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Slamdance 2024 Review: Chaperone: Highs and Lows in Hilo

Misha is going nowhere fast. Nearly 30 years old, she’s in a perpetual state of arrested development, plodding along in ...
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TCM Classic Film Festival 2023 Review: Celebrating Film Legacies

My eleventh opportunity to cover the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood provided an opportunity to enjoy some old favorites ...
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Make Believe Seattle 2023 Review: Smoking Causes Coughing

If you’re in the Seattle area this weekend, Make Believe Seattle Film Festival is making its debut with a fascinating ...
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A scene grab from the short film Fireworks

Tribeca 2022 Interview: Producer Annalise Davis Talks Fireworks

Producer Annalise Davis has been in the film industry for nearly 20 years, having worked on films such as The ...
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Tribeca 2022 Review: The DOC

In the rap and hip hop world, it's one thing to have confidence and ego about being one of the ...
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A scene grab from the short film Fireworks

Tribeca 2022 Review: Fireworks

There have been many films and television series that involve top-level characters carrying out orders to bomb a certain location ...
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Tribeca 2022 Review: Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine

Coming out of the closet for in one of the most difficult things that anyone in LGBTQ community ever has ...
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A scene from the 2022 movie Katrina Babies

Tribeca 2022 Review: Katrina Babies

There is no way that someone could direct a documentary such as Katrina Babies the same way if they had ...
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A scene from the movie A Rising Fury

Tribeca 2022 Review: A Rising Fury

Starting with the Maidan Revolution in Kyiv in 2013, and leading up to the current invasion from Russia, A Rising ...
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An interactive scene from the movie The Visitor

Tribeca 2022 Review: The Visitor

After spending time in jail for “alcoholism,” Humberto (Enrique Araoz) is three years sober and ready to restart his life ...
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Integrity of Joseph Chambers movie scene

Tribeca 2022 Review: The Integrity of Joseph Chambers

Joseph Chambers (Clayne Crawford), or “Joe” as some call him, is not the kind of man you would think could ...
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An emotional scene from the movie A Love Song

Tribeca Film Festival 2022 Review: A Love Song

An unorthodox romance set in a beautiful, vast Colorado backdrop is at the center of Max Walker-Silverman's beguilingly unassuming directorial ...
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An emotional scene from the movie A Love Song

Tribeca 2022 Review: A Love Song

Dale Dickey has been acting for nearly 30 years, and chances are, you’ve seen her in at least one movie ...
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LeVar Burton featuring in Butterfly in the Sky movie

Tribeca 2022 Review: Butterfly in the Sky

The opening scene of Butterfly in the Sky centers LeVar Burton in front of a huge library filled with books. ...
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Tribeca 2022 Review: Wes Schlagenhauf is Dying

If you said that there are too many pandemic comedies existing now, I would have to agree with you. However, ...
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Tribeca 2022 Review: Out of Order

Sometimes the big city can bring a lot of you, including your search of love after heartbreak. This appealingly familiar ...
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Tribeca 2022 Review: The Lost Weekend: A Love Story

Produced and directed by Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman, and Stuart Samuels, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story documents the love ...
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Tribeca 2022 Review: Nude Tuesday

I've never been married nor have been in a relationship, but I have seen enough on film and TV to ...
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A scene from the movie Peace in the Valley

Tribeca 2022 Review: Peace in the Valley

It’s a sad coincidence that Tyler Riggs’ Peace in the Valley premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival as the nation ...
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An emotional scene from the movie Rounding

Tribeca 2022 Review: Rounding

Alex Thompson’s Rounding is classified as a psychological thriller, and it has the necessary elements to categorize it as such. ...
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Tribeca 2022 Review: Closing Dynasty

Written and directed by Lloyd Lee Choi Closing Dynasty is a quietly humanistic short portrait of how we really do ...
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TCM Classic Film Festival 2022 Review: Day Three

[Read Lorna's Day One and Two coverage of TCMFF 2022] Three on a Match (1932) was one of the most ...
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TCM Classic Film Festival 2022 Review: Day One and Two

After a three-year hiatus, the TCM Classic Film Festival returned to an in-person event in Hollywood over four days and ...
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The Fellowship of the Mafia Ring DVD Cover

SXSW 2022 Review: Mickey: The Story of a Mouse

As Walt Disney once said, “It all started with a mouse.” Now, that mouse, whose name you are probably spelling ...
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A scene from the movie Cha Cha Real Smooth

