Empire | Film Festival Today

Season 2 of “Andor” Inspires Rebellion

April 21, 2025

Victoria Alexander

Film Review: “Nomadland”

March 7, 2021

“Descendent” Features Effective Storytelling
By Patrick Howard
August 8, 2025
Descendent (Peter Cilella, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars Sean, played by The Walking Dead’s Ross Marquand, and his wife, Andrea (Sarah Bolger, Things Will Be Different) await the arrival of their first child. As Sean struggles to meet his own standards of being a reliable provider and avoiding the unsolicited advice of family members, he is met with his next obstacle: alien abduction. Aliens rarely represent just themselves in this kind of story. You ... >>
“Boys Go to Jupiter” Is Animation Standout
By Robin C. Farrell
August 7, 2025
Boys Go to Jupiter (Julian Glander, 2024) 4 out of 5 stars The medium of animation has seen an embarrassment of riches in the past few years, with filmmakers exploring new techniques and styles, opening up vast possibilities for audience experiences. Boys Go to Jupiter is no exception. Written and directed by Julian Glander in his feature-film debut, the film is predominantly a coming-of-age story set in Florida between Christmas and New Year’s, ... >>
“My Mother’s Wedding” Is Charming, Bumpy Affair
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
August 6, 2025
My Mother’s Wedding (Kristin Scott Thomas, 2023) 3 out of 5 stars Kristin Scott Thomas has been acting for four decades; she debuted on the big screen in Prince’s 1986 Under the Cherry Moon. With My Mother’s Wedding—which premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival as “North Star”—she finally steps behind the camera. Though the result is dramatically uneven in a number of places, the movie nevertheless proves undeniably engaging ... >>
“Architecton” Reflects on Architecture
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
July 31, 2025
Architecton (Victor Kossakovsky, 2024) 3½ out of 5 stars From documentarian Victor Kossakovsky (Gunda) comes an elliptical film that unites seemingly disparate sequences via a common theme. Described in its press notes as “an extraordinary journey through the material that makes up our habitat: concrete, and its ancestor, stone,” Architecton features Kossakovsky’s usual array of gorgeous images drawing cinematic power from the way ... >>
Woods Hole Review: “Folktales”
By Billy Ray Brewton
July 30, 2025
Folktales (Heidi Ewing/Rachel Grady, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars What I would have given for something like Pasvik Folk High School when I was a kid. Growing up in the rural South, and also being a summer-camp kid, I was pre-disposed to working in and around nature. I’ve been able to build a fire from scratch since I was in junior high. Outdoor camping is something as familiar to me as driving a car, even though I don’t do it nearly as much as I once ... >>

Films to See at Fantasia 2025
July 15, 2025
For fans of the weird, wild, and wonderful, the 29th ...>>
“Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore” Interview with Director and Star
June 12, 2025
Director Shoshannah Stern makes her feature debut with ...>>
Five Films to See at Tribeca 2025
June 4, 2025
This year, as always at the Tribeca Festival (formerly ...>>
Our Coverage of 2025 Oscar Nominees
January 25, 2025
Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and ...>>
10 Films to Watch at Sundance 2025
January 21, 2025
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival runs in-person January ...>>