A BANQUET
Widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power. Bound to her newfound faith, Betsey refuses to eat but loses no weight. In an agonizing dilemma, torn between love and fear, Holly is forced to confront the boundaries of her own beliefs.
A Banquet follows Betsey, a teenager attempting to find her footing after the traumatic death of her father. After wandering into the woods at a party, she emerges changed. She stops eating but never loses an ounce. Something is quite wrong.
Director Ruth Paxton and Screenwriter Justin Bull understands how to highlight the complexities of women. A Banquet‘s haunting visuals and invasive close-ups are often combined with ear-piercing moments of audio, placing you in the emotional chaos of its characters.
Lindsay Duncan plays the family matriarch. Duncan is a legend. As June, she’s cold and intense; convinced Betsey’s condition is a put-on, her pride drives a wedge between the four women.
Playing younger sister Isabelle, Ruby Stokes is everything you need her to be. Supportive and bright, her chemistry with Jessica Alexander is brilliant. The script’s structure allows her to move from a nonchalant baby sister to an additional caretaker. She relents to the unknown, forcibly aging her years in months. She’s fantastic.
Sienna Guillory plays mum Holly with PTSD written all over her. The underlying trauma, at times, stops her in her tracks. Holly is borderline OCD, so her new circumstance is unbearable. As the story progresses, her fury and desperation grow exponentially. Jessica Alexander as Betsey gives a scary good performance. Justin Bull’s script allows her to play every emotion in the book. One moment she’s practically comatose and the next manipulative. It’s a rollercoaster ride. She’s extraordinary.
The entire film simmers with pulse-quickening energy. The film is set predominantly in the family home, the walls are richly dark, and the light is dim. It allows each woman (and their carefully curated wardrobe) to pop against the background. The score is chill-inducing. Folklore meets grief, A Banquet is entirely unsettling and mysterious from beginning to end. It shook me to my core.
Oscar® winner Jordan Peele disrupted and redefined modern horror with Get Out and then Us. Now, he reimagines the summer movie with a new pop nightmare: the expansive horror epic, Nope. 
The film reunites Peele with Oscar® winner Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah), who is joined by Keke Palmer (Hustlers, Alice) and Oscar® nominee Steven Yeun (Minari, Okja) as residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.
When a close-knit circle of private school friends attempts to request a makeup calculus test, things do not go as planned. Student Body flips the script, quite literally, on whatever genre you thought you were watching. In a film of consequences and crazies, surviving high school just became a lot harder.
Writer-director Lee Ann Kurr gives us two distinct genres by structuring the script as one half character development and the other half horror. The issue with the second half is pacing. The urgency is missing. There are 15 minutes between murders, a brief slump then the third. Then, it stops being cohesive at all. There’s an overall emphasis on safety. We know new locks and safety glass were installed as they make a point to highlight it over and over. Unfortunately, unless I missed it, there’s no president for the measure. As the generation who experienced Columbine, some of these details seem nonsensical. Bulletproof windows and roll-down gates, but no classroom locks from the inside?
Ghosts of the Ozarks
Torb and Lucille’s (
The Pact
The sets and costumes are sumptuous. The dialogue is delicious and poetic, possessing a gravitational pull that is undeniable. The film’s intentionally steady and emotional momentum works its magic on you. 
The Spine of Night stars an all-star cast of Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”), Patton Oswalt (Young Adult), Betty Gabriel (Get Out), and Joe Manganiello (“True Blood”). The film was co-written and co-directed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King.
Boasting spectacular visuals alongside a riveting script from writer-director 
As Cosmic Dawn guru Elyse, 
Is this some extensive gaslighting or is Molly still experiencing PTSD from her previous loss? The marrying of these two concepts is here perfection. For Molly, the idea of sitting idly by will drive her mad. A slow-burn mystery with striking cinematography, Knocking will make your head spin. The use of a go-pro-style camera during a climactic confrontation puts you in the manic state of Molly’s brain. It’s a wildly effective choice. Cecilia Milocci‘s performance is truly compelling. You are right there with her on this tumultuous emotional journey. It’s absolutely award-worthy.
