Dennis Widmyer | Film Festival Today

Film Review: “Pet Sematary” Misses the Mark

April 4, 2019

In “Strange Darling,” Looks Deceive
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 2, 2023
Strange Darling (JT Mollner, 2023) 3 out of 4 stars. The art of deception can be a filmmaker’s greatest asset. A director chooses exactly what they want the audience to see, and therein lies the power of suggestion. A twist may or may not be revealed in the third act, but nonetheless, in most movies the audience doesn’t see the whole picture until the very end. ... >>
“SPOOKTACULAR!” Is Mostly Spectacular
By Matt Patti
September 29, 2023
SPOOKTACULAR! (Quinn Monahan, 2023) 3 out of 4 stars. Halloween season is fast approaching, and many Americans are likely already planning their trips to a haunted attraction. A good number of these haunts are not just staged in a single house, though, but in multiple houses and mazes in one location combined into one larger event: “Scream Parks,” as some label them, range from theme parks offering special Halloween treats to local family farms ... >>
“Remembering Every Night” Dreams On
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 15, 2023
Remembering Every Night (Yui Kiyohara, 2022) 3 out of 4 stars. The camera and narrative both drift amiably from frame to frame in Remembering Every Night, the second feature from Japanese writer/director Yui Kiyohara (Our House). There are three protagonists, though it takes the viewer a while to meet each of them. As if in a dream, their separate stories intersect and diverge in sometimes oblique ways, all the while leading to a conclusion of ... >>
Interviews Save “King on Screen”
By Matt Patti
September 4, 2023
King on Screen (Daphné Baiwir, 2022) 2½ out of 4 stars. World-renowned author Stephen King has a knack for writing intriguing stories that make for memorable adaptations on the big screen. His books have gone on to be the source material of countless films, from The Shining to It (and so much more). Every year it seems we get a new batch of movies that use King in their advertising, à la “inspired by the mind of Stephen King.” Have one author’s ... >>
New/Next “Carpet Cowboys” Interview
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
August 26, 2023
Documentary directors Emily Mackenzie and Noah Collier just premiered their debut feature, Carpet Cowboys, at Baltimore’s inaugural New/Next Film Fest (where I reviewed it). The film examines the carpet industry in Dalton, Georgia, the “carpet capital of the world,” following a fascinating cast of characters, foremost among them designer Roderick James. I chatted with Mackenzie and Collier at the festival, and now here is that interview, edited ... >>

5 Films to See at TIFF 2023
September 6, 2023
The Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF) ...>>
Six at New/Next 2023
August 30, 2023
This year’s inaugural New/Next Film Fest ran August ...>>
What’s Next? Baltimore’s New/Next!
August 17, 2023
This year’s Maryland Film Festival (MdFF) never ...>>
Christopher Llewellyn Reed’s Look Back at Tribeca 2023 Immersive Offerings
June 27, 2023
Back at SXSW 2023, they called it XR (for enhanced ...>>
That’s a Wrap at DC/DOX 2023
June 21, 2023
As advertised in my curtain raiser last week, I ...>>