“Her Private Hell” Begs for a Sense of Direction
If nothing else, Her Private Hell gives the gift of big screens still taking a chance on something weird.
“The Calling Witch” Blends Fiction & Fear
The Calling Witch is a slow burn that doesn’t rush or worry about hitting a quota of scares. It’s more interested in plumbing what it means to be a family.
“The Odyssey” Doesn’t Tread a New Path
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is an undeniable feat of filmmaking, but one that struggles to make sense of its mortal purpose.
“The Invite” is a Voyeur’s Dream
“One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.” The Invite probes the 21st-century idea of marriage, love, sex, and everything in between.
“Tender” Asks if the American Dream is Enough
Tender is about getting what you want and still being forced to wonder, is this enough?
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” Asks How Far You’d Go to Bang Jon Hamm
The premise is simple, the journey winding, and the jokes pile up by the minute. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is silly, good fun, something we need a lot more of.
Tribeca: “The Last Day” Swelters in What Could Have Been
The Last Day is hazy and heavy, like the weight of our life’s choices as they come to a frightening flashpoint.
“The Boy with the Light-Blue Eyes” is a Isolationist Fairytale Warning
Much like Wicker Man, The Boy with the Light-Blue Eyes shows the convergence of tradition, isolation, and violence.
“Supergirl” Takes Flight
Kara is a different type of hero. One who’s rough around the edges, but whose heart has the same goal. To be good. To help those in need. Supergirl will make you a summer blockbuster believer again.
“The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel” Looks at Fear’s Impact on Connection
The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel is a thoughtfully intimate documentary about life’s ebbs and flows, and the metaphorical boat we build to weather these highs and lows.
“Sender” Mails Paranoia to the Home
Sender is a paranoid horror for the modern era, one that blends dark humor and genuine eeriness to create an anxiety-twinged package of our times.
“Voicemails for Isabelle” Answers the Call for More Rom Coms
If Voicemails for Isabelle marks the beginning of a rom com renaissance, we are surely in good hands.
Tribeca: “Spin Wars” is Spinning Out
Like the Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch Kids documentaries, Spin Wars is about an industry that makes little sense from the outside, but for those who found spiritual awakening in a sweaty spin studio, it was everything.
“Leviticus” is Too Much Queer Pain
There are plenty of things to be wary about and afraid of in the world, but Leviticus isn’t one of them.
DC/DOX: “School for Defectors” Teaches a Way Forward
School for Defectors is an act of love for the kids who finally have the opportunity to fall in love with life and their parents who risked death for a chance at a brighter future. Perhaps it’s best to let one of the students sum up the film: “Love has a way of turning fear into courage.”
DC/DOX: “Oh Whale” Blows Up the Idea of Legacy
Oh Whale is a loving ode to the strangeness of life on Earth and the way twenty cases of dynamite can make the winds of change.
DC/DOX: “The Second Life of Freddie Nole” is a Life-Changing Ride
The Second Life of Freddie Nole is much like the man himself. No frills, empathetic, and light-hearted. A verité look at one man’s mission to use his newfound freedom to encourage others to use their lives for similar pursuits.
deadCenter: “What Will I Become?” is Vital for Our Times
What Will I Become? tells the viewer that there’s a future waiting for them and that it will be better with them there. Here. Thank you for being here.
DC/DOX: “baby/girls” is an Empathetic Look at Teen Pregnancy
baby/girls is profoundly vulnerable. It’s an act of bravery to share such deeply personal moments with the rest of the world in the hope of capturing their reality to ask for change.
DC/DOX: “Hell’s Army” Captures Investigative Journalism’s Power
Hell’s Army is difficult to watch, but it needs to be recognized and amplified.