Review: “Leviticus”

What do you do when the object of your desire turns against you— or you turn against it? That tension between lust and livelihood is explored quite literally in writer and director Adrian Chiarella’s debut feature Leviticus, which fast proves to be an incredible concept for a queer horror movie that’s ultimately too sparsely realized […]

Cannes 2026: “The Station”

The Station, Yemeni-Scottish director Sara Ishaq’s thoughtful and humanity-filled fictional feature debut premiering in Critics’ Week at Cannes, begins with title cards that utilize the language of storytelling to set the framework for its world: “Once a land known for its abundance and powerful queens, Yemen was a bustling gateway between civilizations… But wars fueled […]

Cannes 2026: “Blaise,” “Flesh and Fuel”

The Cannes Film Festival annually overflows with an embarrassment of riches, but while many eyes turn to cinema’s most prestigious event (celebrating its 79th edition in the south of France this year) for its high profile premieres– ranging from the newest works from some of the most acclaimed auteurs working to much anticipated blockbusters– its […]

Review: “Stolen Kingdom”

When describing his proposed Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow— later to be known as EPCOT, one of Walt Disney World’s handful of unique theme parks— Walt Disney stated that he envisioned that it “will always be in a state of becoming.” It’s surprising to learn, therefore, that even as outwardly Disney Parks adhere to that […]

Review: “Forbidden Fruits”

Meredith Alloway’s wicked debut feature film, the off-beat horror comedy Forbidden Fruits, is a truly odd piece of work. Not odd because of its kooky premise, which centers around a group of young women who form a coven behind the scenes of the ritzy mall boutique where they work, their friendship and ideals built not […]

Review: “By Design”

With a lucidity that’s amusingly reflected in the lyrics of the Gershwin tune that recurs over the course of its runtime— “There’s a saying old, says that love is blind”— writer and director Amanda Kramer tackles the absurdity and tragedy of objectification in her latest feature film, By Design, the way that only a filmmaker […]

Review: “OBEX”

Cocooned from the shrill clicking of the 17-year cicada brood outside by the static buzz of his television sets— three, to be exact, stacked one on top of the other and nestled against a vast wall of VHS tapes— Conor (Albert Birney) lives a life of pleasant seclusion, drawing comfort from the company of his […]

Review: “Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)”

An anthology movie that drifts by with the laziness of a summer day on the lake where it is set, writer and director Sierra Falconer’s debut feature never builds to a profound crescendo, but it’s accomplished in style and substance all the same. A loosely autobiographical series of stories set around the Michigan lake near […]

Review: “A Christmas Party”

We’ve all been there before, regardless of what precisely we celebrate or believe in: the family holiday party. The tense reunions, the awkward introductions of new partners, the petty squabbles over everything from politics to what’s for dinner. And we’ve all seen it depicted on screen countless times, too. So it’s a testament to Alexander […]

Venice 2025: “Mother,” “Hijira,” “Milk Teeth”

The Venice Film Festival may be a beacon for its buzzy premieres and starry red carpets, but there are plenty of other intriguing projects making their world premieres here that could easily be overlooked. The three films I’m highlighting in this dispatch involve crisis of family and faith: Mother and Milk Teeth, which both premiered […]