Media representation of disabled people is challenging to get right — too saccharine, and you’re veering towards inspiration porn, too maudlin, and you’re implying that a disabled life might not be a life worth living. “Ibelin,” the newest documentary from “The Painter and the Thief” filmmaker Benjamin Ree, strikes a poignant balance, acknowledging the ways that physical disability can limit a life while showing how one complex man expanded his world nonetheless.

Continue reading ‘Ibelin’ Review: Finding Freedom, Friendship And Secrecy In Online Gaming [Sundance] at The Playlist.

“Reinas,” the latest from director Klaudia Reynicke, is a quiet but vivid tale of summer days in Lima, Peru. The script, which Reynicke co-wrote with Diego Vega, depicts a family drama against a backdrop of political chaos.

Set in 1992, just after the country’s president sent military officials to shut down Congress, heralding an era of unrest, the film focuses on a small but fractured family’s attempts to understand each other.

Continue reading ‘Reinas’ Review: A Sensuous Summer Set During Peru’s Self-Coup [Sundance] at The Playlist.

It’s notoriously difficult to make films about writers. Writing — literally sitting down at a keyboard and banging out words — is about as fun to watch as paint drying. So filmmakers make much of the research process, the uneven economics, the epic highs and lows of creative life. “Sebastian,” the second feature from Mikko Mäkelä (“A Moment in the Reeds”), takes these liberties to new, bizarre heights, as its scribe protagonist turns to sex work to gin up inspiration for his forthcoming novel

READ MORE: Sundance 2024: The 23 Most Anticipated Movies To Watch

Our author is Max (Ruaridh Mollica), a navel-gazing 25-year-old who escorts online under the name Sebastian.

Continue reading ‘Sebastian’ Review: A Nakedly Solipsistic Quarter-Life Crisis About A Sex Worker [Sundance] at The Playlist.

The writer-director Goran Stolevski, who made nine short films before his feature debut at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, shows no signs of slowing down. His first feature was “You Won’t Be Alone,” a feral witch epic that overflowed with ideas. Though that Noomi Rapace-led bildungsroman was ultimately too unwieldy, it introduced a director with staggering vision.

Stolevski’s second full-length film, “Of An Age,” shows off his expansive sensibility on a more intimate scale.

Continue reading ‘Of An Age’ Review: Gorgeous Tale Of Gay First Love Is A Little Too Perfect at The Playlist.

One of the first things you see in “Consecration,” directed by Christopher Smith (“Triangle,” “Black Death”), is a nun with a gun. That nun is Mother Superior, the unhinged leader of a group of radical sisters in Scotland. She’s taking aim at Grace, an ophthalmologist with a troubled history. You’ll find out why eventually. Sort of.

READ MORE: The 25 Most Anticipated Horror Films Of 2023

For now, “nun with a gun” summarizes this film’s bizarre cocktail of severity and silliness.

Continue reading ‘Consecration’ Review: Nuns And Demons And Scotsmen, Oh My at The Playlist.

After growing up on a steady diet of “Law & Order: SVU,” Dianey Bermeo wanted to be like Olivia Benson, helping victims of sex crimes by bringing their assailants to justice. She gave up on that dream after police investigators in her college town failed to find the man who she said impersonated an officer and sexually assaulted her. She wasn’t disillusioned because the police’s investigation hit a dead end — in fact, the case was closed.

Continue reading ‘Victim/Suspect’ Review: In Netflix’s New Crime Doc, Accusers Become The Accused [Sundance] at The Playlist.

From Jesus’s ripped physique to the Song of Solomon, there’s something about Christian iconography that’s just a little bit sexy. And if you haven’t noticed that yet, you certainly will after seeing “Mamacruz,” the second film from Venezuelan writer-director Patricia Ortega (“Yo, Imposible”). In “Mamacruz,” a randy older woman nearly swoons into the arms of a Jesus statue. She zones out during a particularly saucy reading in the middle of mass, her eyes unfocused and breathing shallow.

Continue reading ‘Mamacruz’ Review: In This Spanish Tale Of Sexual Rediscovery, A Grandmother Comes To Her Senses. [Sundance] at The Playlist.

There’s a popular song in North Korea called “Nothing to Envy.” Lines include, “Who can ever break our strength? / We are not afraid of any storm or stress” and “Our home is the bosom of the Party / We are all brothers and sisters / We envy nothing in the world.” Though they lack running water, indoor plumbing, and basic freedom of thought — to name just a few things — North Koreans are taught to believe that they genuinely have it better than any other country on earth.

Continue reading ‘Beyond Utopia’ Review: Harrowing Documentary Shows A Family’s Escape From North Korea [Sundance] at The Playlist.

