Close Up Films | Film Festival Today

Film Review: Lovely “Bird Island” Showcases a Haven of Gentle Souls

September 24, 2020

Film Review: “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” Spins an Uneven Triptych, but Still Intrigues
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
January 17, 2022
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, 2021) 3 out of 4 stars. Japanese director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi has a clear affinity for exploring the vagaries and tragedies of the human heart. Both films he premiered in 2021 tackle romance and sorrow in intriguingly unique ways. And though his Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, out now on disc and VOD, may not be quite at the level of his Drive My Car, it is still a formally elegant and emotional ... >>
Film Review: “Belle” Is a Peculiar Remix of “Beauty and the Beast”
By Robin C. Farrell
January 13, 2022
Belle (Mamoru Hosoda, 2021) 3 out of 4 stars. Quite obviously inspired by the “Beauty and the Beast” tale, Belle’s heroine is the quiet, inconspicuous Suzu (newcomer Kaho Nakamura), a high-school girl still debilitated by grief many years after her mother’s death. Suzu has lost all of her childhood enthusiasm for music, including the ability to sing. She discovers “U,” however, a virtual-reality social-media platform. Science-fiction style, U’s ... >>
Film Review: Missteps Aside, “Breeder” Still Proves Engaging
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
January 10, 2022
Breeder (Jens Dahl, 2020) 2½ out of 4 stars. With a title like Breeder, one might expect a very different kind of horror film than what we get in Danish director Jens Dahl’s sophomore feature. Given the evocative poster and tagline about “eternal youth,” I imagined despicable acts involving forced copulation and harvested fetal tissue. The fact that the movie has none of that is a welcome relief, though there is plenty to disturb, and even to ... >>
Film Review: “June Again” Is a Funny and Compelling Story About Dementia
By Hannah Tran
January 8, 2022
June Again (JJ Winlove, 2020) 3 out of 4 stars. While June Again may be a feature debut (from JJ Winlove) set in Australia, its craft feels mature and its story feels universal. We meet the titular character, June, living as a patient in a home that helps her deal with debilitating dementia. When a rare medical phenomenon temporarily revitalizes June’s memory, this home is turned into a horror as she struggles to come to terms with her condition ... >>
Christopher Llewellyn Reed’s Top 10 Films of 2021
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
December 24, 2021
This last year saw me once again attend in-person screenings (at least a few). A Quiet Place Part II was my first such movie, and while it comes nowhere near my favorites of 2021 (as it did for my Film Festival Today colleagues Matt Patti and Adam Vaughn), I did enjoy it; it was no doubt enhanced by the theatrical experience. Still, most of what I saw over the past 12 months I watched at home via link, though I managed to make it to one ... >>

Film Review: “Scream” Works As a Suspenseful Slasher, But Not Quite As Part of the Franchise
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Matt Patti, Spotlight
Film Review: In “Sex Appeal,” The Positive Can’t Quite Defeat the Negative
In >> Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Spotlight
Film Review: While the Concept of “Stoker Hills” Allures, the Execution Fails
In >> Adam Vaughn, Breaking, Film Reviews, Specialty Releases, Spotlight
Film Review: “Brazen” Is an Uninspired Murder Mystery
In >> Adam Vaughn, Breaking, Film Reviews, Spotlight

Victoria Reviews “Dune”
November 3, 2021
Dune’s messiah is a 14 year old scrawny boy. He’s the prettiest and his best friend picks him up ...>>
Victoria Reviews “The Last Duel”
October 18, 2021
Ridley Scott’s THE LAST DUEL is rightfully an epic given the stars and the vast production. And ...>>
Victoria Reviews “Titane”
October 13, 2021
Provocative, daring and fearlessly original. The director, Julia Ducournau, has inherited Lars Von ...>>
Victoria Reviews “No Time To Die”
October 4, 2021
You’ll be thrilled to know that the Woke Army has won. The masculine icon of a 60 year reign is ...>>