March 18, 2017

SXSW 2017


This year I hit SXSW hard, penning pieces for CBR, Screen Rant, The Playlist and Pajiba. I'll be posting them here as they publish. 


REVIEWS
Atomic BlondeAudiences will be helpless but to bow down, as Atomic Blonde has come to take your breathe away, and leave you giddy, gasping for more.


Baby DriverTapping less into emotions and more into adrenaline and wonder, it's more style than substance, but oh, what style! 


ColossalColossal is a film so strange it's very existence seems a miracle.


Dear White PeopleSimien uses the movie as prologue to a show that better develops and explores his themes, relishing in the complexities, contradictions, joys and frustrations of the black experience.


The Disaster ArtistFranco wants to have his cake and eat it too, openly mocking Wiseau for his weirdness, then heralding him for his persistence and ability to embrace The Room's reputation.

Free Fire: "a fearless and sharp shoot ’em up, loaded with star power, and polished with gallows humor."

May It Last: plays more like a puff piece than a concert doc, never digging to discover the hard sacrifice to this hectic touring schedule, the dirt beneath the fingernails of such work. 


Most Beautiful Island The story Asensio spins is delicate and threatening, like a spider’s web. The suspense woven through the third act is nauseating, and a bit sublime.

Muppet Guys Talking: boasts an easy vibrancy and radiant joy in this conversation that we feel lucky to be the fly on its wall.


PrevengeLowe has made a spectacular directorial debut in a film that is defiant, disturbing, and darkly hilarious.


Small CrimesDrained of humor - dark or otherwise - this crime thriller becomes one note, and that note is bleak.


Tragedy GirlsWatch your back Heathers, because Tragedy Girls is coming to snatch your crown.


Win It All: might be Swanberg's most accessible film yet. The awkwardness and improvised feel often associated with mumblecore is passed over for a tone and dialogue style that's more polished, but no less impactful.


INTERVIEWS




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