Adopting the iconography of DC comics, Vera Drew’s subversive and kitschy “The People’s Joker” often feels like a revelation. Transfiguring a genre that, recently, has been oversaturated with rote storytelling and narratives, Drew’s film is something remarkable in the age of constant IP. It’s personal and more than a bit bewildering. It’s also incredibly rough, fusing together various aesthetics (live-action and animation, notably) to create a collage-like approach to a trans-coming-of-age story.

Continue reading ‘The People’s Joker’ Is A Kitschy, Subversive & Queer Coming Of Age Story [Review] at The Playlist.

It’s often unfair to compare a director’s child with their parent’s work. Outsized expectations and a tendency to reduce every narrative and aesthetic choice to a type of juxtaposition often flattens the discourse surrounding a particular voice. Sofia Coppola’s work is so radically different from her father’s, for example, that comparison would be meaningless. But it’s also hard to review a film that so obviously bears the hallmarks of a parent’s work in a bubble.

Continue reading ‘Humane’ Review: Caitlin Cronenberg Smashes Two Genres Together In Underbaked Eco-Horror at The Playlist.

Coming on the heels of Baz Luhrman’s decision to re-edit “Australia” into a mini-series for Hulu, taking an already long film and stretching it well beyond its breaking point in “Faraway Downs,” Veena Sud has chosen to do the opposite for the streaming service. Taking her forgotten Quibi show “The Stranger” — a short-form web series about a rideshare driver (Maika Monroe) who picks up a deranged stalker (Dane DeHaan), leading to the worst night of life — and reformatting it as a lean 90-minute film, Sud recontextualizes Quibi’s ten-minute episodes into a highly episodic, and occasionally bumpy, thriller. 

Continue reading ‘The Stranger’ Review: Veena Sud Re-Edits Her Quibi Series Into an Entertainingly Implausible Thriller at The Playlist.

Very obviously trying to emulate the DIY approach of producers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Michael Felker’s lo-fi mind f*ck “Things Will Be Different” is both a fascinating debut and somewhat derivation of the filmmakers’ body of work. Clearly influenced by the Benson/Moorhead aesthetic and style, and sometimes slavish to their approach in a way that makes the film feel fairly familiar, this tiny, one-setting film may bring up more questions than answers.

Continue reading ‘Things Will Be Different’ Review: Sci-Fi Thriller Has More Questions Than Answers, But Still Intrigues [SXSW] at The Playlist.

A film that invokes its title in myriad ways, Levan Akin’s newest film, “Crossing,” is predominantly concerned with the differences that emerge across national and gendered identities. A plea for trans acceptance that never preaches to its audience, Akin’s film grounds the story of trans identity in Georgia and Turkey through the narrative of two disparate characters searching for someone in a city they don’t know. 

Opening in Batumi, on the coast of Georgia, the film begins as Lia (Mzia Arabuli) searches for her niece, Tekla.

Continue reading ‘Crossing’ Review: Levan Akin’s Boundary Crossing Film is An Emotional Plea For Trans Acceptance [Berlinale] at The Playlist.

Following his claustrophobic debut “The Guilty” (remade, to lesser effect, by Antoine Fuqua), Swedish filmmaker Gustav Möller returns with a second feature that may expand its call sheet but is still confined in its approach to characters and settings. Trading out an emergency service center for a prison, “Sons” narrows in on a single prison guard and her attempts to exert control over a prisoner with whom she has a history with.

Continue reading ‘Sons’ Review: Gustav Möller Delivers A Compellingly Schematic Prison Drama & Character Study [Berlinale] at The Playlist.

A formally rigorous and free-associative dive into a decade’s worth of political fighting in the Congo, from roughly 1955 to 1965, Johan Grimonprez’s “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” is a fascinating and sprawling historical overview. Eschewing the usual mix of contextual talking heads, the Belgian filmmaker and multimedia artist instead adopts its narrative approach from the jazz that flows freely throughout the film and helps frame the political struggles of the Congo.

