“Films by Women: Five Movies to Watch from March (2019)”

One of the best oddball indies of 2019 to date, and one of the most daring, if not THE most daring, documentary of 2019 to date. Dig in. Continue reading →

“Films by Women: Five Movies to Watch in October”

Guys. Guys. Gals, too: We did it! We managed, for the first time in a long time, to drop a “films by women” column in the month it’s intended for! I’ll take the credit for this, but only because I take the blame for them not dropping in a timely fashion for the last few months … Continue reading →

“‘Never Goin’ Back’ Is One Of The Raunchiest, Most Satisfying Comedies In Years”

Welp, A24 isn’t really doing much to promote Augustine Frizzell’s excellent Never Goin’ Back, so I guess it’s up to me, a critic, to champion this gross, tender, raunchy, outrageous, sweet-hearted, and absolutely hilarious film. (It’s one of my favorites of the year. And one of the best I saw at this year’s Independent Film Festival … Continue reading →

“Films by Women: Five Movies to Watch in July”

July has been a wasteland of a month for films by women. Not that there aren’t films by women out there in theaters for you to watch, or at home, and it’s not that those movies are bad or anything; it’s just that compared to other months, finding those movies has proven a Herculean task, and that’s … Continue reading →

“Films by Women: Five Movies to Watch in June”

I’m not sure how I’m going to feel celebrating the 4th of July this year. I could celebrate the spirit of the country as I’d like it to be; I could mourn it, or rage against it, what it actually is. But you don’t have to! You, you, you’re lucky, you can beat the heat … Continue reading →

Review: The Year of Spectacular Men, 2018, dir. Lea Thompson

I’m in a semi-depressive funk on my birthday, so I’m going to force my way through by thinking of The Year of Spectacular Men, a delightful gem of a film where the Deutch family – Madelyn, Zoey, and Lea* – assemble like the Avengers and make us cackle at rom-com done well. 2018 is Zoey’s year: … Continue reading →

Review: The Gospel According to André, 2018, dir. Kate Novack

Don’t ask me why the header image for this review is so small. Instead, ask me why it took planet Earth so long to make a documentary about the life of eminently fascinating human being André Leon Talley, who I was first introduced to during the period of my life where I watched America’s Next Top Model. … Continue reading →

Review: Summer 1993, 2018, dir. Carla Simón

I remember dealing with a lot of bullshit and nonsense growing up as a child, from emotional growing pains to literal growing pains, but at least I didn’t have to live with the specter of AIDS hanging over me, which the protagonist of Carla Simón’s superb feature debut, Summer 1993, does. The film is startlingly lovely considering … Continue reading →

“Films by Women: Seven Movies to Watch in May”

This month, we didn’t report on five movies directed by women currently in theaters or available at home. We reported on seven. Grant that two of them, The Rider and Let the Sunshine In, expanded in May but originally came out in April; we’re sort of cheating on this one. But if they’ve only just expanded, that means you … Continue reading →

Review: First Match, 2018, dir. Olivia Newman

In its own modest, tasteful way, Olivia Newman’s First Match is a harsh watch, a movie loaded with social and political (and sociopolitical) messages that shouldn’t feel modern but do anyways. That’s 2018 for you. We’re still that country. The film leaves no trace of whiteness and makes no mention of whiteness (at least that I recall), … Continue reading →

Films by Women: Five Movies to Watch in March

Talk about timely (especially after last month’s very delayed publication of this column)! My latest spotlight on films by women is available for stuffing into your eyeballs over at Paste Magazine, featuring the mixed-bag A Wrinkle in Time (decent, not great, but definitely an influencer); the very good Oh Lucy!, a Japanese dramedy starring Shinobu Terajima, featuring Josh … Continue reading →

Films by Women: Five Movies to Watch in February

If you didn’t find any chances in February to catch up on movies directed by women, let me help you out: Here’s a list of five, per my new monthly feature for Paste Magazine. You’re welcome, America. (Sorry, I wasn’t around when this went up, so I’m behind in sharing it. Still, I’d recommend checking these out, … Continue reading →

Review: Half Magic, 2018, dir. Heather Graham

It gives me no pleasure to dunk on a movie directed by an established Hollywood actor turned first time filmmaker, especially a movie like Half Magic, which is clearly the product of personal experience and an act of catharsis for its author, Heather Graham. But Half Magic is really only half good at best. I won’t go … Continue reading →

Review: Bitch, 2017, dir. Marianna Palka

Every so often, I watch a movie for review, I like it, and as much as I can articulate the things I like about it, I…can’t articulate a fucking thing about why I like it, or what it means on a cultural or even just a niche level. That’s my experience with Marianna Palka’s new film, Bitch, … Continue reading →

Review: Angels Wear White, 2017, dir. Vivian Qu

We turn to movies, more often than not, for escape and distraction, for the promise of having our woes assuaged, if only for a couple of hours, in the calming glow of the silver screen (whether in large or small formats). Occasionally, though, the movies deny us, as in Angels Wear White, the new film by … Continue reading →

Why Female-Driven Horror Movies Are More Timely Than Ever

Gang: It’s been a gross, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. It’s been a gross, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week for a slew of reasons, but I’m here today to talk about the Harvey Weinstein scandal (which isn’t quite a “scandal,” because sexual abuse isn’t scandalous; it’s criminal). Because I am me, … Continue reading →

Best of Criterion’s New Releases, September 2017

Good news! I’m still here. I’m suffering a writer’s drought, but I’m still here. And here’s our first break in the drought: Paste Magazine’s monthly Criterion Collection round-up, this time for September (because that’s how months work). As with most Criterion months, September ’17 is pretty good, I think; I can’t speak for a couple … Continue reading →

Review: The Tiger Hunter, 2017, dir. Lena Khan

Casting people of colors in roles that demand they speak in regional accents they don’t have is insulting, but what if – what if – a movie directed by an Indian-American woman (Lena Khan!) cast an Indian-American actor (Danny Pudi!) as a guy from India and thus required him to adopt an Indian accent? I’m not sure … Continue reading →

Review: I Do…Until I Don’t, 2017, dir. Lake Bell

I rather liked Lake Bell’s first go behind the camera, In a World…, so maybe I put higher expectations on her second, I Do…Until I Don’t than I ought to have. I didn’t hate it; I didn’t even dislike it. But it’s a step back, in a sense, from In a World…, less polished, less successful as a narrative, … Continue reading →

Review: Lemon, 2017, dir. Janicza Bravo

Here it is, at long last (that is, if you think six months qualifies as “long”): My review of Janicza Bravo’s excellent debut feature film, Lemon, a chronicle of defective but self-aggrandizing whiteness, starring Bravo’s husband Brett Gelman (also serving here as co-writer; they’re a real team).  There are reasons and then some why I like … Continue reading →