Adam Vaughn | Film Festival Today

Film Review: Even with Great Performances, This “Old Man” Is Confused

October 13, 2022

Film Review: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” Entertains, Even if it Doesn’t Surprise

October 4, 2022

Film Review: “Vesper” Achieves a Unique Brilliance

September 29, 2022

Film Review: “Medieval” Delivers More Action and Gore Than Original Story

September 7, 2022

Film Review: “Beast” May Be Thrilling but Attacks with Convenient Plot Points

August 18, 2022

Film Review: “Day Shift” Is All Jokes and Blood but Very Little Content

August 12, 2022

Film Review: “Prey” Revitalizes the Predator Franchise with Fresh Content and Fun Thrills

August 5, 2022

Film Review: “It Snows All the Time” Shows Potential Despite Flaws

July 28, 2022

Film Review: “She Will” Is an Abstract and Simplified Representation of Female Empowerment

July 14, 2022

Film Review: While It May Not Always Captivate, “Rubikon” Tells a Modest Sci-Fi Thriller Story

July 1, 2022

Film Review: “Elvis” Is a Fast-Paced Adventure Celebrating the King of Rock and Roll

June 23, 2022

SXSW Interview with “Fancy Dance” Director Erica Tremblay
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
March 17, 2023
Director Erica Tremblay’s Fancy Dance premiered at Sundance 2023 (where I reviewed it), and tells the story of Jax (Lily Gladstone) and her niece, Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) as they simultaneously look for Roki’s missing mother, Tawi, while evading officials from Child Protective Services on their way to an annual powwow. Tremblay hails from the Seneca-Cayuga nation in which the story takes place, and the film is filled with authentic details ... >>
SXSW Interview with “Queendom” Director Agniia Galdanova and Producer Igor Myakotin
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
March 16, 2023
Director Agniia Galdanova’s new documentary, Queendom, just premiered at SXSW 2023 (where I reviewed it). It follows transgender Russian performance artist and activist Gena (known as Gena Marvin on social media) from Magadan in Russia’s Far East, where she grew up, to Moscow and beyond as she struggles against her country’s prejudices and growing crackdown on dissent. I sat down with Galdanova and her producer, Igor Myakotin, at the festival. ... >>
XR Beats from SXSW 2023
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
March 15, 2023
VR, AR, MR … XR … so many acronyms to describe a form of enhanced reality that is very much still in flux in this now-third decade of the 21st century. Many film and technology festivals have, for at least about 10 years now, been showcasing the state of the art as its stands in the very moment. SXSW has now rebranded the section devoted to such work the “XR Experience” exhibition. Here at the 2023 festival, I had an opportunity to walk ... >>
SXSW Review: “If You Were the Last” Goes from Lost to Saved in a Lovely Final Act
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
March 13, 2023
If You Were the Last (Kristian Mercado, 2023) 3 out of 4 stars. If You Were the Last, from director Kristian Mercado and writer Angela Bourassa—both making their feature-film debuts—is the rare kind of film that turns tired clichés into something surprisingly fresh, reinventing itself in the final act to become something quite lovely. Depending on one’s tolerance for rom-com tropes foregrounded in what is essentially a two-person chamber ... >>
SXSW Review: “Flamin’ Hot” Delightfully Romps Through a Maybe True Story
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
March 12, 2023
Flamin’ Hot (Eva Longoria, 2023) 3 out of 4 stars. Whether or not the story of how Richard Montañez created the Flamin’ Hot® line of Frito-Lay’s Cheetos® contains much, little, or no truth (according to the company, the treat was developed by an executive named Lynne Greenfield), the new film that bears the name of the popular snack is a delicious cinematic romp from start to finish. The feature directorial debut of actress Eva Longoria ... >>