‘Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders’ Review: An Engrossing if Incohesive Dive Into William Friedkin’s Gay S&M Thriller and Its Surrounding Controversy

Admin3 weeks ago014 mins

Arguably no major gay-themed film has ever been as polarizing within the queer community as 1980’s Cruising, the gritty William Friedkin crime thriller set against the backdrop of New York’s leather-bar scene. Documentarian Jeffrey Schwarz takes a three-pronged approach to the subject in Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, examining the real-life homicide that inspired the story, the development…

‘Next Life’ Review: Emilia Clarke Leads Drake Doremus’ Underbaked Romantic Thought Exercise

Admin3 weeks ago011 mins

Ivy Bettencourt (Emilia Clarke), the heroine of writer-director Drake Doremus‘ latest romantic navel-gazer, is a little bit of a mess. We know this because the first time we see her, she’s oversleeping her alarm by so much that she barely makes her train — at which point she promptly spills coffee all over a handsome…

‘Dragonfly’ Review: Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn Dazzle in a Bleak British Shocker

Admin1 year ago06 mins

It’s always risky to mix genres, but some movies pull off the trick with more skill than others. Dragonfly, which had its world premiere this week in Tribeca, starts as an intimate character drama, with two Oscar-nominated British actresses — Brenda Blethyn and Andrea Riseborough — at the top of their game. (They were given…

‘Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything’ Review: Hulu Doc Offers a Solid Overview, but Limited Depth, on the Television Pioneer

Admin1 year ago010 mins

It’s a familiar routine: Famous person dies and each network’s news division works quickly to cobble together (or finish off) a tribute special that answers a few basic questions — “Why was this person significant?” mostly — in a satisfying way that can be delivered within days of the death. Tribute packages like that aren’t…

Marc Maron’s ‘WTF’ Podcast Ending in the Fall: “We’re Burnt Out”

Admin1 year ago06 mins

Marc Maron‘s WTF with Marc Maron Podcast is ending after 16 years. Maron announced the news on his Monday show, saying, “It’s nice to be able to end things on our own terms. We started the show on our terms. We grew it on our terms, and we’ll end it on our terms.” Maron and…

#‘It Was All a Dream’ Review: Compelling dream hampton Memoir Mines the Past to Make a Case for Documenting the Present

Admin2 years ago09 mins

Early in the documentary It Was All a Dream, the veteran music journalist and filmmaker dream hampton (stylized in lowercase as an homage to the scholar bell hooks), moseys around the offices of The Source magazine, filming her colleagues. The hip hop periodical was, in its early days, a wellspring for understanding the nascent genre….

#‘Lake George’ Review: Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon in a Conventional Neo-Noir With a Few Welcome Twists

Admin2 years ago08 mins

A nifty little neo-noir carried by two likeable leads, Lake George follows a pair of down-and-out, middle-aged criminals who try to rip off a rich gangster and somehow get away with it. Is that a familiar premise? Yes. Do stars Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon manage to make the material feel both fresh and engaging?…

#‘Adult Best Friends’ Review: Endearing Debut Tackles the Awkwardness of Aging Friendships

Admin2 years ago09 mins

An instantly identifiable duo stands at the center of Adult Best Friends, Delaney Buffett’s endearing feature debut premiering at Tribeca. Delaney (Buffett) and Katie (Katie Corwin) are the kind of pals whose relationship spans decades and whose co-dependence runs deep. They met in seventh grade while taking refuge in the bathroom during a party. Old…

#‘The Perfect Find’ Review: Gabrielle Union and Gina Torres Anchor Messy Netflix Rom-Com

Admin3 years ago011 mins

Boldness defines Numa Perrier’s soapy romantic comedy The Perfect Find. Characters make unbelievable decisions in the name of love. Grand proclamations are yelled from across parks and outside apartment buildings. Everyone’s dressed in the most maximalist attire: Loud prints, geometrically striking jewelry, intense hairstyles. It all seems rather unbelievable until you remember the ridiculousness is…

#‘Richland’ Review: A Sensitive Portrait of the American Dream and the Fallout of a Nuclear Legacy

Admin3 years ago012 mins

In the town of Richland, Washington, which was created in 1943 as part of a clandestine government program, there’s a street named Proton Lane, the high school football team is called the Bombers, and the school mascot is a mushroom cloud. It’s been decades since the nearby Hanford Nuclear Site was decommissioned, but Richland remains,…