear-eyed about the difficulty of maintaining relationships – to people, to places, to the past – and rarely backs off from her stance.”
‘Batman’ at 30: An Iconic Adventure Film That Reinvigorated the Superhero Genre
“Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy has become THE Batman interpretation, heralded for its gritty realism. But in my book, ‘Batman’ is the better comicbook movie.”
The Western Enters the 70s – Part 2: Kicking Down the Doors
“With the Acid Western, the genre had once again proven itself capable of assimilating new grievances and anxieties.”
Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli’s ‘So Pretty’
“Tip-toeing on the smudged edges between fiction and documentary, ‘So Pretty’ is an experiment in means of representation and ultimately a tender ode to an unjustly forgotten author.”
BAMCinemaFest Review: Tayarisha Poe’s ‘Selah and The Spades’
“Poe’s direction creates a heightened but never unrealistic frame in which her characters can maneuver. Her singular, assured vision avoids stilted dialogue or absurd scenes.”
Review: Nahnatchka Khan’s ‘Always Be My Maybe’
“The rom-com isn’t dead. It was simply evolving into something more interesting, more modern and more accepting.”
Once Upon a Time in Tarantinoland: ‘Death Proof’ Is a Fun Grindhouse Detour But a Lesser Tarantino Film
“‘Death Proof’ is too singularly grindhouse, but it works as a fun, trashy flick, and a cool female empowerment story.”