Continue reading ‘Soundtrack To A Coup d’Etat’ Review: Experimental Documentary Deftly Explores The Connections Between Jazz & The Congo [Sundance] at The Playlist.

An exploration of the generational trauma surrounding the “stolen generations” of Aboriginal children by the Australian government, Jon Bell’s feature debut “The Moogai” fits all the criteria of what we would, perhaps pejoratively, describe as “elevated horror.” A fraught term, and one that would need more than the length of this review to dive into, it nevertheless seems apt for a film that so blatantly makes its subtext into text.

Continue reading ‘The Moogai’ Review: Australian Social-Horror Is A Blunt Force Allegory About The Stolen Generations [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Early in Yance Ford’s visual essay “Power,” he tells the audience that the film to come either requires “curiosity” or  “at least suspicion” from the viewer. It’s the type of bold claim that might pack a punch as a rhetorical hook, especially for a documentary that dives into the cultural, social, economic, and political history of policing in the United States. But the 85 or minutes that come afterward never live up to such a sweeping statement.

Continue reading ‘Power’ Review: Yance Ford’s Visual Essay Is A Sprawling Overview Of The History Of Policing In America [Sundance] at The Playlist.

An RV park on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, faces extinction in Amy Nicholson’s lyrical, if somewhat slight, documentary “Happy Campers.” A portrait of a community in flux, Nicholson trains her camera on the inhabitants and seasonal tourists of Inlet View, a rundown park with ocean views that houses lower to middle-class residents. After the property is sold off to developers, who hope to capitalize on the waterfront location and build luxury vacation spots, the residents are forced to leave a place that many have called home for decades. 

Continue reading ‘Happy Campers’ Review: A Lyrical, If Slight, Portrait Of An Odd Community Facing Extinction [DOC NYC] at The Playlist.

With all due respect to Sally Potter’s visually sumptuous “Orlando,” the seemingly best way to adapt Virginia Woolf is through a side door. Michael Cunningham’s novel “The Hours” works, in part, not because it’s a quasi-adaptation of “Mrs. Dalloway,” but because it stretches out the central issues of that text to see how various women across time deal with the shackles of gender and the patriarchy.

Continue reading ‘Orlando, My Political Biography” Review: A Vibrant Documentary About Virginia Woolf And Trans Identity. at The Playlist.

A brutal and incisive look into the labyrinthian Indian justice system, Nisha Pahuja’s documentary “To Kill A Tiger” follows the aftermath of a horrible sexual assault in Jharkhand. While coming home from a wedding one night, 13-year-old Kiran (a pseudonym, though after viewing footage at the age of 18, she chose to reveal herself in the film) was viciously attacked by three boys known to the family, who took turns raping her.

Continue reading ‘To Kill A Tiger’ Review: Nisha Pahuja’s Incisive Documentary Is An Infuriating Look At The Aftermath Of A Brutal Sexual Assault at The Playlist.

Near the end of Aristotle Torres’ assured feature debut “Story Ave,” a title card comes up on the screen, noting the film is “by The Bronx.” It’s a short moment, leading into the end credits, but it nevertheless speaks volumes to the textured approach that Torres gives to a film that, at least in its outline form, could feel cliché. A narrative about a gifted young artist Kadir (Asante Blackk), who falls into a gang as a result of buried trauma revolving around this family, only to be pulled out by a kind, lonely, older man Luis (Luis Guzmán) might have the surface trappings of a move-of-the-week, but Torres brings out enough stylistic flourishes and lived-in performances to elevate “Story Ave” into being one of the undersung movies of the year so far. 

READ MORE: ‘Story Ave’ Trailer: Luis Guzmán & Asante Blackk Star In A Touching Tale About Growing Up In The Bronx

Of course, it helps that the core relationship between Kadir and Luis is grounded by two actors who aren’t afraid to shade in these characters.