In 2008, psychologists Jennifer Whitson and Adam Galinsky scared people into seeing things that weren’t there. In a study, they simulated loss of control in one group of participants, then showed their subjects a series of distorted black-and-white images. Some of the pictures contained the obfuscated outlines of actual things — a horse, a planet, a sailboat — the rest were just staticky abstractions. The group that had been made to feel out of control was more likely to name images where there were none to find.

Continue reading ‘Skinamarink’ Review: The Scares In This TikTok-Viral Indie Horror Are All In Your Head at The Playlist.

2022 was a great year for horror, with savvy niche distributors like IFC Midnight, Shudder, Neon, and A24 putting out some fantastic flicks and big studios going for broke on gonzo titles like “Barbarian,” “Smile,” and Jordan Peele’s “Nope.” 2023 is shaping up to be another excellent year for scare savants — there’s a lot of new original films on the docket, exciting directors to discover, and classic stories to revisit.

Continue reading The 25 Most Anticipated Horror Films Of 2023 at The Playlist.

We just wrapped a year of some solid female-directed films: Dimee Shi’s animated explosion “Turning Red,” Sarah Polley’s Mennonite masterpiece “Women Talking,” Joanna Hogg’s exquisitely understated “The Eternal Daughter.” Now it’s time to get hype for another slate of women-led projects, including two wide-release comedies centered around Asian-American women, the next Greta Gerwig joint, and Elizabeth Banks’ “Cocaine Bear.”

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023

It’s officially our fifth year running this feature, so hopefully, by now, you know the drill.

Continue reading 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2023 at The Playlist.

A dreamlike exploration of toxic masculinity, new motherhood, and sexual awakening, Quebecois actor-director Monia Chokri debuted her second feature, “Babysitter,” at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. While it’s unclear what “Babysitter” is actually trying to say — or even what its characters learn over the course of its plot — the film is so thoroughly sardonic that it gleefully resists any deeper meaning.

READ MORE: Sundance 2022 Preview: 20 Must-See Movies From The Festival

“Babysitter” centers on Cédric (Patrick Hivon), an engineer whose world is upended when he goes viral for drunkenly kissing a female news anchor.

Continue reading ‘Babysitter’ Review: A Sardonic, Lynchian, Mostly-Feminist Fever Dream [Sundance] at The Playlist.

“My Old School,” a documentary by Jono McLeod, opens with an enticing montage. Interviewees speak ominously about a mysterious character who’s done something strange — a man who may even be unhinged enough to have changed his identity through facial reconstruction. But the story the film goes on to tell doesn’t merit this supervillain setup, especially since it refuses to condemn its subject’s very contemptible actions. Though “My Old School” is inventive in some ways and plenty entertaining, its self-indulgent silliness undercuts any shot at a long-lasting impact.

Continue reading ‘My Old School’ Review: An Entertaining, Inventive Doc Undercut By Its Self-Indulgent Silliness [Sundance] at The Playlist.

TikTok is an undeniable force in our society. It has the power to launch music careers, house the homeless, and unite people worldwide. It is an app where anyone can go viral for any reason, not just because they have the right followers. It is also the first Chinese social media app to take over the United States. TikTok’s geopolitical implications are certainly worth exploring, but its social impact is arguably more significant — yet director Shalini Kantayya (“Coded Bias”) uses her documentary “TikTok, Boom” to merely gesture at the latter issue.

Continue reading ‘TikTok, Boom’ Review: A Look At The Geopolitics Of The World’s Biggest Social App [Sundance] at The Playlist.

If you’ve never been to Sundance before, you can expect a lot of fresh features from oft-marginalized directors and — at least these days — films shot with square aspect ratios. “Girl Picture,” a delightful, Finnish coming-of-age tale by the director Alli Haapasalo, fulfills both criteria. The film oozes with cool, and not just because of its hipstery cinematography: its soundtrack, snappy editing, and abundant teen vivacity make this an undeniable crowd-pleaser.

Continue reading ‘Girl Picture’ Review: A Charming, Irresistible Coming-Of-Age Story [Sundance] at The Playlist.

The crux of Nina Menkes’s documentary feature “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power” is that nearly all movies have been made using a specific visual language that teaches society to disempower, disenfranchise, and even abuse women. You may think that on-screen sexism is a thing of the past, or that it can’t possibly affect our society, in which women can now run companies and win Best Director Oscars. Menkes is here to tell you, emphatically, that you are wrong.

