Starting out at the age of 19 to make her feature writing-directing debut, Sarah Kambe Holland, now in her mid-twenties, has made a queer themed film by and for a Gen Z audience, and the result, Egghead & Twinkie is, to use the language of her peers, “totes adorbs”. With its generous use of animation,... Continue Reading →
Ben (Shlomi Bertonov) lives in a lovely apartment in an up and coming Tel Aviv neighborhood with his boyfriend Raz (Ariel Wolf). Their Roomba cleans their floors every morning like clockwork as they enjoy their protein shakes and head off to the gym. At night they have a straight couple over for dinner, dance wildly,... Continue Reading →
Have you noticed the glut of films about innovators? Those real life dramas have met with varying degrees of success in recent years with such titles as Air, The Social Network, Tetris, The Big Short, and The Founder. We seem fascinated by the process when that spark of genius ignites or when hubris takes over.... Continue Reading →
Even if he never writes or directs anything again, James L. Brooks has already amassed an iconic legacy of masterful television and film projects such as Terms Of Endearment, Broadcast News, and the Mary Tyler Moore Show, not to mention putting his stamp on producing The Simpsons, which has been running for 34 seasons and... Continue Reading →
I’m not the world’s biggest sports fan, although give me two weeks of Olympic Games and I’ll watch almost every solo event. I enjoy watching people push past their own limits, seeing the years and years of training right there in the focus of their hard stares and that beautiful release when they stick their... Continue Reading →
Navigating the emotions of a person who either lacks self-awareness or the tools to articulate their experiences has often proved a captivating exploration in cinematic storytelling. I think of such films as far back as 1973’s Badlands to the more recent Never Rarely Sometimes Always from 2020 as examples of such tellings in which we... Continue Reading →
Growing up, my sister used to blast her records in our family living room. She’d walk back and forth as she’d listen, a ritual I guessed allowed her to really take in the music. I recall her playing “S.O.S.” by ABBA repeatedly, its pop fizz undercut by the melancholy of the lyrics. One of my... Continue Reading →
Ever since the great The Sixth Sense, I’ve always looked forward to M. Night Shyamalan’s subsequent films, despite diminishing returns. Say what you will about the final products, but he knows how to set up a provocative, pulpy premise and deliver those famous twists you chat about around the water cooler the next day. Sure,... Continue Reading →
“Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?” Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols famously asked his audience, practically baiting them to recognize that they could barely play their instruments. I’m wondering if Kyle Edward Ball considered this question of us as he released his debut horror feature, Skinamarink, which has proven financially successful, especially considering... Continue Reading →
The wonderful thing about popular culture is that everyone seems to have an opinion about something, and everyone’s opinions are correct. We all like what we like. So when, for example, I called The Menu the worst film of 2022, I was right, and those who put it at the top of their list were... Continue Reading →
