No Rest for the Wicked is an unusually haunting title at Fantasia International Film Festival. One that speaks to the challenges of same-sex relationships through the lens of a supernatural story. The setting is far in the past, but its core themes remain true. The act of love can be treated like a curse by the family members of the LGBTQ+
Read MoreIt’s been nearly 12 years since Gregg Araki’s last feature film. If anything, what’s most apparent about I Want Your Sex is that the director is letting loose in both poppy stylization and a plea for younger generations to get out and get laid. In the process of providing a silly atmosphere to match its brightly colored zaniness, I Want Your
Read MoreThe Odyssey is a fascinating follow-up to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. In fact, it might be the film I was hoping Oppenheimer might become. A movie about a man conflicted by his responsibilities in changing the world through destruction, but the key difference is that Nolan places Odysseus face-to-face with his sin, while Oppenheimer lost its way. Here, Odysseus is confronted with the
Read MoreI know, another Toy Story sequel? Are they ever going to stop making these? This is a valid question, given how many agree that Toy Story 3 ended the franchise perfectly and offered thoughtful conclusions for the toys many of us grew up repeatedly watching on VHS until the tape wore out. Toy Story 4, while enjoyable, existed only to print money, and many
Read MoreLeviticus resides in a fascinating place when viewing it from its genre roots. It’s able to weave both a compelling queer story and progressively brutal horror while changing enough elements to remain just distinctive enough from its inspirations. You’ll hear many comparisons to genre flicks like It Follows and Smile, but director Adrian Chiarella clearly understands that within his feature debut.
Read MoreFor years, Prime Video’s The Boys built its reputation as a superhero satire and often crossed lines that most superhero stories would never even consider. Heads exploded, politicians became puppets, and corporations weaponized celebrity culture. With each season, superheroes slowly transformed into terrifying symbols of unchecked power and terror. What started as a violent, funny parody of comicbook universes eventually evolved
Read MoreIt would be futile for me to give you a succinct plot summary of Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters. The movie is the rapper-turned-filmmaker’s sophomore effort in the world of cinema following Sorry to Bother You and, most recently, a digression inside the world of television with the limited series I’m a Virgo. It would also be futile for me to
Read MoreIn February 2025, Amazon gained full creative control of the James Bond franchise. Although audiences are still eagerly awaiting what Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will do with the property in the eagerly awaited next film involving the character, actor Riz Ahmed‘s new Prime Video series Bait takes a different angle. It’s a sort of meta-commentary on the cultural weight of the role of James Bond. Bait sees Ahmed playing a British Pakistani actor
Read MoreProducer Francis Lawrence and J.T. Mollner’s coming-of-age dystopian survival horror-thriller, The Long Walk, has finally strode into theaters. Based on executive producer Stephen King’s 1979 novel of the same name under King’s pseudonym, Richard Bachman, the adaptation follows a selection of fifty teenage boys chosen to walk endlessly down a road at three miles per hour. In a year that includes
Read MoreSpike Lee is one of the best filmmakers that we have, still making films, has returned with Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington. Whether it’s the sun-soaked frames of Do The Right Thing or, more recently, BlacKkKlansman, Lee remains one of our most unique voices, having a strong presence within the culture of our past or present, and perhaps the most powerful
Read MoreIn Volatile Memory, Seth Haddon gives us a love story that questions everything about love. Wylla is a trans woman in a society that doesn’t accept her. She isn’t even sure she can love herself, let alone anyone else. Then she meets Sable. Sable is a lesbian in a society that doesn’t value her either. The two find each other, and
Read MoreEddington wears the skin of a Coen Brothers movie while utilizing the comedic mechanics of a South Park episode. The film plays everything serious while featuring solid performances from talents like Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix. It has the window dressing of rich Coen Brothers thrillers like Blood Simple and No Country for Old Men. Yet, the material is wildly satirical in
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