Festivals
Coverage of domestic and international film festivals, previewing the latest upcoming features and independent favorites.
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CIFF 2023: Saltburn leaves a bitter taste in the mouth

Emerald Fennell’s followup to Promising Young Woman is a hollow dramedy that wastes solid performances from Carey Mulligan, Rosamund Pike, and others. NOW STREAMING: Powered by JustWatch With her first film, Promising Young Woman, writer-director Emerald Fennell took a storyline that was essentially a cloddish-but-glossy retread of such female-driven revenge sagas as Ms .45 and ... CIFF 2023: Saltburn leaves a bitter taste in the mouth

CIFF Dispatch #1: Departing Seniors, Nyad, & Silver Dollar Road

Raoul Peck’s gripping documentary is the sole standout in this handful of festival offerings. This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist. Following in the wake of Halloween Kills (2021) and Sick, Departing Seniors, the debut feature from ... CIFF Dispatch #1: Departing Seniors, Nyad, & Silver Dollar Road

Fantastic Fest 2023: Baby Assassins 2 Babies offers sublime action and glorious goofiness

Stuntwoman Saori Izawa anchors an often hysterical, occasionally pointed action comedy about surviving the soul-killing grind of modern work—whether mascotting or assassination. Yugo Sakamoto’s Baby Assassins 2 Babies is a glorious hat trick of a movie. It’s a reliably funny, sometimes downright hysterical character comedy. It’s a thrilling action film, proof that Kensue Sonomura (director ... Fantastic Fest 2023: Baby Assassins 2 Babies offers sublime action and glorious goofiness