BFI Flare Review: Anna Kerrigan’s ‘Cowboys’
“Joe’s backstory allows ‘Cowboys’ to explore the difficulty of being young and trans, but never in a way that feels exploitative.”
BFI Flare Review: Marley Morrison’s ‘Sweetheart’
“The way ‘Sweetheart’ approaches the topic of AJ’s sexuality isn’t groundbreaking, but in a world where queer coming of age stories are still defined by the “coming out” part, it feels refreshing all the same.”
BFI Flare Review: Shirel Peleg’s ‘Kiss Me Before It Blows Up’
“For a debut feature, ‘Kiss Me Before It Blows Up’ is a bold and assertive movie that nails a few funny moments, but it would’ve benefitted from a more nuanced exploration of its complex subject matter.”
Review: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’
“In an era where Disney allows Marvel to experiment boldly with narrative structures in a show like ‘WandaVision,’ ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ seems like a tired old horse that needs to be put out to pasture.”
Review: Taylor Morden’s ‘The Last Blockbuster’
“Too often, the tongue-in-cheek tone veers into the empty calorie territory of VH1’s cable television time-filler ‘I Love the ‘80s,’ as subjects like Doug Benson and Ron Funches can’t resist using their screen time to test what feels like standup material.”
BFI Flare Review: Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer’s ‘Cured’
“It’s unrealistic to expect every queer film to tackle all aspects of queer life and history, but ‘Cured’ presents its narrative in a way that’s too clean and neat, too much of a happily-ever-after.”
SXSW Review: Alex Noyer’s ‘Sound of Violence’ – A Loud but Toothless Slasher
“Sound of Violence’s nonchalant depictions of violence, which occur with such obfuscation due to uncoordinated quick-cut editing and color filters, render it a fangless drama with un-engaging sequences of killing and torture.”
SXSW Review: Jaco Bouwer’s ‘Gaia’ Sacrifices Its Timely Idea for Cheap Thrills
“There are many ways that Gaia’s concepts can be expounded into more interesting discussions, yet Bouwer is fine with maintaining a simplistic if metaphorically informed tale about Mother Nature’s revenge.”
BFI Flare Review: Thomas Wilson-White’s ‘The Greenhouse’
“‘The Greenhouse’ is a cathartic and visually stunning piece of Australian Gothicism which is sure to make an impact on the festival circuit in 2021.”
BFI Flare Review: Oskar Roehler’s ‘Enfant Terrible’
“‘Enfant Terrible’ is one of the more successful examples of a director biopic, but the familiar conventions of the genre eventually do a disservice to such a talented filmmaker.”
Review: Steven Kostanski’s ‘Psycho Goreman’
“‘Psycho Goreman’ is delightfully dark, whimsical, charming and frequently laugh-out-loud funny.”
Fargo Film Festival Review: Mario Furloni and Kate McLean’s ‘Freeland’
“‘Freeland’ is a tour de force showcase for Fairchild — an overnight sensation several decades in the making.”
Review: Anthony Scott Burns’ ‘Come True’
“Stone has the look of a teenager with the earned maturity of someone who’s been through some heavy shit, which lends itself well to her teenage prostitute in ‘Honey Bee’ and works just as brilliantly in ‘Come True.'”
Berlinale Review: Hamy Ramezan’s ‘Any Day Now’
“‘Any Day Now’ is a strong contender within the Generation strand of the Berlinale, showcasing brilliant performances from Keshvari and Rönkkönen.”
Berlinale Review: Soi Cheang’s ‘Limbo’
“While ‘Limbo’ may not be groundbreaking with its formulaic detective narrative, the sheer sense of place and space that Cheang creates allows for a visceral cinematic experience.”
Berlinale Review: Céline Sciamma’s ‘Petite Maman’
“Céline Sciamma’s ‘Petite Maman’ is a luminous ghost story that succeeds in knitting together the themes of empathy, identity and imagination.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Bryan Fogel’s ‘The Dissident’
“Bryan Fogel’s new documentary about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is unsurprisingly hard-hitting, but it’s the context for macro-scale geopolitics that ‘The Dissident’ communicates so well.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Mohammad Rasoulof’s ‘There Is No Evil’
“There Is No Evil’s artistry is inconsistent, but its argument is undeniable.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Min-Ho Woo’s ‘The Man Standing Next’
“Both emotionally and narratively, ‘The Man Standing Next’ is an easy story to get lost in.”
‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Review: A Fable Vibrating with Imagination and Optimism
“‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ welcomes a reflection on its Asian-fusion design because western adaptations of Asian culture, even with visible and vocal creative Asian input, will come with a spectrum of orientalism…”