★★★★ Adult animation is tricky to get right, and justly so. It requires a balancing act to strike the right tone, and to prove the story is worth telling in this format. I’m happy to report that Chance, the new dog fighting animated drama from director Kenny Roy, emphasizes the urgency of this topic. Being … Continue reading Film Review: Chance
Film Review: Monday
★★★★ Monday isn’t some phony romantic crowd-pleaser that’ll have everyone making heart eyes the second it releases. The drama from writer/director Argyis Papadimitropoulos weaves together two stunning performances into a kaleidoscope of self-destructive behavior, love, and passion. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Greece, Monday is an honest snapshot of navigating relationships. Examining the messiness of the central … Continue reading Film Review: Monday
SFFILM 2021: Home
★★★ Actress Franka Potente makes her directorial debut with the emotionally captivating new drama, Home. Ex-felon Marvin (Jake McLaughlin) has been in jail for 17 years after committing murder, and now he’s finally returning home. Things aren’t the way Marvin left them at all—one of his closest friends, Wade (Derek Richardson) is now a burnt-out … Continue reading SFFILM 2021: Home
SIFF 2021: Mogul Mowgli
★★★ Co-written by Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed, the inspirational new drama Mogul Mowgli sees the seasoned actor once again stepping in the shoes of a disabled musician. Zed (Ahmed) is on the cusp of a hard-earned world tour when an illness cripples his mobility. Zed is forced to move back in with his family, embrace … Continue reading SIFF 2021: Mogul Mowgli
SFFILM Festival Roundup
For 2021’s virtual San Francisco International Film Festival, I decided to do things a little differently. I will be updating with a small blurb for each film I watch from the festival, which will also be a good way to track my initial reactions and feelings about each one. Read on for my exclusive coverage. … Continue reading SFFILM Festival Roundup
SBIFF 2021: We Burn Like This
★★★ I assumed We Burn Like This would delve deeper into heritage and Judaism in its exploration of a Holocaust survivor descendant. Instead, it focuses more on the lead’s relationship with religion than with Jewish culture. The new drama, part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, is a modern coming of age story. It … Continue reading SBIFF 2021: We Burn Like This
SBIFF 2021: Coast
★★★★ Tender and rousing music adds flavor to Coast, the feature film debut of directors Jessica Hester and Derek Schweickart. On surface level, it’s a coming-of-age drama film about 16 year old Abby (Fatima Ptacek) as she figures out where she belongs in the world, while working on a hometown history paper. What does she … Continue reading SBIFF 2021: Coast
Oxford Film Festival 2021: Sublet
★★★★ Sublet is a cute depiction of gay life told entirely through the romantic lens of a flashy travel destination. When New York Times writer Michael (John Benjamin Hickey) comes to Tel Aviv to “see how much he can discover about the city in just 5 days,” he doesn’t expect the connection he forms with … Continue reading Oxford Film Festival 2021: Sublet
Oxford Film Festival 2021: Gossamer Folds
★★★★★ Gossamer Folds is a positive and uplifting drama that takes you on a spectacular journey with its phenomenal characters. Once I entered director Lisa Donato’s colorful world, I never wanted to leave. While brimming with positivity and hope, Gossamer dips its toes in the troubling waters of vicious transphobic hate crimes, adultery, transphobia, and … Continue reading Oxford Film Festival 2021: Gossamer Folds
SBIFF 2021: Broken Diamonds
★★★★★ Schizophrenia is a disease that doesn’t get nearly enough attention, and rarely do we get to see it on film in a convincing way. The most famous example is obviously Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind, which I personally find overrated and bordering on exploitative. Broken Diamonds comes at a time when exploring mental illness and … Continue reading SBIFF 2021: Broken Diamonds