★★★★ (Written by Intern, Miranda Zampogna) Bubbling to the surface, The Assessment examines how the suffocating weight of parental expectation can warp even the most well-intentioned nurturers. Director Fleur Fortuné's remarkable feature debut plunges into a meticulously crafted near-future dystopia where parenthood is a privilege, not a right. Under strict supervision, a couple's seven-day assessment … Continue reading Film Review: The Assessment
Film Review: Magazine Dreams
★★★★ At one point in time, the rising star of actor Jonathan Majors could not be stopped. He nabbed leading roles in two of 2023's most notable films in Creed III and Ant-Man: Quantumania. His year began with a buzzy role in Magazine Dreams, debuting at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. The drama … Continue reading Film Review: Magazine Dreams
Film Review: Bob Trevino Likes It
★★★ (Written by Intern, Alecia Wilk) Opposing the drivel of half-headlines social media usually delivers, Bob Trevino Likes It offers a touching sliver of both hope and heartbreak. Tracie Laymon makes her debut as a writer and director to bring to life a different kind of soulmate story, inspired by the true events of her … Continue reading Film Review: Bob Trevino Likes It
Film Review: The World Will Tremble
★★★★ Based on a true story and set primarily in 1942, The World Will Tremble approaches the devastation of the Holocaust from an angle not often explored. While we have seen plenty about the awful concentration camps, the death camps were just as horrific in their own twisted ways. Arguably, these were even worse, considering … Continue reading Film Review: The World Will Tremble
SXSW 2025: O’Dessa
★★ A post-apocalyptic rock opera led by Stranger Things breakout Sadie Sink? What could possibly go wrong? Certainly writer/director Jeremy Gasper brings a unique visual style to the bright extravaganza of muchness that is O'Dessa. Unfortunately, almost none of it works, save for maybe the silky-smooth vocals of Sink. In the strange other-world of this … Continue reading SXSW 2025: O’Dessa
Film Review: Pet Shop Days
★★★ Part coming-of-age queer romance, part baffling crime drama, Pet Shop Days premiered all the way back at 2023's Venice Film Festival. Since then, it has bounced around from festival to festival, evading me at every turn despite my voracious hunger to consume LGBT content. Finally, Olmo Schnabel's directorial debut has arrived in all its … Continue reading Film Review: Pet Shop Days
SXSW 2025: Fucktoys
★★★★ A depraved feminine-driven journey through a 16mm dreamscape, Fucktoys loudly announces the arrival of writer/director/lead actress Annapurna Sriram. Expect grimy aesthetics, hilarious cameos, and plenty of bodily fluids—for AP (Sriram), that is just another average day in Trashtown. The mesmerizing cinematography and vignette nature of the narrative structure are accompanied by gross-out humor and … Continue reading SXSW 2025: Fucktoys
Film Review: Rule Breakers
★★★★ (Written by Intern, Miranda Zampogna) In a wide shot of the desolate Afghan desert, over Arabic hip-hop, the beat-up car of three aspiring software entrepreneurs swerves off a dusty road when armed terrorists pull up. A cut to black palpitates tension. Forbidden by her country, real-life hero Roya Mahboon’s harrowing true story follows her … Continue reading Film Review: Rule Breakers
Film Review: Queen of the Ring
★★★ (Written by Intern, Miranda Zampogna) Grappling with the glorious true story of wrestling pioneer Mildred Burke, and based on Jeff Leen’s biopic novel, comes a rousing historical sports drama full of heart. An all-star cast of familiar faces adds to the cozy southern charm wrassled up by co-writer/director Ash Avildsen. Perfectly cast as the … Continue reading Film Review: Queen of the Ring
Film Review: Seven Veils
★★ (Written by Intern, Alecia Wilk) Seven Veils concocts an intertextual drama out of one woman’s task to remount a theatre’s most successful opera. Some time after his death, Jeanine (Amanda Seyfried) is selected to reprise her former mentor’s beloved production. The performance continues to gain a darker air as rehearsals progress, and pieces of … Continue reading Film Review: Seven Veils