★★★★ Bullying soars to dizzying heights in Spanish horror/thriller, Piggy. After debuting earlier in the year at Sundance, it was quickly swooped up by Magnolia Pictures for theatrical distribution—it is not hard to see why. Channeling the best elements of the coming-of-age genre, Piggy presents an unconventional revenge/slasher splatter flick with heart. The fact that … Continue reading Film Review: Piggy
Film Review: Private Desert
★★★★ Those hungry for LGBT content often have to face the sad truth: there are sadly not enough genuinely great films out in past years to satiate one’s appetite. We should not have to settle for subpar productions content to deliver low-brow humor and simplistic over-sexualization. Movies that have broken the mold (such as Call … Continue reading Film Review: Private Desert
CIFF 2022 Wrap-Up
2022's Cleveland International Film Festival hosted a variety of excellent screenings, both in person and online. Being unavailable to go in person, we covered this one virtually. Check out our full roundup of films that screened this year, including links to those we have previously covered. 1991 Depicting a specific time period (expressly, 1991 Guatemala), … Continue reading CIFF 2022 Wrap-Up
CIFF 2022: Hatching
★★★★ Coming-of-age horror with a twist, Hatching is delightfully bizarre and disturbingly grotesque. With some of the best creature design I have seen in ages, the film aims to impress with a decidedly Swedish take on the ideal family. A female creative team, one that includes writer Ilja Rautsi and director Hanna Bergholm, is behind … Continue reading CIFF 2022: Hatching
CIFF 2022: Disfluency
★★★★ Disfluency stands as one of the biggest film festival surprises of the year for me so far. I am not sure why my expectations were so low, but the story sucked me in almost immediately. Writer/director Anna Baumgarten crafts a film that feels as deeply personal and cathartic to watch as it no doubt … Continue reading CIFF 2022: Disfluency
CIFF 2022: The Path
★★★ More films have been made from the time of the Nazi regime than I can possibly name, and now CIFF selection The Path is the newest. This German/Spanish drama is directed with a keen eye and attention to detail, telling a personal and heart-wrenching tale of a father and son on the run from … Continue reading CIFF 2022: The Path
CIFF 2022: The Innocents
★★★ The buzz going into The Innocents was deafening, appearing on critic “best of” lists for months on end. It was with cautious optimism that I approached this dark horror drama, hoping against hope that the end result would not be yet another overhyped, undercooked concoction emulating much better films. Little did I know that … Continue reading CIFF 2022: The Innocents
Film Review: The Djinn
★★★★ Written and directed by David Charbonier and Justin Powell, The Djinn is carefully molded minimalist horror. Fans of the most well-known riff on the djinn lore, the Wishmaster series, might think they already know where the story is headed. However, I can guarantee the pared-down intimate terror of The Djinn is far different than … Continue reading Film Review: The Djinn
CIFF 2021 Festival Wrap-Up
I managed to catch a few movies at the virtual 45th Cleveland International Film Festival, and thought it best to do a little roundup of everything I watched. This acts as a sampling of my thoughts, especially on the films I cannot cover yet in full. I have also linked to films I already viewed … Continue reading CIFF 2021 Festival Wrap-Up
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