Film Reviews

The Tender Bar is directed by George Clooney and is based on the memoir by J.R. Moehringer. It tells the story of his life in Long Island beginning with his time as a young boy. Young J.R. (Daniel Ranieri) and his mother (Lily Rabe) hit some hard times and have to move in with J.R.…
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Mass has an odd beginning. We witness Judy (Breeda Wool) anxiously setting up a small room in the basement of a church. She has brought an assortment of food, coffee, and a box of tissues and frets over the way the room is set up. Her anxiety and desire to be helpful is almost painful…
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Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) is a journalist, traveling the country asking kids questions about the future and how they view the world. Meanwhile Johnny’s sister, Viv (Gaby Hoffman) is having a hard time being a mother to her son, Jesse (Woody Norman). She is dealing with her husband Paul (Scoot McNairy) who is suffering from mental…
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Director Paolo Sorrentino decided to take a page out of Alfonso Cuaron’s book and make a movie about his childhood. The Hand of God takes place in Naples in the 1980’s and follows the story of Fabietto (Filippo Scotti) as he comes of age. He lives with his parents and older brother Marchino (Marlon Joubert).…
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Zola has such an interesting backstory it almost seems like it was made up to promote the movie. The story was inspired by a popular Twitter thread containing 148 tweets in 2015. The tweets and the story itself came from a Detroit waitress by the name of A’Ziah “Zola” King. The Twitter thread quickly went…
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Flee is one of the most effective and moving documentaries I’ve seen in years. Amin is on the verge of getting married to his partner, Kasper. This major life event has triggered an emotional response from him and he wants to share his past for the first time. And what an intense past it is.…
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Joe Wright has directed some of my favorite films including Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007). His next project, Cyrano, was especially interesting to me because it was a period piece musical. That’s right, it’s a musical! I was pleasantly surprised at the execution. The plot is fairly straightforward. Cyrano (Peter Dinklage) is a…
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Passing is the directorial debut for Rebecca Hall who you might be more familiar with as an actor. She has had a fairly successful acting career with movies such as The Town (2010), Christine (2016), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). With Passing, Hall steps into the realm of writer and director. Irene (Tessa Thompson) is…
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Raya and the Last Dragon is the latest animated movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios. It takes place in the fantasy world of Kumandra. 500 years ago an evil force called the Druun began taking over Kumandra and turning all those who lived there into stone. Eventually, the dragons of Kumandra used the last of…
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FILM Best FeatureA ChiaraC’mon C’monThe Lost Daughter – WINNERThe NoviceZola Best DirectorJanicza Bravo, ZolaMaggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter – WINNERLauren Hadaway, The NoviceMike Mills, C’mon C’monNinja Thyberg, Pleasure Best First Feature7 Days – WINNERHollerQueen of GloryTest PatternWild Indian Best Female LeadIsabelle Fuhrman, The NoviceBrittany S. Hall, Test PatternPatti Harrison, Together TogetherTaylour Paige, Zola – WINNERKali…
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