Jump, Darling, the feature debut of writer-director Philip J. Connell, receives its international premiere at the 35th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival. On the surface, the tale of a young gay man escaping the big city to live with his grandmother in the countryside, reeks of every fish-out-of-water story ever conceived. The beauty of... Continue Reading →
Los Angeles is littered with aspiring filmmakers, some talented, while others maybe not so much. One can imagine a big fish in a little pond moving out West to discover the pond got a whole lot bigger. The resentment, especially for those whose ambition far outweighs their creativity, spreads until it sucks all of the... Continue Reading →
In the early 1990s, at the height of the AIDS crisis, I was an active member of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), a grassroots group who helped to improve the lives of people living with the virus in ways gentle and compassionate and in other ways loud and dotted with instances of civil... Continue Reading →
With such films as Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night In Miami, 2020 has given us some expert adaptations of plays. Add The Father alongside these titles as a case study in making something so stage-bound feel so beautifully cinematic. It also rises to the top of the heap of another trend, the dementia... Continue Reading →
I’ve always loved what the movies have brought to my life. The communal feeling of sitting in the dark with a group of strangers and laughing, screaming, or just dreaming together became my “church”. A long-discontinued but influential annual column called “Moments Out Of Time” from Film Comment magazine became my “Bible” and one of... Continue Reading →
When you think about a Canadian sitcom set in a small rural town with a surprisingly welcoming attitude towards its queer citizens, your mind might automatically zero in on a certain Emmy-winning juggernaut. While true, you’d be overlooking Letterkenny, which I consider a far more accepting and outrageous haven for so many queer characters across... Continue Reading →
In 2020, I reviewed a ton of films along with books, theater, and short films. I ended up seeing way more movies than I reviewed, because I enjoy spending whatever free time I have avoiding maskless COVIDiots while walking my cute doggy. To make up for it, I’ve written capsules for some of the remaining... Continue Reading →
The term “Race Records” describes a time from the 1920s to the 1940s in which Black artists recorded songs for Black audiences. Despite selling well and launching such stars as Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong, most musicians fell victim to exploitation by white record company management. The late August Wilson wrote about this conflict in... Continue Reading →
Emerald Fennell has already established herself as one to watch with credentials such as published children’s author, second season show runner for Killing Eve, and for her magnetic portrayal of Camilla Parker-Bowles in The Crown. Now let’s add maverick director to this impressive list with her stunning debut, Promising Young Woman, a film you won’t... Continue Reading →
Anyone who knows me well has heard of my utter obsession with all things North Korea. Late at night, I can be found diving deep into Korea-Holes on the internet, reading interviews with defectors, clicking on smuggled-out videos of public executions, or watching documentaries about the Hermit Kingdom. My heart goes out to the population... Continue Reading →
