Review: “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Director Shaka King’s “Judas and the Black Messiah” tells the story of the events leading up to the murder of Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) in a raid on his apartment by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Chicago Police Department, and the FBI. It’s told primarily through the perspective of […]

Review: “Ruth- Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words”

The last few years have been inundated with content about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away last fall. 2018 saw the release of the documentary “RBG,” which gave an overview of Ginsburg’s life and career with some emphasis on her recent status as a social media icon, and the 2019 narrative feature […]

Review: “Identifying Features”

All we know of Jesús is his face. It’s his face that opens “Identifying Features,” the debut film from director Fernanda Valadez, at first blurry and far away, but walking ever closer to us. The image fades, as a voiceover informs us that Jesús left his Mexican town with a friend weeks ago, in search […]

Kino Lorber Mini Reviews

In January I had the opportunity to catch up on some of Kino Lorber’s 2020 releases in time for awards season, and wow, some of these films really knocked me out. A few of these were among the best films I watched from last year, so I wanted to take the opportunity to briefly review […]

Streaming Movie Reviews: January, Part 2

Here’s the second half of my mini reviews for movies released on streaming services in January! “The Dig,” “Outside the Wire,” and “Finding ‘Ohana” can all be found on Netflix, while “The Little Things” is currently playing in theaters and can be found on HBO Max until the end of February. “THE DIG” (Netflix) English […]

Streaming Movie Reviews: January, Part 1

I’ve been running a bit behind with these lately (January is a weird month), but here’s the first installment of my mini reviews for movies released on streaming services in January. This is an exciting time of year with awards contenders being released and nomination announcements. Read on for short reviews of “Pieces of a […]

Sundance Review: “Night of the Kings”

Writer and director Phillippe Lacôte’s “Night of the Kings” left me feeling baffled, but in the pleasant sort of way that makes me want to dive deeper into the world created on screen, and its inspiration behind the scenes. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, “Night of the Kings”—which played at the Sundance Film […]

Sundance Review: “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It”

Entertainer. EGOT winner. Activist. Role model. Legend. All of these words and more can be applied to Rita Moreno, the Puerto Rican performer who rose to fame in the waning years of the Hollywood studio system and continues to work consistently in film and television today. Her life and career, including her struggles to overcome […]

Sundance Review: “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street”

Last summer, “Sesame Street” was widely praised for a town hall it hosted on anti-racism as a means of explaining the protests for racial justice happening around the world in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police officers to both children and adults. “Sesame Street,” the educational children’s television program that celebrated its 50th […]

Review: “Apollo 11: Quarantine”

In 2019, director Todd Douglas Miller reimagined what a documentary could be with “Apollo 11.” The film told the story of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission during which men first walked on the moon using only stunningly restored archival footage; no modern interviews or voiceovers, no recreations. In light of the current coronavirus pandemic, which […]