“Mary, Alpha, Yankee, Delta, Alpha, Yankee…” a woman’s voice lazily repeats over radio static, as a man parachutes from a helicopter amid a freak storm. That refrain echoes throughout Karen Cinorre‘s surreal drama: “Mayday, mayday” the woman calls, not appearing to need much help at all. But Mayday is very much about women in need. […]

Using the same Screenlife technology that powered films like 2018’s innovative Searching, director Carey Williams reimagines William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet through phone screens and social media accounts in his debut feature R#J. That approach might sound obnoxious, but for the most part, it works surprisingly well. Just as Baz Luhrmann did in 1996 with […]

Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Clare (Ruth Negga) meet in the restaurant of a posh New York hotel, spotting each other from across the room. Irene mistakes Clare for a stranger at first, but as it turns out, the women grew up together. But as Irene looks Clare over during this reunion, she can hardly believe […]

Flitting around the giant industrial trawlers that haul in hundreds of fish every day are the bright, colorful luzzus, the small but sturdy traditional fishing boats of the Maltese islands, painted in vibrant yellows, and blues, and reds that create beautiful little beacons scattered throughout the surrounding seas. But the luzzus are slowly disappearing, its […]

Netflix finds itself in an interesting position as this year’s odd Oscar season gets underway. Mank, director David Fincher‘s luxurious Old Hollywood period piece, was once considered a frontrunner in several categories, but as we get further and further from its release, it seems Netflix may be worried that voters might forget about the film […]

Nicole Kidman seems to really enjoy doing TV work. Not only did she do both seasons of Big Little Lies and The Undoing for HBO, but she’s also turned in performances on shows like Top of the Lake and is set to star in the upcoming Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers. And now she’s added yet another series to […]

Saturday Night Live closed out 2020 with a festive and fun Christmas episode hosted by veteran cast member and Wonder Woman 1984 co-star Kristen Wiig. It was the last SNL before the Presidential Inauguration gave us renewed hope for a year that wouldn’t be quite so full of nightmarish days. With the first SNL of […]

Fran Kranz made a breakthrough performance as the amusing stoner in the meta horror movie Cabin in the Woods. Now a new chapter in Kranz’s career has triumphantly begun with his quiet, confident, and devastating feature writing and directorial debut Mass. Mass takes its time digging into intimate drama, slowly ramping up its tension and […]

Werewolf stories frequently involve allegorical explorations of the duality of man: the clash between the “civilized” surface layer and the violent beast within. But unlike so many other films in this genre, writer/director Sean Ellis‘s new werewolf thriller Eight for Silver does not fixate on a gruesome physical transformation to illustrate that duality. Instead, Ellis deploys the werewolf […]

Shaq, a handsome 24-year-old, stares down the camera lens, grunting his approval or dismissal as he scrolls through online dating profiles. A friend sits nearby, looking over Shaq’s shoulder and offering occasional commentary: a raised eyebrow, a suggestion of approval. Shaq explains to an off-camera voice that he’s trying to get back in the dating […]