Continue reading ‘Story Ave’ Review: Aristotle Torres’ Humane Direction Elevates One Of The Most Undersung Movies Of The Year at The Playlist.

A woman attempts to sort through her past while also dealing with the traumatic repercussions of surviving a terrorist attack in Elisabeth Scharang’s elliptical film “Woodland,” based on Doris Knect’s 2015 WALD. A non-linear slow burn that’s more interested in unpacking the layers of trauma that Marian (Brigette Hobmeier) is dealing with than outright showing the aftermath of the terrorist attack, Scharang’s film works best when it’s narrowed in on the small farming community she returns to, less so when it skirts around her present-day relationships and the actual shooting that serves as the inciting incident for her trip back. 

READ MORE: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 26 Must-See Films To Watch At TIFF

It’s also more concerned with the configurations of three people who had been romantically involved before Marian up and left the town that she grew up in, abandoning her mother in the process.

Continue reading ‘Woodland’ Review: Elisabeth Scharang’s Mediation On Trauma Is Quiet & Contemplative [TIFF] at The Playlist.

A scene early in Ibrahim Nash’at’s chilling new documentary “Hollywoodgate” makes clear the stakes of Nash’at’s undertaking. Invited by the Taliban to film a top leader, the new air force commander Malawi Mansour, and a lower-ranking Taliban Mukhtar, after the departure of American Troops from Afghanistan in 2021, Mansour makes clear his feelings about the documentary and Nash’at. Speaking with an underling, he notes, “if his intentions are bad, he will die soon.” It’s a scene that, like the rest of the film, is viewed at a distance, a prerequisite for Nash’at’s undertaking.

Continue reading ‘Hollywoodgate’ Review: Ibrahim Nash’at’s Terrifying Film Documents The Taliban’s Takeover Of Afghanistan [Venice] at The Playlist.

Taking its title from a type of slow trot that is used in dressage, Ann Oren’s narrative debut “Piaffe” both formally mimics this slow progression, while also quite literally being about horses. Or, well, the film is about shy Eva’s (Simone Bucio) burgeoning sexual awakening that happens simultaneously to her developing a horse tail. It’s a setup that might instantly recall Cronenberg-ian body horror, but “Piaffe” isn’t a horror film; far from it.

Continue reading ‘Piaffe’ Review: Ann Oren’s Narrative Debut Is An Odd And Memorable Tail Of Sexual Awakening at The Playlist.

A bold and energetic debut, Thomas Hardiman’s “Medusa Deluxe” is what happens when you combine an Agatha Christie whodunit with a disco aesthetic. Roaming through the backstage confines of a regional hairdressing competition, the film begins after the murder and scalping of a stylist named Mosca has already happened. Instead of focusing on a locked door mystery, Hardiman dives into the petty jealousies of competing stylists, all as they wait in their dressing rooms to be interviewed by the police. 

Continue reading ‘Medusa Deluxe’ Review: Energetic Hairdresser Murder Mystery Mainly Coasts on Vibes at The Playlist.

At the risk of diving into the annoying and frankly nonsensical discourse surrounding nepotism in the film industry, Amy Redford’s sophomore feature “What Comes Around” represents a curious object. Directed by Robert Redford’s daughter, starring Joaquin Phoenix’s sister Summer Phoenix and Casper Van Dien’s daughter Grace Van Dien (not to mention a cameo appearance by Phoenix and Casey Affleck’s son Indiana), this little IFC Films thriller has more than enough tangential associations.

Continue reading ‘What Comes Around’ Review: This Stagey Thriller Sacrifices Nuance for Half-Baked Twists at The Playlist.

In one of the final scenes in writer/director Morrisa Maltz’s debut feature, “The Unknown Country,” the camera tracks the shadow of a moving car, following it as it bends around rocks and trees, constantly moving forward in its anonymity. It’s an apt visual metaphor for this lyrical film, as Lily Gladstone (playing Tana, though her name is barely spoken in the film) traverses through the country, driving towards some unspoken conclusion.

