★★★★ Based on the novel by Philippe Besson, Lie with Me is a passionate, delectable queer drama that blends coming-of-age romance with poignant messaging about adulthood. Paramount at the center of its two converging timelines are themes of love and longing. A rich script penned by writer/director Olivier Peyon weaves a poignant longing and rich … Continue reading BFI Flare 2023: Lie With Me
TV Review: Up Here
Being a major sucker for a good musical, I will watch literally any one of them that comes my way. In terms of the television format, an absolute obsession over Glee, Smash, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was kind of a no-brainer. Along comes Hulu’s Up Here which, to my surprise, could easily join the pantheon of … Continue reading TV Review: Up Here
SXSW 2023: Peak Season
★★★★ (Written by Intern, Wyatt Frantz) Peak Season is a beautifully meditative sophomore film from Henry Loevner and Steven Kanter that displays how the Midwest and life's fleeting relationships can be a beautiful thing. Using cinematic minimalism and the Wyoming mountaintops to their advantage, a new light is shone on the “city folk meets country … Continue reading SXSW 2023: Peak Season
TV Review: You – Season 4, Part 2
Thank the stars above that Netflix decided to only have a one-month gap in between half-seasons. You Season 4 Part 2 is the show at peak greatness. Delivering twist after twist may be like second nature at this point, but the grandness of the shocking turn taken only two episodes into this welcome return-to-form left … Continue reading TV Review: You – Season 4, Part 2
Film Review: Of An Age
★★★★ Queer dramas frequently fall into trope territory, often without even doing so on purpose. How many times have we seen coming out stories, forbidden romances, or “bury your gays” cliches? Thankfully, the new film from writer/director/editor Goran Stolevski does not fall into any of these familiar patterns. Set in the summer of 1999, Of … Continue reading Film Review: Of An Age
Film Review: Emily
★★ Emily was a film I had been anticipating for what felt like eons, debuting all the way back at 2022’s Toronto International Film Festival. A simple period piece romance was expected, and Emily is absolutely not that kind of movie. Writer/director Frances O’Connor depicts a bleak and painfully slow biographical drama with little stylistic … Continue reading Film Review: Emily
Film Review: At Midnight
★★★ Classic rom-com and old Hollywood vibes abound in silly, adorable At Midnight from co-writer/director Jonah Feingold. As he did before with Dating & New York, Feingold easily pays homage to the romantic comedies of yesteryear while putting his own delicious stamp on the genre. If he has more in store, I would love to … Continue reading Film Review: At Midnight
Film Review: Your Place or Mine
★★★ Rom-coms are true comfort food, and in the same breath, they elicit some of the laziest scripts by virtue of their almost insistent happy ending scenarios. For its credit, in a change of pace, Netflix’s Your Place or Mine does at least save the actual romance part for the last ten minutes. Whether this … Continue reading Film Review: Your Place or Mine
TV Review: You – Season 4, Part 1
During its unexpected journey in the transition from being an overlooked Lifetime gem to an unexpected Netflix smash hit, creepy romance/thriller You evolved beyond its Dexter counterpart and into something truly special. Season three ended in a sort of reset, appearing to promise that Joe (Penn Badgley) would be stalking librarian Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) and … Continue reading TV Review: You – Season 4, Part 1
Film Review: She is Love
★★ Frequently frustrating yet not without its charms, She is Love ultimately fails to impress. One big missed opportunity after another hang over the film like an ugly scab that cannot be ignored. The mismatched coupling at the center may be to blame. However, both Haley Bennett and Sam Riley are also host to the … Continue reading Film Review: She is Love