With generational tensions you can cut with a knife, the power struggle screams off the screen. The script is carefully curated, with Irish pagan history weaved into the narrative. The tug of war between protection and control makes for a thoroughly engrossing watch. Do not get comfortable with this script. You are in for some gruesome twists. The sound editing creates another layer of fright. Brimming with scary good performances, it is the turn from Carolyn Bracken that will chill you to your core.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Linoleum
Bad Axe
The Cow
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down
Bitch Ass
A Vanishing Fog (Colombia, Czech Republic, Norway)
DIO Dreamers Never Die
Sheryl
2nd Chance
61st Street
Awayy
All the Crows in the World (Hong Kong)
The Voice Actress (Japan, U.S.)
Warsha (Lebanon)
Long Line of Ladies
Angakuksajaujuq – The Shaman’s Apprentice (Canada)
Blink
Act of God
Before
I’m Here
Baby Tate – ‘Pedi’ / Director/Screenwriter: Norton
Lil Nas X – ‘Montero’ / Director: Tanu Muino
Don’t Breathe 2 Title Sequence / Company: Filmograph / Title Designer: Aaron Becker
WandaVision Main On End Title Sequence / Company: Perception / Creative Director: John LePore
(Hi)story of a Painting: The Light in the Shadow (United Kingdom)
Beatday – The Beginning – Mini VR Concert (Taiwan)
Madame Pirate: Becoming a Legend (Taiwan)
Niamh Dornan
Hirokazu Kore-eda (
Is it fair to categorize Air Doll as an unusual coming-of-age story? Perhaps, a story of enlightened consciousness would be better suited. Air Doll is yet another perfectly thoughtful addition to Dekanalog‘s collection of films. It begs larger questions of existence and life, exploring the meaning of happiness on a grander scale. The film’s evolution is endlessly surprising. You won’t be able to look away. Air Doll is truly something special.
The majority of the acting is pretty hammy. There are disaffected or stagey line readings. But, two standout performances come from Destini Stewart as Leader and Henri Gillespi as PJ. Also, make sure you stay through the credits. It’s worth your time. 
The minute I realized the deadpan nature of most of the cast’s delivery, I exclaimed, “Oh shit, this has to be by
I was a musical theatre major at a conservatory program in Manhattan twenty years ago. As a performer and director, I understand what it takes to make a musical come to fruition. The amount of work ethic required to succeed is unfathomable for anyone outside the industry. I cannot imagine the added uphill battle of mounting a show where every cast member has a disability. IMPERFECT showed me that it’s not only possible but positively triumphant.
The film breaks away from rehearsals to focus on each individual’s personal life. These moments successfully solidify our emotional investment in the cast. We get to know who these actors are and why they choose the theatre. Everyone is unique. Sometimes we forget that disability comes in all forms. Their spotlights shine with eloquence and honesty. They raise awareness, shatter stereotypes, and remind us to choose kindness.
I could have watched an entire film on the audition process alone. Frankly, I would watch a series of “imperfect” shows. It is a brilliant treatment for years of unique entertainment. Phamaly Theatre Company might have cornered an untapped market for the masses. Televising the process could have these performers reach a massive audience beyond “Chicago.” Pushing that grandiose idea aside, as a stand-alone doc, you’ll fall head over heels in love with this company. Directors Brian Malone and Regan Linton (who plays double duty as “Chicago’s” director) have given audiences everywhere a heartfelt gift in IMPERFECT. We learn much in an hour and fifteen minutes.
Folklore and family meld too well in 
Strangely enough, one of my favorite scenes is the only earnest tension breaker in the film. It’s an oddly placed music video performed by the sisters. Each has a chance to show off their personalities. It’s seemingly something they did as children, and like the rest of the film, it lands somewhere between enchanting and creepy as hell. The set’s dressing, particularly the bedrooms, have a candy-colored aesthetic to them. Laura Ashley-Esque prints against morose faces unsettle your body. The story of the ill-fated seven sisters becomes more intriguing once you realize the ancient origins apply both to the sea and stars. While writer-director Sarah Adina Smith‘s film ultimately leaves us with more questions than answers, it’s a film that is impossible to shake.
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