★★★ Ben Wheatley is a popular name in horror, already delivering one film considered a masterpiece (2011’s Kill List) that I have still yet to see for myself. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Wheatley’s newest, In the Earth, which premiered at 2021’s Sundance Film Festival, before being scooped up by Neon. A complete … Continue reading Film Review: In the Earth
Genres
Film Review: Four Good Days
★★★★ Serving as an acting showcase for both Golden Globe nominee Mila Kunis and Oscar-Winner Glenn Close, Four Good Days is a harrowing addiction drama following in the footsteps of Beautiful Boy and Ben is Back. Director Rodrigo Garcia, who previously worked with Close on Albert Nobbs, clearly knows how to wring a masterful performance … Continue reading Film Review: Four Good Days
WorldFest 2021: Cerebrum
★★ Cerebrum is a sci-fi thriller that should feel like a grand exploration of the mind, Inception-style. After Tom (Christian James) agrees to assist his estranged father’s Alzheimer patient experiment, all hell breaks loose when Tom’s accused of a crime he has no memory of committing. The trial, which sees his brain and memories digitally … Continue reading WorldFest 2021: Cerebrum
CIFF 2021: Spaceboy
★★★★ Set in April of 1986, Spaceboy is a colorful and cutesy French film very much in line with the works of Wes Anderson. Space-obsessed 11 year-old Jim (Basile Grunberger) moves to a new town with his astrophysicist father (Yannick Reiner) and immediately clashes with some of the kids at school. When he is grouped … Continue reading CIFF 2021: Spaceboy
Film Review: Tu Me Manques
★★★★ Gay drama Tu Me Manques deals with heavy topics like suicide, rejection, coming out of the closet, death, and love while managing to juggle some light comedy. Rodrigo Bellott, who also wrote the play, adapts and directs this symbolic meditation on coming to terms with acceptance after death. Visually, it evokes the feeling of … Continue reading Film Review: Tu Me Manques
Film Review: The Dare
★★★★ The Dare follows in the footsteps of the “torture porn” greats like Saw and Hostel, while mixing in slasher baddie elements circa Friday the 13th and Prom Night. It’s another solid entry from the Horror Collective company, and a movie I wasn’t expecting much from, but ended up loving anyway. Set in a dilapidated … Continue reading Film Review: The Dare
Film Review: Stowaway
★★★ Sci-fi “trapped in space” films like Gravity and The Martian have set a high standard for modern stories about interplanetary travel. Stowaway, the new Netflix film from writers Joe Penna and Ryan Morrison, is a different type of tale. The small-scale film pulls together four characters in a confined space that race against a … Continue reading Film Review: Stowaway
Film Review: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
★★★ Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is a rather straightforward documentary—it’s completely comprehensive to the first part of the Sesame Street legacy. The origins in trying to reach inner city kids, and helping prepare young children for school, was something I had never thought of before watching. It touches on surprising things like … Continue reading Film Review: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
SIFF 2021 Festival Wrap-Up
This year, the Seattle International Film Festival went virtual! From April 8th - April 18th, I checked out 17 total films, and 3 short films. It was a pretty fascinating selection of unique (and often challenging) films. Anything not afforded full coverage is included here, as well as a personal top 5 favorites from the … Continue reading SIFF 2021 Festival Wrap-Up
Film Review: The Mitchells vs. The Machines
★★★★★ The Mitchells vs The Machines employs a successful formula right out of the gate: the new Sony Animation adventure/comedy is engaging and insightful well before the robots enter the picture. It molds a family unit that’s virtually impossible not to fall in love with. Moreover, its world is so energetic and colorful that The … Continue reading Film Review: The Mitchells vs. The Machines