Christopher Llewellyn Reed | Film Festival Today

Interview with “Ma Belle, My Beauty” Director Marion Hill

August 23, 2021

Film Review: “Sweet Girl” Is a Misbegotten Mess, Grounded in Genuine Tragedy

August 20, 2021

Film Review: Engaging Documentary “The Lost Leonardo” Wonders at the Cost of Art

August 19, 2021

Film Review: “Ma Belle, My Beauty” Offers Dramedy with an Alluring French Twist

August 18, 2021

Film Review: In “Bring Your Own Brigade,” the Inferno Is Upon Us

August 17, 2021

Film Review: Keep Calm and “Cryptozoo”

August 16, 2021

Film Review: In Delightful “CODA,” Music and Love Conquer All

August 12, 2021

Film Review: “Free Guy” Plays a Winning Imitation Game

August 12, 2021

Film Review: “Respect” Offers Very Little to Its Subject

August 12, 2021

Film Review: The Chaos of “Battle for Afghanistan” Exacts a Steep Price

August 12, 2021

Film Review: In “Homeroom,” Bright Young Oakland Students Prepare for the Future

August 11, 2021

“Leviticus” Pairs Heartbreak and Horror
By Hannah Tran
July 4, 2026
Leviticus (Adrian Chiarella, 2026) 4½ out of 5 stars Adrian Chiarella’s feature debut, Leviticus, is many things at once. It’s as much a horrific tale of demonic entities as it is a thorny coming-of-age story, and it does a wonderful job at living in both those registers. Chiarella confidently renders the horror that emerges from denying who you are and who you want. Because above all, Leviticus is a love story, and this is where it truly ... >>
DC/DOX Review: “School for Defectors”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
June 22, 2026
School for Defectors (Jeremy Workman, 2026) 5 out of 5 stars After its occupation by Japan from 1910 to 1945, the Korean peninsula was divided between its northern and southern halves, the former under Soviet rule and the latter under the United States. Over the ensuing 5 years, each half pursued different forms of government, until in 1950, Kim Il Sung—leader of North Korea—decided to invade South Korea, beginning a war that would last 3 years ... >>
Tribeca Interview: “Funk” Director Aly Muritiba
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
June 12, 2026
With Funk, Brazilian director Aly Muritiba (Private Desert) crafts a love letter to “putaria,” the kinky funk music of the favelas surrounding Rio de Janeiro. That genre is unabashedly sexual in its lyrics and themes, often in very explicit fashion. With gleeful abandon, its practitioners—at least as we see them here—rap and sing about all kinds of pleasurable acts, moving their bodies to the rhythm in ways that leave no doubt as to what they’re ... >>
Community Is Important in “Flag Day”
By Patrick Howard
June 12, 2026
Flag Day (Andrew Shea/Melissa Shea, 2026) 4½ out of 5 stars In today’s climate of division and corrupt politicians pitting Americans against Americans, Flag Day, a new documentary directed by Andrew and Melissa Shea (I’ll Be There), reminds us of the pricelessness of being part of a community where people truly care for one another. Set in the small farming town of Three Oaks, Michigan, the movie introduces a wide array of the town’s citizens ... >>
Tribeca Review: “Funk”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
June 11, 2026
Funk (Aly Muritiba, 2026) 3½ out of 5 stars Brazilian funk music—or, more specifically, “kinky funk”—is filled with bumping, heavy-on-the-bass beats and other electronic sounds, coupled with explicitly sexual lyrics and accompanying salacious gyrations. Called “putaria” in the favelas (the dense, lower-income settlements outside major urban centers such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo), this musical genre features both singing and rap, and is ... >>