Film Reviews

Having reached the halfway point of the 22nd annual Austin Film Fest, more red carpets were laid out for actors and filmmakers out to celebrate the role of the screenwriter in the creative process. Day number four included a handful of slice-of-life pictures, from today all the way back to biblical times, and here’s how […]

It was a frantic and bustling third day of The Austin Film Festival, now in its 22nd year of celebrating the role of the screenwriter. While the numerous and occasionally-costumed attendees swarmed about, intermingling with the increasing chaos of Halloween night in downtown Austin, here’s how the film’s of day three stacked up. Man Up […]

For the Austin Film Festival’s second day, a morning full of torrential rains and flash flooding put a severe damper (pun intended [editor’s note: ugh]) on getting easily around Austin. However, tried and true cinephiles braved the elements and made the best of it, eager to take part in Friday’s events. More venues and showtimes […]

[rating=4.00] Brian Helgeland’s latest screenwriting foray into the world of organized crime, which he also directed, is the kind of movie that sounds like an absolute must-see. A 1960s mob movie about the infamous Krays, twin brothers who ruled the underworld of London’s east end in the 1960s. Cast Tom Hardy as both Reggie (the […]

[rating=4.00] The cycle of zombies continues to turn. The subgenre has gone from terrifying to joke to terrifying since George Romero first horrified audiences with Night of the Living Dead back in the 60’s. While the last decade and a half has seen a resurgence of the undead infestation of our collective nightmares, their prevalence […]

[rating=5.00] In a way, Our Brand is Crisis is not dissimilar from the kid on the playground who knows they could do great things on the school soccer team, but who also lacks the courage to try out—all of their potential becomes moot at the hands of their inaction, and instead of greatness they fade […]

It’s hard to be critical of a movie that was made with such earnestness and heart. In Fallen Stars, which had its world-premiere at the Austin Film Festival, writer/director Brian Jett crafts an uncomfortably empty world, focusing on the abyss that lies between listless, 30-something bartender Cooper and listless, 20-something Daisy, whose purple highlights meets […]

Coming hot on the heels of last month’s Fantastic Fest, Austin, Texas is bracing for another onslaught of cinematic mayhem this week as the 22nd annual Austin Film Festival kicks off. More informally known as “The Writer’s Festival,” AFF focuses on the contributions of a good script and what it means to make a great film, […]

[rating=10.00] Biopics are a dime a dozen these days, mostly owing to the fact that the formula has been perfected. Ever since Ray, the beats of any biographical movie have been predictable and boring, even when the movie itself is otherwise pretty good. The modern draw of biopics has been the performances—how deeply immersed in […]

[rating=2.00] Bill Murray is at that stage where it doesn’t matter what choices he makes as an actor. His eminence is such that his mere presence in a film is enough to draw an audience, and his artistic acclaim all but assures a remarkable performance. For the most part, Murray wields his power with wisdom, […]

[rating=9.00] Guillermo del Toro is a director who’s never lacked for vision. His is an artistry so distinct, so unique, so specific that it bleeds through in every frame of every film that’s ever bore his name. From Cronos, to Hellboy, to Pan’s Labyrinth to Pacific Rim, his films are so striking and so vivid […]

[rating=2.00] I sincerely hope that everyone involved in the making of Freeheld feels appropriately ashamed of themselves. They’ve taken a wonderful, inspiring, heart-wrenching, infuriating, and beautiful true story and given it a movie with all the emotional resonance and presence of a Lifetime Original. It’s not just bad, it’s offensively bad. It’s a pandering mess […]

[rating=7.00] How do I judge a movie that has the pedigree of Bridge of Spies? Bridge of Spies is a movie directed by one of the all-time great directors (Steven Spielberg), co-written by two of the all-time best screenwriters (Joel and Ethan Coen, working with Matt Charman) and starring one of the best actors of […]

[rating=4.00] It was one of those moments that stopped the world. Images of a smiling girl trickled through the newswires from Pakistan, her bright face heinously juxtaposed by the captions and voices of the reporters that told us Malala Yousafzai had been shot. Her story transcended boundaries of politics, race, and culture as citizens of […]

Here we are at the very end, after eight days and more than two dozen movies, and a host of other shenanigans, Fantastic Fest closed with a bang, presenting two of its more anticipated films as final screenings its last two nights. These nights brought about a lighthearted video game documentary, a descent into madness, […]

[rating=7.00] The war on drugs fueled violence just south of the border in Mexico offers a wealth of inspiration for anyone looking to craft a taut and nuanced portrayal of cinematic crime. The cartels who vie for power and control of the trafficking routes are notorious for the extremes they’ll go to exert their authority […]

[rating=8.00] By nature, man is a beast who constantly strives to push boundaries. Personal boundaries. Cultural boundaries. Societal. It doesn’t really matter to us. If there’s a line in the sand, we dare to cross it. If there’s a no to be given, some rebel will inevitably scream “YES” in defiance. It’s what makes us […]

[rating=9.00] The isolated man has been a theme of literature since, well, we’ve had literature. The need for connection is so innate that the exploration of its absence offers us a deep and resonating insight into the pathos of the human condition. From Robinson Crusoe to Castaway, the stories of man are littered with tales […]

Inching past the halfway point of Fantastic Fest’s eight-day movie marathon celebrating all things genre, it gives dedicated attendees such as myself a chance to catch up on films that were missed during the opening few days, mostly because I was in another theater, furiously scribbling notes while having my celluloid-loving mind blown. As we […]

Fantastic Fest is the kind of film festival that is unafraid of pushing the boundaries of style and taste. It’s the sort of place where you can expect sensibilities to be tested for the love of film. Fast approaching the festival’s halfway point, Sunday brought with it a bit of this mindset with the screening […]