Festival organized to show off various films
Chicago’s 42nd International LGBTQ+ Film Festival screened over 40 features this month. I focused on mlm narratives and noticed some recurring themes. Struggling Artists The privileged protagonists despair that modern life hasn’t handed them their dreams. Remember when people turned … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Reeling Festival 2024
It feels far too simplistic to describe Jacques Audiard’s audacious, genre-bending Emilia Pérez as “simply” a gender-affirming narco-thriller musical. It is definitely all of those things, but it also defies being put in any box, no matter how capacious. Emilia Pérez is … Continue reading Toronto International Film Festival 2024, Part 2: Days 6-8
The 49th Toronto International Film Festival kicked off with a whimper on September 5th with the world premiere of David Gordon Green’s latest (apparent) misfire, the Ben Stiller-starring Nutcrackers. Amidst the tumult of significant sponsors dropping (long-time year-round sponsor Bell … Continue reading Toronto International Film Festival 2024, Part 1: Days 1-5
Chicago’s 41st Reeling Festival showcased LGBTQ+ cinema from around the world. I reviewed several of these films at Frameline. But here are some additional highlights. Fireworks (2023, Italy). A tragedy inspired by an infamous murder case. Two bullied boys fall … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Reeling Festival 2023
The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival has officially come and gone, with this year’s People’s Choice Award going to Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut American Fiction, and Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers (see below) and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron … Continue reading Toronto International Film Festival 2023, Part 2: Days 4-8
After four long years away, I returned with Mama Mordor in tow to the Toronto International Film Festival at an acute transitional moment. Paralyzed by strikes from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA that contemptuous billionaire studio executives have shown remarkably little … Continue reading Toronto International Film Festival 2023, Part 1: Days 1-3
Outfest LA 2023 formally ended on July 23 – though virtual screenings continue through July 30 – amidst major turmoil for the film industry. With the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America continuing to strike in the largest … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Outfest LA 2023, Part 2
Outfest LA 2023 opened on July 13 (virtual screenings start today, July 17) amidst major turmoil for the film industry. With the Screen Actors Guild joining the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in the largest labor action in the … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Outfest LA 2023, Part 1
San Francisco’s 47th Frameline Film Festival made a portion of their program available for streaming. The films were a mix of new ideas and familiar tropes. Activism Chocolate Babies (1996, US). A valuable piece of New Queer Cinema has been … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Frameline 2023
The most important thing about Princess Diana is that she died. This is not to be reductive to the tumultuous and complicated life she led before her untimely passing, but from the arc of history Diana’s life will always exist … Continue reading SFIFF Review: Spencer Provides an Elliptical Look Into the Impenetrable Life of Princess Diana
Expectations can be a dastardly thing. What you want, and what a movie is actually giving can create a gulf that hampers the experience no matter the quality on display. It’s both the wonder and the danger of the film … Continue reading Three Films Show The Flexibility of Genre and Tone at SFIFF
When going to a film festival one always has to be concerned about the time. When screenings start, if there’s enough minutes on the clock to grab food, or if a movie beginning late won’t run so long that you … Continue reading Memoria Bewilders and The Worst Person in the World Charms on the First Full Day of the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
Break ups were a common theme at Chicago’s annual LGBT film festival. Characters kept having affairs, getting dumped or running into their exes. I covered the recent Frameline Festival and How To Get Away With Mordor has covered Outfest. But … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Reeling Festival 2021
Welcome back to LGBT Movies: Mordor Reviews Outfest LA 2021! Throughout this week, I’m posting my thoughts on more than 70 (!!) of the 170+ (!!!!) short and feature films that screened at this year’s virtual edition of Outfest LA … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Outfest LA 2021 – Final Thoughts
Welcome back to LGBT Movies: Mordor Reviews Outfest LA 2021! Throughout this week, I’m posting my thoughts on more than 70 (!!) of the 170+ (!!!!) short and feature films that screened at this year’s virtual edition of Outfest LA … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Outfest LA 2021 – Shorts Edition
Welcome one and all to this special edition of LGBT Movies! A huge thank you to SadClown for letting me take over this slot this week. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting my thoughts on more than 70 … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Outfest LA 2021 – Features Edition
San Francisco’s Frameline streamed their 45th festival from June 17 through June 27, 2021. It was heavy this year with recurring themes of heartbreak and loss. Here were some highlights. Artists No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics (2021, … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Frameline 2021
This August I reviewed the films at the Los Angeles Outfest. This month I’m discussing additional films from the Chicago Reeling Festival, Atlanta’s Out on Film and San Francisco’s Frameline Festival. There were several recurring themes. Breaking Up Are We … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Film Festivals 2020
Outfest has been promoting LGBTQIA+ stories and filmmakers since 1982. The nonprofit organization, based in Los Angeles, streamed over 160 films online from August 20-30, 2020. I managed to catch over 25 features and 60 short films. It was a … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Outfest 2020
This Chinese Neo-Noir has a Lot of Flash, But Doesn’t Add Up to Much More Than a Standard Thriller It’s raining. Late night at a bus station, a woman approaches a man. Her face obscured by a opaque umbrella. It … Continue reading SFIFF Review: The Wild Goose Lake
Noah Baumbach’s Divorce Drama is a Deeply Felt Tale of Undying Love Undone Marriage Story was a movie that I was incredibly skeptical of going in. Director Noah Baumbach is a filmmaker of extreme specificity and hyper-literacy, drilling deep into the … Continue reading SFIFF Review: Marriage Story
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