★★★★ (Written by Allison Brown) Happening, natively titled L'événement, piqued my interest when it was chosen for Venice last year, and was only furthered when the film took home the festival’s prestigious Golden Lion. The feminist drama is adapted from a novel by Annie Ernaux, which details her personal endeavor to terminate an unwanted pregnancy … Continue reading Sundance 2022: Happening
Sundance 2022: Dual
★★★★ This year’s Sundance Film Festival features quite the eclectic lineup of titles. Dual, written and directed by Riley Stearns, was one of my most anticipated movies going into the festival, and it absolutely does not disappoint. The consistently fantastic Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy, Oculus) plays two roles with a committed fervor. A … Continue reading Sundance 2022: Dual
Sundance 2022: Framing Agnes
★★★ Framing Agnes is all about the reclamation of a divisive figure in transgender history: Agnes, who took part in Harold Garfinkel’s UCLA gender studies program in the 1960s. In a rather unconventional style, this film (which only clocks in at just over an hour) intersperses vintage reenactments of never-before-seen Garfinkel transcripts amongst present-day interviews … Continue reading Sundance 2022: Framing Agnes
Sundance 2022: We Need to Talk About Cosby
Can we separate the art from the artist? In our modern times, no other question seems quite as prescient, especially in regards to legendary “America’s dad,” Bill Cosby himself. An icon to many families that helped bring black culture to the forefront in popular media, Cosby left an indelible imprint on the television landscape—but how … Continue reading Sundance 2022: We Need to Talk About Cosby
Sundance 2022: Speak No Evil
★★★ Speak No Evil is bleak, potent horror that evokes feel-bad classics like Funny Games and Wolf Creek. Picked up by Shudder ahead of its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, this crazy little film is a slow-burn indie with a mind of its own. The haunting images of the movie’s final moments will no … Continue reading Sundance 2022: Speak No Evil
Film Review: The King’s Daughter
★★★ The King’s Daughter is a charming fairy tale style movie the whole family can enjoy. Director Sean McNamara, who has done a variety of films from Disney Channel originals to Baby Geniuses sequels to everything in between, directs from a script based on the novel “The Moon and the Sun” by Vonda N. McIntyre. … Continue reading Film Review: The King’s Daughter
Film Review: Birds Like Us
★★ When it comes to the filmmaking medium of animation, I am the first to jump to its defense when people try to claim they are all strictly for kids. Animation does not always thematically mean we are dealing with a children’s film. Look at nearly any of Pixar’s output, gritty anime, or even hilariously … Continue reading Film Review: Birds Like Us
Film Review: The Royal Treatment
★★★★ Mena Massoud captured my heart in 2019’s magical Aladdin live-action remake, perfectly embodying his animated counterpart. In the years since, I have followed his career from Hulu actioner Reprisal to a captivating guest spot in FOX’s 9-1-1: Lone Star. I did not realize just how much I was missing Mena in a lead role … Continue reading Film Review: The Royal Treatment
Film Review: Redeeming Love
★★ As new romance Redeeming Love opens, first to a Shakespeare quote about gold, then accompanied by twangy music and people hunting for gold in the swampy waters, I was a little unsure just what I had gotten myself into. Period-piece romances are hit or miss for me personally, as there is a fine line … Continue reading Film Review: Redeeming Love
TV Review: Servant – Season 3
The first season of Servant was a masterfully executed curiosity unlike anything I have ever seen before. Hailing from divisive creator M. Night Shyamalan, the creepy horror drama was teeming with captivating mysteries, phenomenal acting performances, and gorgeously-photographed pretentious displays of food. Now three seasons deep, Servant continues to deliver the strange and unusual in … Continue reading TV Review: Servant – Season 3