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Written by: Christopher Llewellyn Reed | November 14th, 2024

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.

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Freaky Tales (Anna Boden/Ryan Fleck, 2024) 3½ out of 5 stars Full disclosure: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s new feature Freaky Tales feels made for me, as someone who grew up watching 1980s movies. Narrated by Bay Area rapper Too $hort, Freaky Tales is an anthology film set in Oakland, California, during the summer of 1987. It follows four different stories occurring on the same day: teenage punks Tina (Ji-young Yoo, Smoking Tigers) and Lucid ... >>
“Cannibal Mukbang” Appetizes
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Cannibal Mukbang (Aimee Kuge, 2023) 3 out of 5 stars The “mukbang”—also known as an “eating broadcast”—originated in South Korea in the late 2000s. The concept features a host eating large quantities of food on video and chatting with their audience at the same time. Most of these are live-streamed, with the viewer watching the content creator eat in real time. ... >>
Interview with “Who by Fire” Director Philippe Lesage
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Québécois director Philippe Lesage’s Who by Fire offers a “coming-of-age tale in which the adults are as much in need of growth as the youth (if not more so),” as I write in my review. Set in the northern wilderness, the film features as much hiking, hunting, and canoeing through rapids as it does conversation and wine. Starring an engaging ensemble of francophone actors, it never fails to hold interest I had a chance to speak with Lesage ... >>

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