For the sake of transparency, I want to start by making it clear that I am not the ideal audience for this film. While Eat Wheaties! may aspire to being a humorous commentary on popular culture and the cult of celebrity, I found the social critique rather thin. In the end, Eat Wheaties! came a bit too close to making light of stalking and harassment for my taste. There are plenty of people out there who…
Directed by Johan von Sydow, Tiny Tim: King for a Day is the story of Herbert Khaury. A social outcast from childhood, Khaury grows up to become Tiny Tim, one of the most unexpected and unusual pop stars of the 1960s. With long hair, a falsetto voice, and a ukulele, Tiny Tim was seen by many as a freak for defying social norms. Tiny Tim: King for a Day argues that Tiny Tim’s insistence on…
Strong performances and intimate cinematography elevate an otherwise so-so drama in writer/director Kerem Sanga’s The Violent Heart.
Like many horror films, Know Fear begins with a house – a house with a dark past. Shortly after Wendy (Amy Carlson) and Donald (David Alan Basche) move into the house, Wendy begins experiencing strange sensations that overwhelm her. The family learns that Wendy has been possessed by a demon, and the only way to save her is to use a book to enact a ritual that will allow different members of the family to…
At a time when drag has made its way into mainstream media (thanks, in no small part, to the Emmy winning reality television show Ru Paul’s Drag Race), Jump, Darling stands as a much-needed antidote to the commodification of an art form that was created by and for queer and trans people. It isn’t a bad thing that straight folks these days know what a death drop is, but at times it does feel as…
Directed by Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, The Bone Collector, Rabbit-Proof Fence), Above Suspicion is a fast-paced thriller based on the true story of a young Kentucky woman, Susan Smith (Emilia Clark), who becomes an up-and-coming FBI agent’s star informant.
The World to Come, the second feature from Norwegian filmmaker Mona Fastvold (The Sleepwalker), is a plodding meditation on love and grief that is salvaged from mediocrity by the palpable chemistry between its lead actors. Still, the film doesn’t offer much that is fresh of exciting and rehashes some tired lesbian period piece tropes.
The Sinners is a messy blend of gothic teen-thriller and slasher horror that bites off more than it can chew with a convoluted plot and a cringe-worthy narrator.
Written by Justin Benson and directed by Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Synchronic is the filmmakers’ follow-up to 2017’s The Endless and boasts the same brand of trippy, time-travelling science fiction.
Written and directed by Victor Neumark, First Blush is the story of a young married couple, Nena (Rachel Alig) and Drew (Ryan Caraway), who decide to open up their relationship after they meet a beautiful young actress named Olivia (Kate Beecroft). For a feature film debut, First Blush is passable and hints at Neumark’s talent for exploring complex interpersonal dynamics. However, as a depiction of polyamory, it misses the mark.