Category: Festivals

Some films don’t just unfold before you — they draw you in and refuse to let go. Premiering at Fantastic Fest 2025, Sirāt, the latest from director Óliver Laxe, is one of those rare, compelling cinematic experiences. Shot with hypnotic beauty by cinematographer Mauro Herce, the film follows Luis (Sergi López, in one of his… Continue reading FANTASTIC FEST 2025: Sirāt – draws you in and refuses to let go

I was not at all prepared for this movie. I was offered a guaranteed ticket and reserved seat, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to experience a film that would absolutely blow my mind. Though I read the synopsis offered by Fantastic Fest, I had no idea what kind of experience I would have.… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2025: Sirāt Delivers Breathtaking Tension

One of the secret screenings of Fantastic Fest came as a complete surprise to me. I had never heard of the movie, so when the title leaked before the screening, all I could do was shrug. I knew it was the newest movie from director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaker behind the first three Pirates of… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2025: GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE

The 20th Anniversary version of Austin’s Fantastic Fest kicked off with a movie that was sure to whet the appetites of festival attendees with a feast of horror, gore, and humor. The movie is Primate, a film about a chimpanzee infected with rabies that attacks a group of unsuspecting teenagers partying at a parents’ paradise… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2025: PRIMATE

Written and directed by Zak Hilditch, We Bury the Dead premiered at the SXSW Film and Television Festival on March 9th, 2025. It is now released theatrically in the US as of today, January 2, 2026, after a festival run last year. The film is a drama and does contain some horror due to the… Continue reading We Bury the Dead (SXSW 2025 Film Festival Premiere) Now in Theaters

This year’s Austin Film Festival had programming stacked with movies that were generating buzz at other festivals. After receiving lots of positive feedback from the Venice International Film Festival and knowing it is a Noah Baumbach film, I knew I must attend the screening at AFF. Jay Kelly does not disappoint. Baumbach’s attention to story… Continue reading AFF 2025: JAY KELLY Delivers Stellar Turns By George Clooney And Adam Sandler

Having taught Shakespeare for thirty years, I approached Hamnet with both anticipation and caution. The life of William Shakespeare, as most scholars understand, can almost fit on a postage stamp—an extraordinary creative legacy paired with a frustratingly sparse historical record. So, when Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel premiered, I knew I wasn’t… Continue reading AFF 2025 – Hamnet: a haunting and heartfelt act of imagination

Writer/director Rian Johnson is back with another installment in his Benoit Blanc mystery series. After loving Knives Out and enjoying Glass Onion, I was definitely ready to see what the filmmaker had been cooking for the past 3 years since the last movie. It certainly pleases me that each chapter of this series feels unique… Continue reading AFF 2025: WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY

Based on the novella (of the same title) by Denis Johnson, writer/director Clint Bentley and co-writer Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing) adapt this moving and compelling story of a simple man who must constantly travel away from his family to toil for the railroad. The movie had a limited theatrical release but is now streaming on… Continue reading AFF 2025: TRAIN DREAMS: Beautiful and Haunting

Having visited Japan twice and fallen in love with its blend of quiet elegance and modern energy, I was instantly captivated by Rental Family—a film that explores both the poetry and contradictions of life in Tokyo. Director Hikari portrays the city not as a neon-lit spectacle, but as a deeply human landscape, full of small… Continue reading AFF 2025 – Rental Family: Fraser delivers a luminous, deeply grounded performance