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SIFF ‘24 Capsule Review: ‘SING SING’ Frees the Humanity Incarcerated Within

Based on the true story of the Sing Sing prison’s “Rehabilitation Through the Arts” program, Greg Kwedar’s sensitively-told American drama is a profound act of cinematic grace. Colman Domingo, in yet another towering performance, stars as Divine G, a wrongfully jailed playwright who works with the prison population to put on theatrical productions and find a semblance of peace – and themselves – through the process. Both life-affirming and quietly devastating, Sing Sing probes the nuances of the indomitable human spirit, in a place where autonomy is a lost luxury, adding authenticity in spades by casting real-life formerly incarcerated men like Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin and Sean San José. (A-)

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SIFF ‘24 Capsule Review: ‘BOB TREVINO LIKES IT’ Will Break Your Little Heart

When Lily’s (Barbie Ferreira) narcissistic father, Bob Trevino (French Stewart, unrecognizable in the role), cuts off contact with his lonely well-meaning daughter, she finds a “surrogate dad” online (John Leguizamo) who shares the same name. Their relationship blossoms into something profound and poignant, with each struggling with their own personal demons but overcoming them through kindness. A sincere and heartfelt tearjerker that’s deeply personal but a total crowdpleaser; intimate and warm though mired in abuse and loss; and economical and authentic while brimming with breakout talent in front of and behind the camera. Ferreira and Leguizamo broke my heart over and over again while French Stewart is absolutely insufferable (as he’s supposed to be). The fact that this movie about healing from abuse – where broken people chose to be good in the face of life’s greatest challenges – is rooted in writer-director Tracie Laymon’s own true story just underscores its deeply felt sincerity. Expect to be misty-eyed throughout. (A-)

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SIFF ‘24 Capsule Review: ‘IN A VIOLENT NATURE’ Sees Slashing As a Tireless Chore  

You’ve probably heard by now that the convention-shucking horror experiment In a Violent Nature is Friday the 13th from the POV of its hulking killer. The 93-minute indie slasher is as campy—and largely uninvolving—as that premise promises. The third-person killer cam shtick wears off quickly, especially since writer-director Chris Nash’s camerawork has two modes: lurking and swirling. There’s an excess of footage showing the killer stomping through the woods, punctuated by some gory practical kills, including a yoga execution that’s downright revelatory—but it serves zero tension and offers only the faintest hint of a story, with bits of lore doled out in the margins of the frame. Read More

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SIFF ‘24 Capsule Review: ‘ODDITY’ Brings Paranormal Scares

Damian McCarthy’s SXSW audience award winnerOddity sees a blind medium (Carolyn Bracken) strike out for revenge after her twin sister is brutally murdered. A twisty midnight movie from Ireland that effectively balances jump scares and tension within its unique premise of otherworldly vengeance and recompense, Oddity dolls out its narrative breadcrumbs at a healthy pace, making for an frighteningly edge-of-your-seat foray into the world of the paranormal. A stoic wooden mannequin that’s just hanging out in most frames amplifies Oddity‘s crafty blend of suspense and WTF energy. McCarthy’s darkly-lit supernatural world flirts with the familiar – creaking hinges, patient shots down shadowy hallways, sudden apparitions – but is complemented by real style and narrative verve. The performances verge on B-movie camp but McCarthy’s sinuous, sinister work makes this dark fiction amply dreary nonetheless, resulting in a midnight fright-fest that’s sure to delight horror aficionados craving a good scare . (B) Read More

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SIFF ‘24 Capsule Review: It Takes a Village to Raise ‘BABES’ 

Director Pamela Adlon and writer-star Ilana Glazer bring their comedic prowess to Babes, a crowd-pleasing pregnancy comedy that reworks the familiar “oops-I’m-pregnant” trope with a fresh, feminist twist. Despite its predictable plot, the film shines with Glazer’s brassy humor and a heartfelt celebration of female friendship, positioning itself as a millennial answer to Juno. The chemistry between Glazer and co-star Michelle Buteau elevates the standard rom-com fare, making it a lol-able tribute to the gross-out majesty and comedy of biology that is having a baby. Bring a girlfriend, or a few, and deliver yourself this comical, sincere celebration of becoming and being a woman. (B) Read More

