Christopher Llewellyn Reed | Film Festival Today - Part 2

MoMI First Look Review: “Babi Yar. Context” and “Mr. Landsbergis” Are Archival Masterworks

March 24, 2022

SXSW Review: In “Seriously Red,” Dolly Parton Is the Way Forward

March 22, 2022

SXSW Review: See What Marvels Kids Can Make in “More Than Robots”

March 18, 2022

SXSW Review: “The Prank” Is Quite the Cool Stunt

March 15, 2022

Film Review: “Turning Red” Turns Convention into Innovation

March 11, 2022

Film Review: Fun but Dumb, “The Adam Project” Travels Backwards in Imagination

March 10, 2022

SXSW 2022 Is Live: Interview with “Long Line of Ladies” Directors Rayka Zehtabchi and Shaandiin Tome

March 10, 2022

Series Review: “The Dropout” Proves a Mostly Worthy Investment

March 2, 2022

Film Review: “No Exit” Begs for an Immediate Off-Ramp

February 25, 2022

Film Review: Besides Elsie Fisher, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” Is a Bloody Mess

February 18, 2022

Film Review: Bittersweet “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” Moves Us Deeply

February 13, 2022

Film Review: “Hit the Road” Offers a Moving Road Trip Through Comedy and Drama
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
May 20, 2022
Hit the Road (Panah Panahi, 2021) 4 out of 4 stars. Good filmmaking occasionally runs in families, as Panah Panahi—the son of famed Iranian director Jafar Panahi (3 Faces)—proves with his debut feature, Hit the Road. As the title promises, the film offers a literal journey that our protagonists take on their way to a destination both real and metaphorical. Though present-day Iran may not be the international bogeyman some would have us believe, ... >>
Maryland Film Festival Review: Brilliant “Fire of Love” Burns Brightly
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
May 3, 2022
Fire of Love (Sara Dosa, 2022) 4 out of 4 stars. By the time married French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft died on June 3, 1991, on the slopes of Mount Unzen, in Japan, they had long since established themselves as premier experts in their field. As we learn in Fire of Love, director Sara Dosa’s excellent archival documentary about the duo, they pioneered much of the research we now take for granted. Not only that, but they were ... >>
Film Review: “Peace by Chocolate” Offers a Delicious Taste of Harmony
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
April 29, 2022
Peace by Chocolate (Jonathan Keijser, 2022) 3 out of 4 stars. A true story brought to dramatic life with a combination of genuine humor and deep pathos, Peace by Chocolate tackles the weighty issues of our present with a healthy dose of whimsy. A tale of refugees who make good, it follows the odyssey of the Hadhad family as they try to start over after leaving war-torn Syria. Twentysomething Tareq is the first to arrive in Nova Scotia, the ... >>
Film Review: Psychological Thriller “The Aviary” Explores Post-Traumatic Effects of a Cult
By Matt Patti
April 28, 2022
The Aviary (Chris Cullari/Jennifer Raite, 2022) 2½ out of 4 stars. While some cults encourage violence towards others, others have resulted in mass suicides. These two outcomes are likely what most folks think of when it comes to cults. However, perhaps even more chilling are the cults that seem peaceful and the cult leaders that appear to actually want to help people but turn out to have sinister motives. Indeed, some cults don’t even seem to ... >>
Film Review: Fiery Chemistry in “Anaïs in Love” Nearly Makes up for Trite Story
By Hannah Tran
April 28, 2022
Anaïs in Love (Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, 2021) 2½ out of 4 stars. French romance Anaïs in Love opens with a literal burst of energy as the titular character races through city streets to make it to a meeting with her landlord for which she, characteristically, is late. The story that unfolds is less a traditional narrative than a series of exploits of an eccentric but vibrant woman who adapts to life as it comes at her. However, while Anaïs is ... >>

Victoria Reviews “Morbius”
May 3, 2022
With THE LITTLE THINGS and his sensational, transformation in HOUSE OF GUCCI, Leto is totally ...>>
Victoria Reviews “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”
May 3, 2022
Nic Cage serves up a terrific movie. Cage sets the career procedural for pariahs Mel and Armie: ...>>
Victoria reviews “Anatomy of a Scandal”
April 24, 2022
Another standardized Kelley production with enough twists to keep one watching. I’ll admit it. I ...>>
Victoria Reviews “Deep Water”
March 31, 2022
Sensational erotic thriller with de Armas commandeering the film. Lyne returns with more aggressive ...>>