Category: Reviews

SXSW 2026 – Love Language: enough sincerity and charm along the way to make it enjoyable

Love Language feels like the kind of romantic comedy that’s trying to be a little more thoughtful than most, even if it doesn’t always get there smoothly. Directed by Joey Powers and led by Chloë Grace Moretz, the film centers on Lou, a writer whose career has stalled into writing marketing copy, only to find… Continue reading SXSW 2026 – Love Language: enough sincerity and charm along the way to make it enjoyable

SXSW 2026 – Forbidden Fruits: frustrating, shallow, and nowhere near clever

Credit: Coker

I saw Forbidden Fruits at SXSW 2026 and walked out feeling genuinely disappointed. It sets itself up like it’s going to be bold, edgy, and maybe even a little subversive, especially with its all-female coven operating inside a suburban mall. Directed by Meredith Alloway and featuring a strong cast led by Lili Reinhart, Victoria Pedretti,… Continue reading SXSW 2026 – Forbidden Fruits: frustrating, shallow, and nowhere near clever

Project Hail Mary: humor, tension, and a surprising amount of warmth

Ryan Gosling in 'Project Hail Mary.' Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

I skipped the closing film at SXSW this year and instead attended the screening of Project Hail Mary. Honestly, I was skeptical at first—how could a story about one guy and a rock-like alien carry an entire movie without becoming boring or losing its heart? It seemed like the kind of idea that might look… Continue reading Project Hail Mary: humor, tension, and a surprising amount of warmth

SXSW 2026: READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME – A Fun Sequel That Expands on The Lore Of The First Installment

On the second night of the 2026 SXSW Film & TV festival, the programmers scheduled and screened the highly anticipated sequel to Ready or Not, directed by the respected Radio Silence collective (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett). The movie delivers more of what fans of the first film enjoyed, along with some expansion of the… Continue reading SXSW 2026: READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME – A Fun Sequel That Expands on The Lore Of The First Installment

SXSW 2026 Film Review: Mam

***Spoilers ahead*** ‘Mam’ is a triumph in its own beautiful, charming, and simplistic way. In this documentary-style fiction film, we watch a young man struggling in the New York iron jungle to build his life as we slowly learn that his real dream is to own a restaurant, where he can bring his Vietnamese culinary… Continue reading SXSW 2026 Film Review: Mam

SXSW 2026 – Over Your Dead Body: a fun, energetic mix of action, comedy, and thriller

Over Your Dead Body is one of those films that knows exactly what it is—and embraces it with a grin, fitting the theme that SXSW programmers appeared to promote for this festival – graphic violence and broken people. Directed by Jorma Taccone, the premise is deliciously simple: a dysfunctional couple heads to a remote cabin under the… Continue reading SXSW 2026 – Over Your Dead Body: a fun, energetic mix of action, comedy, and thriller

SXSW 2026 – Sender:

I saw Sender at its world premiere during SXSW 2026, and it’s the kind of film that immediately pulls you in with a sharp, unsettling premise. Directed by Russell Goldman, the story follows Julia, played by Britt Lower, who is newly sober and newly unemployed, trying to rebuild her life in a quiet suburban rental.… Continue reading SXSW 2026 – Sender:

SXSW 2026 – Chili Finger: bold, strange, and undeniably fun

I saw Chili Finger at its world premiere during SXSW 2026, and it’s one of those films that makes me laugh, wince, and then think a little longer than I expected. Directed by Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad, the movie takes a bizarre real-life premise and pushes it into dark, chaotic, and surprisingly thoughtful territory.… Continue reading SXSW 2026 – Chili Finger: bold, strange, and undeniably fun

SXSW 2026 – I Love Boosters: too chaotic to land solidly

With his SXSW 2026 opening night film, Boots Riley’s latest swings big — and I found myself both admiring aspects of it and shaking my head in equal measure. From the beginning, it’s clearly a Boots Riley film: bold, highly stylized, and full of color. The imagery is vivid and creative, almost intoxicating at times,… Continue reading SXSW 2026 – I Love Boosters: too chaotic to land solidly