Review: “Test Pattern”

What begins as a light romance quickly turns into a nightmare in “Test Pattern,” the debut film from writer and director Shatara Michelle Ford. While in recent years the #MeToo movement has created more widespread awareness of sexual harassment and abuse that women regularly face and has encouraged support for women who speak up, the […]

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: “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 […]

Review: “Fatale”

We all have our guilty movie pleasures, and cheesy, ridiculous thrillers certainly check that box for many people. But while “Fatale,” a new thriller from director Deon Taylor and writer David Loughery (the pair who also helmed 2019’s “The Intruder”), does the bare minimum to hold the audience’s attention, it doesn’t commit to the genre […]

Review: “Wonder Woman 1984”

2017’s “Wonder Woman” is a film filled with compassion, empathy, and the message that only love can save the world—all qualities you would think you’d find more often in superhero movies, but that actually made “Wonder Woman” stand out amongst the other movies in the genre that often place action above all else. Its sequel, […]

Review: “News of the World”

“Maybe, just for tonight, we can escape our troubles and hear of the great changes that are happening out there.” It’s hard not to chuckle a bit when Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) tells this to a group of people gathered to listen to him read them the news, before launching into a story about […]

Review: “Promising Young Woman”

Almost every year, a movie comes along that—for better or for worse—feels completely fresh, bold, and unpredictable. “Promising Young Woman,” the debut feature film from writer/director Emerald Fennell, is that movie for 2020. A timely and provocative revenge thriller that serves as a scathing indictment of a misogynistic society that protects abusers, “Promising Young Woman” […]

Review: “Wander Darkly”

What was, what is, and what could have been—these things and more are explored in the metaphysical wanderings of Adrienne (Sienna Miller) following a traumatic accident. A new mother whose relationship with her boyfriend and daughter’s father Matteo (Diego Luna) is on the rocks, Adrienne re-experiences their love story—its high points, low points, and everything […]

Review: “Ammonite”

From the get-go, comparisons of “Ammonite” to last year’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” were inevitable. A lesbian period romance between a working woman and the woman she is caring for, set at the seaside? There aren’t too many of those. But the comparison really isn’t all that fair, as “Ammonite”—which no, is not […]

Review: “A Call to Spy”

“A Call to Spy” contains many of the typical hallmarks of a World War II movie. We follow the heroes through action, espionage, struggle, and sacrifice, all performed on behalf of their country. But these movies usually follow male heroes, whether they be soldiers on the front lines, spies trying to covertly gather intelligence against […]