Brandon Sklenar | Film Festival Today

“The Housemaid” Is Laughably Inept

December 18, 2025

“Drop” Proves Stressful

April 10, 2025

“It Ends with Us” Needs Pruning

August 9, 2024

“American Sasquatch” Engrosses
By Matt Patti
November 25, 2025
American Sasquatch: Man, Myth, or Monster (Gabe Torres, 2025) 3 out of 5 stars Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Skunk Ape. There are many names throughout America that describe this mythical creature: a tall, hairy being that walks on two legs and is found throughout dense forests in the U.S. Whatever your local area calls it, this urban legend has been heavily featured in narrative films, documentaries, and folklore alike. ... >>
Interview with “Rebuilding” Director Max Walker-Silverman
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
November 19, 2025
Max Walker-Silverman’s debut feature, A Love Song, impressed with its combination of gorgeous cinematography and heartfelt performances. His follow-up, Rebuilding (which I reviewed out of the 2025 Middleburg Film Festival), showcases identical strengths in a brand-new story, set as before in the director’s native Colorado. Starring Josh O’Connor (La Chimera) as Dusty, a divorced dad whose family ranch is destroyed in a wildfire, the movie also ... >>
In “The Carpenter’s Son,” Jesus Wrestles with Divinity
By Patrick Howard
November 14, 2025
The Carpenter’s Son (Lotfy Nathan, 2025) 3½ out of 5 stars After a hundred years’ worth of depictions of Jesus Christ in film, the ones that highlight a young man contending with his human and divine selves stand out among the rest. It’s a type of story that is not without its controversy. As you can imagine, a Jesus who was more conflicted and defiant in his youth may be a hard pill to swallow for a lot of devout believers. This is a ... >>
The Unserious Genius of “Serious People”
By Hannah Tran
November 14, 2025
Serious People (Pasqual Gutierrez/Ben Mullinkosson, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars Would you rather have to set healthy work-life boundaries or create a casting call, hire a lookalike, and coach them to impersonate you at work so you don’t have a conflict with your personal life? When music video director Pasqual’s opportunity to direct the next Drake video coincides with his wife Christine’s due date, the choice is clear: he hires a security ... >>
MdFF Review: “Love Chaos Kin”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
November 10, 2025
Love Chaos Kin (Chithra Jeyaram, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars A thoughtful documentary protagonist is a boon to a filmmaker, able to elevate even the simplest of subjects beyond its narrative limitations. In Love Chaos Kin, from director Chithra Jeyaram (Foreign Puzzle), the topic at hand is full of layered complexities, though at its core is mainly about love. Thanks to Lakshmi Iyer, the main character and anchor of the story, all the many nuances of ... >>

2025 WAFCA Award Winners
December 8, 2025
The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association ...>>
5 Films to See at the 2025 Maryland Film Festival
November 4, 2025
Though traditionally held in the spring, the 2025 ...>>
5 Films to See at Middleburg 2025
October 15, 2025
The 13th iteration of the annual Middleburg Film ...>>
5 Films to See at New/Next 2025
October 2, 2025
The New/Next Film Fest is back for its third ...>>
10 Picks for TIFF 2025
September 1, 2025
The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF) ...>>