Maria Semple | Film Festival Today

Film Review: “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” Loses Its Cinematic Way

August 15, 2019

Film Review: Sometimes Hackneyed “Official Competition” Still Delivers Sharp Barbs
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
June 24, 2022
Official Competition (Mariano Cohn/Gastón Duprat, 2021) 2½ out of 4 stars. Satires about the art world run the danger of trafficking in tired stereotypes of moody and/or arrogant creatives, talented and hack alike; their cinematic cousins are no different. In Official Competition, Argentinian filmmaking partners Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat (The Distinguished Citizen) come far too close to the edge of burlesque pitfalls for comfort, yet ... >>
Film Review: “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” Overflows with Wonder
By Robin C. Farrell
June 23, 2022
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Dean Fleischer-Camp, 2021) 4 out of 4 stars. It’s difficult to articulate what makes Marcel the Shell with Shoes On so wonderful. The film delivers on the promise of its trailer: a surplus of wholesome charm and quirky humor throughout but underneath the whimsy beats an unironic, introspective heart. The story is both simple and intricate: Marcel (Jenny Slate, The Bob’s Burgers Movie) is an anthropomorphic ... >>
Film Review: “Press Play” Delivers Heartbreak and Hope
By Robin C. Farrell
June 22, 2022
Press Play (Greg Björkman, 2022) 3 out of 4 stars. The oft-revisited time-rewinding narrative can be difficult to pull off. Press Play manages to do so by leaning into expectations and relishing the experience. Laura (Clara Rugaard, I Am Mother), a painter living in an exquisite beach town, reluctantly allows her best friend, Chloe (Lyrica Okano, Story Game), to arrange a set-up with her brother, Harrison (Lewis Pullman, Top Gun: Maverick), a ... >>
Film Review: “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story” Is a Joy and a Delight
By Heidi Shepler
May 27, 2022
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story (Frank Marshall/Ryan Suffern, 2022) 3½ out of 4 stars. For more than fifty years, the New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival, better known as Jazz Fest, has brought hundreds of thousands of people to a relatively plain-looking fairgrounds for a celebration of New Orleans’ music, culture, and food. With seven thousand musicians performing over the course of eight days, not to mention the thousands of pounds of fried and ... >>
Film Review: “Scare Zone” Takes Us Behind the Scenes of a Halloween Haunted House
By Matt Patti
May 26, 2022
Scare Zone (Jon Binkowski, 2009) 2 ½ out of 4 stars. As an avid enthusiast of Halloween “Haunts,” I journey to a handful of different attractions each October. Haunted Hayrides, Haunted Houses, Haunted Trails, Haunts at Theme Parks … you name it, I’m game. Director Jon Binkowski’s Scare Zone therefore piqued my interest, especially after I discovered that the movie was filmed on location at a bona fide haunted attraction inside the Universal ... >>

Film Review: “Elvis” Is a Fast-Paced Adventure Celebrating the King of Rock and Roll
In >> Adam Vaughn, Breaking, Film Reviews, Spotlight
Film Review: “The Black Phone” Comes A-Creepy Calling
In >> Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Spotlight
Film Review: Even Shy of Infinity, “Lightyear” Shines Brightly
In >> Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Featured, Film Reviews, Spotlight
Film Review: Horror-Drama “Abandoned” Showcases the Terrors of Being a Newborn Mother
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Matt Patti, Specialty Releases, Spotlight

Victoria Reviews “Morbius”
May 3, 2022
With THE LITTLE THINGS and his sensational, transformation in HOUSE OF GUCCI, Leto is totally ...>>
Victoria Reviews “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”
May 3, 2022
Nic Cage serves up a terrific movie. Cage sets the career procedural for pariahs Mel and Armie: ...>>
Victoria reviews “Anatomy of a Scandal”
April 24, 2022
Another standardized Kelley production with enough twists to keep one watching. I’ll admit it. I ...>>
Victoria Reviews “Deep Water”
March 31, 2022
Sensational erotic thriller with de Armas commandeering the film. Lyne returns with more aggressive ...>>