SXSW 2022 Review: Cha Cha Real Smooth

Coming-of-age movies have a tendency to be huge successes in the festival circuit, and most wind up becoming popular with ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: In the Court of the Crimson King

I've seen King Crimson once in concert. It was at the Greek in Los Angeles in 2017, and I went ...
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Tony Hawk, Until the Wheels Fall Off action scene

SXSW 2022 Review: Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off

The opening minutes of Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off captivate the viewer with footage of a present-day Hawk, ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks Review

If you're a huge fan of the classic sketch comedy show The Kids of the Hall, you instantly recognize the ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: Master

Let's face it, Jordan Peele's Get Out (2018) continues to be the horror gold standard of films about racism and ...
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A scene from the movie The Cow by Eli Horowitz

SXSW 2022 Review: The Cow

A bad couple making bad decisions is always a chore to watch as a movie progresses to its end. One ...
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A movie scene interpreting a Biblical event

SXSW 2022 Review: Raquel 1:1

Mariana Bastos’ Raquel 1:1 questions what would happen if the Bible was written with more favorability toward women in its ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: Hypochondriac

As we're young, we fear that we might turn into our parents. When we are older, we deny when we ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: Soft & Quiet

Karen-a-phobia, the fear of Karens could be an accurate tagline for Beth de Araujo's deeply disturbing Soft & Quiet, a ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: Mama Bears

When you grow up in the Christian faith, you are told that if you follow God, honor Jesus, and stay ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: I Love My Dad: Deeply Uncomfortable but Strangely Sweet

I'm not a parent, but I have seen how complicated relationships between parent and their children can actually be. There ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: A Lot of Nothing

A Lot of Nothing begins in the place where the pain and anger about continued injustice turns from a passive ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: I Love My Dad

There is the old saying that “the truth is stranger than fiction.” So, it might be hard to believe that ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: Sissy

Blood, gore, and social commentary are on full display in Hannah Barlow & Kane Senes' Sissy, a wicked horror-thriller that ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: Your Friend, Memphis

People with disabilities are too often ignored in documentaries, and that's a shame. You can learn a lot from them, ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: This Much I Know to Be True

Months ahead of its cinematic release in theaters, the SXSW audience had the opportunity to view the new music documentary ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: Radical Honesty

I can't say much about dating. I've never been on a date, so I have no experience. However, watching movies ...
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SXSW 2022 Review: Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart

For many people, they were raised learning that we should be thinking more than feeling in our everyday lives and ...
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TIFF 2020 Review: Violation Mixes Heavy-Handed Symbolism with Harrowing Trauma

When Violation first opens, it shows a wolf observing its dying prey. Accompanied by an ominous score, the opening sequence provides a ...
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AFI Fest 2019 Review: The Apollo

Roger Ross Williams's The Apollo opens with a performance in progress as Joe Morton reads to an audience at the theater and ...
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Tribeca Film Festival 2019 Review: Burning Cane Is a Visceral yet Rhythmic Directing Debut

The Devil may not be an enemy that can be seen at first glance. However, he can still take many ...
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Cinema Sentries

The 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Four

The last day started with my first 9 am block viewing.  While I was tempted to sleep in, I couldn't ...
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Cinema Sentries

The 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Three

Day Three started with what turned out to be my favorite film of the festival, Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).  ...
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Cinema Sentries

The 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Two

My first full day started with one of my all-time favorite actors Gary Cooper starring in Love in the Afternoon ...
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Cinema Sentries

The 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day One

The festival is held over four days and spread out between the TCL Chinese Theater, the Chinese Multiplex, the Egyptian ...
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LAFF 2018 Review: Stuntman

One of the biggest stars of the 1970s was daredevil Evel Knievel, who made a living risking life and limb ...
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NYFF 2018 Review: Roma Is Flawlessly Transcendent

The best word that can be used to describe Roma is that it is transcendent. It is a transcendent piece ...
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LAFF 2018 Review: The Great Buster: A Celebration

Director Peter Bogdanovich pays tribute to the life and work of Buster Keaton in this biographical documentary about one of ...
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LAFF 2018 Review: Making Montgomery Clift

Co-created by Hillary Demmon and Robert Clift, the actor's youngest nephew and son of his brother Brooks, Making Montgomery Clift ...
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Cinema Sentries

2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Four

The last day of the festival is always started with a mix of emotions, sadness that it is almost over ...
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2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Three

