Tribeca Review: “Let the Canary Sing”

“She deserves better” was the first thought that crossed my mind as the credits rolled on Let the Canary Sing, Alison Ellwood’s documentary on the life and career of the pop star Cyndi Lauper. Lauper, who became an instant icon of 80s youth with the release of her album She’s So Unusual (which featured songs […]

Tribeca Review: “Stan Lee”

“If I had superhuman powers, would I still have to worry about making a living, or having my dates like me?” This portion of a quote from Stan Lee that opens the documentary of the same name asks a simple question, but nudges at what made him such a visionary in the comic book world. […]

Tribeca Review: “Rather”

Does anyone watch the evening news live on cable television anymore? The media landscape has altered so drastically over just the last decade alone that between streaming services, cutting the cord, and social media (how many young people especially receive their news in bite-sized chunks from scrolling Twitter or TikTok, regardless of the trustworthiness of […]

Tribeca Review: “Break the Game”

Narcissa Wright is more than just an avid gamer. You could say that video games are her life. She’s set speed run records in many games (that’s when you beat a game as fast as possible in one go), competing in competitions and winning awards. Thousands of followers watch her Twitch streams. But as supportive […]

Tribeca Review: “Chasing Chasing Amy”

In 1994, Kevin Smith’s black-and-white, low-budget comedy Clerks took the indie film world by storm, first at its Sundance premiere (which it entered with virtually no buzz), then critics and audiences, cracking many end-of-the-year lists. Smith’s 1995 follow-up Mallrats was less well-received. But it’s Smith’s third film set in the same universe, the 1997 romantic […]

Tribeca Review: “Breaking the News”

In early 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as President, and the Women’s March on Washington served as a scream for many of America’s frustrated and scared inhabitants. Amidst the fear and uncertainty, journalist Emily Ramshaw saw a possibility. She left her steady job with the Texas Tribune along with colleague Amanda Zamora and started […]

Review: “The Taking”

John Ford. John Wayne. Cowboys and six-shooters, Native Americans and horses and epic battles to survive not only squabbles with other humans, but the unforgiving landscape they’ve settled in, one made of both towering beauty and abject terror. These elements, and dilemmas physical, moral, and spiritual, have come to define the western film genre. Just […]

SXSW 2023 Dispatch: “This World is Not My Own,” “Black Barbie: A Documentary”

I’m so thrilled to be covering the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, Texas for the first time this weekend. I recently got to watch great two documentaries that had their world premiere at the festival, both centering around Black women and how they uplifted Black people, while examining the roles race and […]

True/False 2023 Dispatch: “Tavuri,” “Three Women,” “The Stroll”

For my sixth and final dispatch from this year’s True/False Film Festival, I’m reviewing the final three documentaries I saw: Tavuri, the wild story of a con artist; the tender slice of life Three Women; and the powerful story of NYC’s trans sex workers, The Stroll, which is coming to HBO later this year. Read […]

True False 2023 Dispatch: “Art Talent Show,” “Time Bomb Y2K,” “How to Have an American Baby”

For my fifth dispatch from the 2023 True/False Film Festival, I’m spotlighting three documentaries that are all preoccupied with capturing a moment in time: the hilarious Art Talent Show and Time Bomb Y2K, and the gut-wrenching How to Have an American Baby. Read my capsule reviews of those films below. ART TALENT SHOW dirs. Adéla […]