Continue reading ‘The Unknown Country’ Review: Lily Gladstone Anchors This Beautiful Road-Trip Through Middle America at The Playlist.

While it’s not exactly “The Beanie Bubble’s” fault that it’s being released at the tail-end of a film cycle that has seen every inch of corporatized IP mined for stories about the wonders (or horrors) of capitalism — “Air,” “Blackberry,” “Tetris,” and even “Flamin’ Hot” come to mind, all with varying degrees of success — it’s also fitting that such a historical footnote would be last out of the gate.

Continue reading ‘The Beanie Bubble’ Review: A Great Zach Galifianakis Performance Cannot Save This Messy I.P. Driven Film at The Playlist.

A trans man has to navigate the complexities of gender transition treatment while also chronicling the Afghani Taliban in Monica Villamizar and Jordan Bryon’s intensely personal and political “Transition.” Despite its relatively straightforward title, this documentary, which premiered at Tribeca, is a staggering work that, somehow, manages to contextualize not only Bryon’s personal transition but also juxtapose that life against the deeply segregated Taliban fighters that he is chronicling for The New York Times.

Continue reading ‘Transition’ Review: A Riveting Portrait of Gender Transitioning That Successfully Marries Personal & Political Storytelling [Tribeca] at The Playlist.

A compelling introduction to the cultural history of the Jamaican musical genre dancehall, Ben DiGiacomo and Dutty Vannier’s “Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall” sheds light on what one interviewee calls the associated “attitude, culture, and lifestyle” that crops up around dancehall music. Produced by Shaggy, one of the most notable names to push the genre into popular culture, ‘Bad Like Brooklyn’ may seem paint-by-numbers in its formal approach to introducing and dissecting a cultural movement — there are a lot of talking heads, archival footage, etc.

Continue reading ‘Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall’ Review: A Compelling, But Standardized, Introduction To The Musical Genre [Tribeca] at The Playlist.

A portrait of a community, and family, in flux, Monica Sorelle’s feature debut “Mountains” is a deceptively low-key, but nevertheless textured, exploration of Miami’s Little Haiti community and the effects of gentrification on immigrant families. Narrowing in on one family as they navigate a grinding day-to-day existence with dreams of, perhaps, owning a house big enough to fit their family and artistic pursuits, Sorelle’s film juxtaposes the intersections of individual and communal progress, keying into the tension that exists between the two.  

Continue reading ‘Mountains’ Is A Textured Exploration Of The Effects Of Gentrification Of Miami’s Little Haiti [Tribeca] at The Playlist.

A young boy comes of age after his father’s sudden death in Christophe Honoré’s “Winter Boy.” A bleak portrait of grief, the film may earn points for crafting an empathetic, subjective portrayal of one boy’s emotional spiral. Yet, the film also makes several odd formal and aesthetic choices that, ultimately, make Honoré’s film feel more hackneyed than resonant. The strangest of which is the decision to allow Lucas (Paul Kircher), an openly gay 17-year-old, to directly address the camera, explaining and contextualizing his feelings to an unseen audience.

Continue reading ‘Winter Boy’ Review: Christophe Honoré’s Latest With Juliette Binoche Is An Affecting & Occasionally Hackneyed Portrait Of Grief at The Playlist.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1958 novel “The Pledge” has proven to be especially durable to adaptations over the years. More well-known of these is Sean Penn’s 2000 film “The Pledge,” a grisly Jack Nicholson starrer that, if anything, is perhaps remembered of the promise that Penn held as director in the early aughts before tumbling down the rabbit hole of political melodrama. Penn’s film provides a fascinating counterpoint to György Fehér’s recently rediscovered “Twilight,” a 1990 Hungarian reimagining of Dürrenmatt’s critique of detective fiction.

Continue reading ‘Twilight’ Review: Newly Restored György Fehér 1990s Film Is A Classic, Hypnotic Noir at The Playlist.