One of my most anticipated films started day three with Bullitt (1968). This is a movie I am always surprised ...
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Cinema Sentries

2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Two

The second day of the festival started with the world premiere restoration of My Brilliant Career (1979) since it features ...
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Cinema Sentries

2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Two

The second day of the festival started with the world premiere restoration of My Brilliant Career (1979) since it features ...
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Cinema Sentries

2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day One

Each year, I seem to be more and more excited when my press credentials are approved for the Turner Classic ...
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Tribeca Film Festival 2018 Review: Cargo Is a Powerful Zombie Drama

When it comes to films depicting the zombie apocalypse, we see the same repetitive formula: Survivors must fight for their ...
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Cinema Sentries

My (Tentative) 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Schedule

Although I am fortunate enough to attend both events, I am disappointed that CinemaCon and TCM Classic Film Festival (TCMFF) ...
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Cinema Sentries

2017 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Four

The last day. It is always with mixed emotions when I look at the schedule for the final day. Film ...
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Cinema Sentries

2017 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Three

One of my most anticipated events was The Last Picture Show (1971) with director Peter Bogdanovich in attendance. While it ...
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Cinema Sentries

2017 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day One and Two

Day One I was hoping to arrive in time to start the festival with the tribute to Robert Osborne but ...
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Cinema Sentries

My Most Anticipated at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival

One of the things I look forward to most every year is the TCM Classic Film Festival. It is a ...
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Cinema Sentries

2016 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Four

Heading into the last day, I was already starting to feel sad that it was almost over. No matter how ...
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Cinema Sentries

2016 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Three

I decided to sleep in to prepare for another big day ahead since there wasn't anything that I really wanted ...
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Cinema Sentries

2016 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day One and Two

Each year as I am heading home from the TCM Classic Film Festival, I am sure that the next year ...
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Tribeca Film Festival 2015 Review: The Overnight Is Quasi-Porn Without the Money Shot

It's been two days since I saw The Overnight and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. ...
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Cinema Sentries

2015 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Three and Four

Saturday morning, I opted to sleep in and miss The Man Who Would be King (1975) to see So Dear ...
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Cinema Sentries

2015 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day One and Two

The 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival was the best one I have attended.  The previous four festivals were fantastic but ...
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It’s A Wrap: The 2014 Humphrey Bogart Film Festival

Humphrey Bogart Estate and Key Largo Chamber of Commerce Announce Creation of Humphrey Bogart Film Festival; Fans Can Help Select ...
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Cinema Sentries

2014 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Three and Four

Day Three Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) had me up and raring to go for Day Three.  Anything starring ...
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Tribeca Film Festival 2014: Thelma Schoonmaker Reveals the Secrets Behind Raging Bull

A film editor's film editor, Martin Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker focused just on Raging Bull for her master class at ...
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Cinema Sentries

2014 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day One and Two

The 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival was my fourth and favorite. It may have been the festival programming or the ...
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Cinema Sentries

My 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival Journal, Part Two

My Saturday started off with a bit of nostalgia at “Bugs Bunny's 75th Birthday Bash”.  Film critic Leonard Maltin and ...
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Cinema Sentries

My 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival Journal, Part One

As the fourth annual TCM Classic Film Festival was approaching, I was filled with anticipation as I made my top ...
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Cinema Sentries

What I Must See at the 2013 TCM Film Festival

As spring approaches, one of the things I look forward to with high anticipation is the TCM Classic Film Festival. ...
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AFI Fest 2012 Review: The Central Park Five: One the Most Important Films of the Year

Based on her book The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding, Sara Burns, her husband David McMahon, ...
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Serenity and Nathan Fillion Close 2012 Hero Complex Film Festival

For those not in the know, Hero Complex is a website that covers the pop-culture beat with a focus on ...
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Cinema Sentries

Reporting on the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival: Day 3 and 4

My longest day of the festival appropriately started with The Longest Day (1962), a star-studded World War II action film ...
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Cinema Sentries

Reporting on the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival: Day 1 and 2

The 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival returned to Hollywood from April 12th through April 15th for their third edition. I ...
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Cinema Sentries

The TCM Classic Film Festival 2011: Presenting Music and the Movies

The 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival returned to Hollywood Blvd for its second run presenting films well-known "Essentials" and obscure ...
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Cinema Sentries

The TCM Classic Film Festival 2010: A Festival Is Born

No longer available online, this review is being re-published. The inaugural TCM Classic Film Festival brought the cable channel to ...
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