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SIFF ‘24 Capsule Review: ‘JANET PLANET’ Orbits Momotony

A maladjusted soon-to-be-middle-schooler and her codependent acupuncturist mother navigate summer break and a string of bad relationships in Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Annie Baker’s studious but tedious drama Janet Planet. Janet and Lacy’s intertwined existence rests at the intersection of intimacy and monotony,  as the duo swing between piano lessons, summer camp, local theater, picnics, and barn dances, making for a drily comic but often snooze-inducing portrait of the unique balance that exists between mother and daughter. There are worthwhile pockets and Julianne Nicholson flashes raw tenderness as the freewheeling and woe-begotten Janet but Baker’s film – thatched onto a meager script – is ultimately too impressionistic, rambling, and unfocused to leave much of an impression. (C)

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SIFF ‘24 Capsule Review:  ‘EVIL DOES NOT EXIST’ Ponders Divide Between Man and Nature

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to Drive My Car, the meditative nature drama Evil Does Not Exist, is anti-commercial in every conceivable way, its slow-moving narrative primed to test the patience of viewers used to films with more assertive pacing. Though it takes a while to get off the ground and reveal what it’s actually about, this Japanese-language tone poem is quietly spellbinding in its exploration of the dissidence between the natural world and the onslaught of commercial enterprise, as witnessed through the lens of a glamping company’s impending occupation of a small town. Arguably more striking as a filmic thesis than a film, Hamaguchi’s ponderous philosophical journey through wooded strolls and town hall meetings will likely bore general audiences to tears but will deservedly find its share of devotees who appreciate Hamaguchi’s nimble, unhurried art form. Eiko Ishibashi’s somber score does a lot of dramatic heavy lifting. (B-)
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SXSW ‘24: Crafty ‘SEW TORN’ A Choice Midnighter 

Sew Torn, Freddy Macdonald’s crafty seamstress thriller told in three vignettes, calls to mind the Choose Your Own Adventure books popularized before the internet. Invariably, readers would determine which path their protagonist should take, with most roads leading to a less-than-fortunate ending. In Sew Torn, a pivotal decision takes shape when Barbara Duggen (Eve Connolly) stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong: a suitcase of money and two barely living motorcyclists crashed on an otherwise idyllic stretch of Swiss motorway. Read More

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Sundance ‘24: ‘DÌDI’ Comes Of Age in Observant, Rude Dramedy 

In his cringe-tastic treatise on middle school awkwardness Eighth Grade, Bo Burnham captured the universal horror of growing up through the specificity of Elsie Fisher’s Kayla. Her oily identity crisis effortlessly evoked our own transitory 13-year-old state, subjecting us to the lost-but-not-forgotten dread of first crushes, online interactions, and seething parental conflict. With Dìdi, Oscar-nominated director Sean Wang does much the same, with more of a skater-punk male juvenile delinquent edge. While the similarities are easy to identify, Dìdi stands on its own as a singular vision of coming-of-age that taps into the universality of being a total dickhead rage monster, because hormones. Read More

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Sundance ‘24: Love and Faith Collide ‘BETWEEN THE TEMPLES’ In Quirky Jewish Rom-Com

After the sudden passing of his author wife, a Jewish cantor (Jason Schwartzman) finds himself deep in the throes of a crisis of faith that has his questioning everything from his career to his own worth. When he crosses paths with his childhood music teacher (Carol Kane), herself at a turning point in life, his misery and her meshuggah send the pair into orbit around one another. Together they decide she’ll have her long-awaited Bat Mitzvah, despite the fact that she’s in her 70s. Between Two Temples, written and directed by Nathan Silver, explores this unexpected relationship at the intersection of faith, expectation, and love, using humor and heart to examine how what makes sense on paper is rarely what the heart yearns for. Read More