TIFF Review: “Seagrass”

The long toots of the ferry horn have a lilting, almost musical sound, one that emphasizes the playful mood of the two little girls running around the boat deck. There’s not a cloud in the sky. The calm blue water seems to stretch into infinity. The girls pester their dad for a dollar for some […]

Review: “Scrapper”

“It takes a village to raise a child.” This sentence that appears across a black screen disappears within an instant, scratched out by yellow, crayon-like markings, a new sentence scrawled beneath it in clumsy handwriting: “I can raise myself thanks.” This playful intro kicks both the style and tone of Scrapper into motion. Writer and […]

Review: “Barbie”

Everything is perfect in Barbieland. Barbie wakes up in the pink plastic confection that is her dream house, greets her friends, showers, and selects a stylish ensemble from her expansive wardrobe. She eats breakfast (a perfectly toasted waffle washed down with a glass of milk) before she goes about her day, which includes attending political […]

Review: “Joy Ride”

R-rated comedies are having a small—but not insignificant—moment right now. While that particular brand of raunchy movie seemed to be a regular staple of the mid-late 2000s theatrical scene, with movies like The Hangover (which spawned a trilogy) and Knocked Up, they’ve become increasingly rare, and when one does pop up every now and then, […]

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: “Smoking Tigers”

When we first meet 16-year-old Hayoung (Ji-Young Yoo), she’s wandering around the neatly-appointed furnishings of a clearly upper-class home. She finds the bathroom, sits in the bathtub, stretches out. But as much as she seems at ease with making herself at home here, this house isn’t hers. As we glean from the next scene, in […]

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: “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) […]

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 […]