Sometimes I Think About Dying
The first films we saw in this year's festival deal with the anxieties of parenthood and personhood.
(This dispatch is part of our coverage of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.)
Film festivals, Sundance in particular, are often the domain of the solid three-star movie -- unremarkable but workable indies and debuts that prove the arrival (or resurgence) of a major talent, albeit without the polish that would make the work they're bringing you feel complete. And that was certainly the case for my first day at (virtual) Sundance, with a quartet of titles covering similar thematic ground and running out of steam long before the end credits roll. Put together, this crop of films collectively explored the loneliness and isolation of the human experience, not to mention the specific vagaries of (cis)womanhood, especially where children are concerned. And they were... okay, I guess? Continue Reading →
All Man: The International Male Story
This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. Continue Reading →
The Bob's Burgers Movie
Studio20th Century Studios,
Expanding a television show that usually runs for twenty-five minutes into a full-length feature film can be patty hard. Sorry, I mean pretty hard. After spending so much time in director Loren Bouchard’s colorful, sardonic world filled with enough burger puns to fill a McDonald’s ball pit, it’s hard to resist that sort of thing. Continue Reading →
Centaurworld
SimilarTales from the Neverending Story,
Netflix's new animated show Centaurworld, created by Megan Nicole Dong, is a whimsical show set in a world of centaurs. It's chock full of catchy songs and comedic moments that adults and kids will enjoy, but it also bogs itself down with complicated mythology that steals time from its lovable characters. Continue Reading →
Music
Watch afterJurassic World Dominion (2022),
Before its release, Sia’s Music has generated controversy regarding the handling of its titular autistic character, including the decision to cast neurotypical actor Maddie Zeigler in the role. Sia’s responses to these critiques have only enflamed the hubbub, but tragically, those concerns are immaterial. Not because Music does a good job of handling the perspective of an autistic person, but rather quite the opposite. Continue Reading →