★★★ A selection from the 2019 SXSW Film Festival, Alice is supercharged by a great turn from Emilie Piponnier as the title character. However, it is very lacking in a dramatic and narrative sense. It is about Alice (Piponnier), who finds out the hard way that she is broke and on the verge of homelessness. … Continue reading Film Review: Alice
Film Review: Deep
★★★★ Coming soon to Netflix’s neverending collection of titles, Thai thriller Deep carries impressive script pedigree and a perfectly cast roster of quirky characters. It is a modern slice of fun, a foreign take on Flatliners that dives into an elusive and bizarre facet of human biology. How long can a person go without shut-eye? … Continue reading Film Review: Deep
Cannes 2021: Zero Fucks Given
★★ (Written by Allison Brown) Zero Fucks Given (Rien à foutre), the debut feature of directing duo Julie Lecoustre and Emmanuel Marre, truly gives zero fucks about offering up a compelling story. Although there is some interesting commentary, it is depicted without flair or flourish. The French drama meanders slowly through a narrative chronicling the … Continue reading Cannes 2021: Zero Fucks Given
Film Review: Here Comes Your Man
★★★★ From TLA Releasing, curators of such bonafide gay classics as Latter Days and Another Gay Movie comes your new favorite romance! Here Comes Your Man is an intimate and extensive examination of one surprising gay relationship from top to bottom (no pun intended). Hailing from writer/director Omar Salas Zamora, the sexually-charged drama follows Aaron … Continue reading Film Review: Here Comes Your Man
Cannes 2021: Medusa
★★ Medusa is quite possibly one of the strangest horror films I have ever watched, and I have seen a hell of a lot of them. It tries to follow in the footsteps of Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria, the nearest movie tonally, but it does not come close to nailing the right level of both drama … Continue reading Cannes 2021: Medusa
Film Review: Pig
★★★ Often with the most anticipated movies, like 2021’s Michael Sarnoski-directed Pig, I find that reality is simply not up to snuff to reach expectations. Any Nicolas Cage movie is cause for screams of rage and excitement, similar to the type of performance I have grown to expect from the actor. This late in his … Continue reading Film Review: Pig
Film Review: Meander
In good company with films like Cube and this year’s intense sci-fi thriller Oygen, Meander takes a small-scale setting and seasons it with disturbing imagery, shifting panels, claustrophobia, and decaying flesh. It is a horror puzzle box that will keep you hooked till the very end, lovingly crafted by writer/director Mathieu Turi. Lisa (Gaia Weiss) … Continue reading Film Review: Meander
Film Review: Long Story Short
★★ Long Story Short is a disposable, time-jumping romantic dramedy, with a general premise that doesn’t seem as novel as it did before. By this point, I am so burned out from time-jumping, day-repeating, and throwaway rom-coms. A fresh spin on a tired formula is always welcomed with open arms; however, Long Story Short does … Continue reading Film Review: Long Story Short
Film Review: Zola
★★ Based on a series of tweets chronicling how “me and this bitch here fell out,” Zola lacks the stylistic craftsmanship that could have made this strange story crackle and pop. It plays out as if you are just reading the Twitter thread that inspired it, and it sadly works better on paper, where your … Continue reading Film Review: Zola
Frameline 2021: Firebird
★★★★ Imagine, if you will, a tense time where if the Air Force discovered one was in a same sex relationship, it was grounds to be locked away in prison for five years. Set under the domineering Soviet regime at the height of the Cold War, Firebird is a beautifully made love story that tugs at … Continue reading Frameline 2021: Firebird