Film Festival Today - The Business of Film and Entertainment

Film Review: “The Worst Ones” Offers Raw, Emotional Complexity

March 24, 2023

Film Review: “John Wick: Chapter 4” Proves an Adequate and Entertaining Series Conclusion

March 23, 2023

Christopher Llewellyn Reed’s SXSW 2023 Wrap-Up

March 23, 2023

What to See at the 2023 Annapolis Film Festival

March 23, 2023

SXSW Interview with “Fancy Dance” Director Erica Tremblay

March 17, 2023

SXSW Interview with “Queendom” Director Agniia Galdanova and Producer Igor Myakotin

March 16, 2023

Film Review: “Supercell” Delivers a Surprisingly Cinematic Adventure

March 16, 2023

Film Review: “Unwelcome” Starts Strong and Then Crumbles

March 15, 2023

XR Beats from SXSW 2023

March 15, 2023

SXSW Review: “If You Were the Last” Goes from Lost to Saved in a Lovely Final Act

March 13, 2023

Film Review: New “Children of the Corn” Is, Overall, Atrocious

March 2, 2023

Film Review: “Creed III” Stands on Its Own by Unanimous Decision

March 2, 2023

Film Review: “American Murderer” Is Compelling Crime Drama

March 1, 2023

Searchlight Pictures’ “Chevalier” to Open 11th Annual Annapolis Film Festival

February 28, 2023

Film Review: “Wolf Garden” Has Promise but Overuses Conventions

February 26, 2023

Film Review: “The Quiet Girl” Is a Profound Emotional Experience

February 24, 2023

Film Review: Picturesque “Juniper” Runs the Gamut of Emotions

February 23, 2023

Film Review: “Emily” Offers a Glimpse of the Most Elusive Brontë

February 16, 2023

Film Review: Mostly Entertaining “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” Is a Lot to Handle

February 16, 2023

Film Review: “Marlowe” Breathes Color into Neo-Noir”

February 16, 2023

Film Review: “The Worst Ones” Offers Raw, Emotional Complexity
By Hannah Tran
March 24, 2023
The Worst Ones (Lise Akoka/Romane Gueret, 2023) 3 out of 4 stars. Laid out in a gripping opening sequence of “auditions,” The Worst Ones follows four teens from a poor neighborhood in France after they are cast in a film by Belgian director Gabriel, who gives them roles that amplify their reputation as troubled kids. The title is a phrase we hear early on when one of the child performers asks why the crew wanted to cast “the worst ones.” It’s a ... >>
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 ... >>

Film Review: “John Wick: Chapter 4” Proves an Adequate and Entertaining Series Conclusion
In >> Adam Vaughn, Breaking, Film Reviews, Spotlight
Film Review: “Supercell” Delivers a Surprisingly Cinematic Adventure
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Matt Patti, Spotlight
Film Review: “Unwelcome” Starts Strong and Then Crumbles
In >> Adam Vaughn, Breaking, Film Reviews, Spotlight
Film Review: “Scream VI” Shines, Even Without Sidney
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Matt Patti, Spotlight

Christopher Llewellyn Reed’s SXSW 2023 Wrap-Up
March 23, 2023
Pardon my delay in writing this, but on the day I flew ...>>
What to See at the 2023 Annapolis Film Festival
March 23, 2023
The 2023 Annapolis Film Festival kicks off tonight, ...>>
XR Beats from SXSW 2023
March 15, 2023
VR, AR, MR … XR … so many acronyms to describe a ...>>
Christopher Llewellyn Reed’s Picks for SXSW 2023
March 8, 2023
It will be nice to head back to SXSW in person this ...>>
Searchlight Pictures’ “Chevalier” to Open 11th Annual Annapolis Film Festival
February 28, 2023
Annapolis, MD (February 24, 2023) [all text courtesy ...>>