Review: “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”

Fifty-three years ago, author Judy Blume published her now-iconic middle-grade novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, a book lauded and criticized in equal measure for its frank portrayal of girlhood. And for 50 years, Blume refused repeated attempts to purchase the films rights to the story of Margaret Simon, an 11-year-old girl who […]

Review: “Showing Up”

Lizzy (Michelle Williams) is an artist on the verge of a breakthrough—or a breakdown. Either path seems completely viable throughout Showing Up, writer and director Kelly Reichardt’s low-key yet incisive character study of a working modern artist. By day, Lizzy does administrative work for the Portland art school of which her mother Jean (Maryann Plunkett) […]

Review: “Renfield”

Dracula’s first introduction in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel predates the founding of Universal Studios (then Universal Pictures) by a mere 15 years, but Universal possibly wouldn’t still be around if it wasn’t for the vampire. Financially struggling at the start of the 1930s, Universal’s new head Carl Laemmle Jr. (recently bestowed that title by his […]

Review: “Air”

Michael Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time. That statement alone immediately conjures pitches for many a film about his life and career. Jordan has even been one of the few players to cross over to the front of the camera, playing a fictional version of himself in the […]

Review: “Shazam: Fury of the Gods”

I’m in an optimistic mood, so let’s begin with something good: Shazam: Fury of the Gods improves on a major hang-up I had with its 2019 series-starter, Shazam! The film, a superhero origin story based on the DC comic, starred Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a troubled teen in the foster care system who is […]

Review: “Creed III”

Can the Creed series survive without Rocky? That question was batted around by some in the wake of the announcement that the character originated by Sylvester Stallone in the Oscar-winning 1976 franchise-starter Rocky, who he reprised in numerous sequels and in Creed and Creed II, the latter of which garnered him a Best Supporting Actor […]

Review: “65”

Tales that bridge the many-million-years time span between when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and when human technology became advanced enough to allow for exploration beyond the boundaries of the planet to occur have been staples of the science fiction genre for decades. Think of the adventure novels by the likes of Jules Verne (Journey to […]

Review: “John Wick: Chapter 4”

In the opening minutes of John Wick: Chapter 4, the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) and assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) are seen in an underground lair, preparing their revenge against the High Table, the powerful league of hit men that screwed them both over. And as the final shot of 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum […]

SXSW Dispatch: “Late Bloomers,” “Parachute,” “The Starling Girl”

For this dispatch from this year’s SXSW Film Festival, I’m reviewing three films from first-time female filmmakers that all center around women confronting their circumstances and grappling with what they want out of their lives. Two of those films had their world premieres at the festival (Parachute and Late Bloomers) while The Starling Girl recently […]

SXSW Dispatch: “The Young Wife,” “Appendage,” “I Used to Be Funny”

For my final batch of reviews from the 2023 SXSW Film Festival, I’m covering three more (very different) films from female filmmakers: Tayarisha Poe’s The Young Wife (one of my top favorites of the fest), Ally Pankiw’s excellent I Used to Be Funny, which sees star Rachel Sennott taking a turn toward drama, and Anna […]