Continue reading ‘Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power’ Review: How The Male Gaze Actually Harms Women [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Another year of scares is upon us – the good kind, the on-screen, non-viral kind. A new year means a new year of horror movies, and 2022 has lots to offer. Luca Guadagnino, Scott Derrickson, and David Slade are among the directors trying their hands at literary adaptation, with Gary Dauberman taking on one of Stephen King’s favorite texts. Sundance promises some ghoulish original films by new directors, and loads of franchises are taking another stab at it, from “Evil Dead” to “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Consider this list your guide to the creepiest stuff crawling down the pipeline.

Continue reading The 25 Most Anticipated Horror Films Of 2022 at The Playlist.

Breathe in. Ahhhh. You feel that? Experts worldwide are reporting that today is, factually speaking, the perfect day to watch a female-directed film. Actually – this just in – every day of 2022 has officially been declared the perfect day to watch a female-directed film.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022

That’s a lot of days, so, as per yearly tradition, below are 52 upcoming titles to get you started.

Continue reading 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2022 at The Playlist.

Here we are again — another year that somehow felt both five seconds and twelve eons long has come to a close. For me, a big highlight was definitely getting to see movies in theaters again (post-vaccination and with a mask on, of course). My first venture back was for “A Quiet Place Part II,” and soon after that I got to live my high school theater kid dream by seeing “In the Heights” on the big screen.

Continue reading Lena Wilson’s Top 10 Films Of 2021 at The Playlist.

There’s something about Isabelle Fuhrman’s face. Her splatter of freckles, her sharp cheekbones, her narrow brow — she looks most natural when a bit unhinged, a snarl at her lips or mania wrinkling her forehead. Viewers will recognize her best as the murderous orphan Esther from “The Orphan” or the relentless killer Clove from “The Hunger Games.” Lauren Hadaway made an inspired choice when she cast her as the lead in her first feature, “The Novice,” a breathtaking fable about self-flagellation, hubris, and college rowing.

Continue reading ‘The Novice’ Is A Harrowing, Impeccable Tale Of Self-Brutalization [Review] at The Playlist.

There is a truth we all must accept: “The L Word” is not, in the classical sense, good. It is not prestige television, nor was it ever meant to be. Since 2004, “The L Word” universe has been one to which we have escaped seeing a cast of Sapphics talking, laughing, loving, breathing, fighting, fucking, etc. Even after 17 years, it is still the only ensemble lesbian drama on TV.

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Though “The L Word: Generation Q” is more understated than its foremother — where you are as likely to see a prestigious guest star as you are to see, say, a jilted ex committing arson — it is still essentially a high-production soap opera.

Continue reading ‘The L Word: Generation Q’ Season 2 Is A Soap Trying To Play It Straight [Review] at The Playlist.

The first season of “Betty,” HBO’s half-hour comedy spin-off from Crystal Moselle’s feature “Skate Kitchen,” had a point. It followed a pack of skateboarding Gen Z women as they navigated young adulthood and female sexuality in the #MeToo era. The show occasionally meandered but ultimately made a charming, worthwhile debut.

The same cannot be said for the second season. With all of the first season’s social commentary stripped away, “Betty” has now become a banal, painfully self-absorbed slog through petty problems.

Continue reading ‘Betty’ Season 2 Turns A Skater Girl Romp Into A Self-Absorbed Slog [Review] at The Playlist.

The first season of “Love, Victor” offered a family-friendly journey out of the closet. Season 2 picks up right where Season 1 left off, as the protagonist, Victor (Michael Cimino), finally tells his family he’s gay. Life in the high school closet defined both the start of “Love, Victor” and “Love, Simon,” the cinematic inspiration for the show. So, without the fear of coming out hanging over its plot, where does “Love, Victor” go next?

Continue reading ‘Love, Victor’ Season 2 Is Ballsier And Better Than Ever [Review] at The Playlist.

Pandemic life may have been horror enough for most, and no, this isn’t some comment on Inauguration Day, but those of us who find comfort in giving ourselves the creeps have been in a bit of a drought. Last year saw the displacement of some massive upcoming titles, like “A Quiet Place Part II,” Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele’s “Candyman” sequel, and the next David Gordon Green “Halloween” installment, “Halloween Kills.” Those movies are all set to finally premiere this year, and they – along with a few other holdovers and some new features – are among our most anticipated horror films of 2021.

Continue reading The 25 Most Anticipated Horror Movies Of 2021 at The Playlist.

Every year is a good year to stan female directors, but 2021 has cooked us up a real feast. Acting veterans like Rebecca Hall, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright, and Halle Berry are finally claiming their director’s chairs on feature films, while arthouse icon Jane Campion is returning to hers after 12 years. Foreign language directors like Lucile Hadžihalilović and Ildikó Enyedi are making their English-language debuts, and French juggernaut Mélanie Laurent is working on two releases back to back.

Continue reading 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2021 at The Playlist.