Michael Showalter | Film Festival Today

Film Review: “Hit the Road” Offers a Moving Road Trip Through Comedy and Drama
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
May 20, 2022
Hit the Road (Panah Panahi, 2021) 4 out of 4 stars. Good filmmaking occasionally runs in families, as Panah Panahi—the son of famed Iranian director Jafar Panahi (3 Faces)—proves with his debut feature, Hit the Road. As the title promises, the film offers a literal journey that our protagonists take on their way to a destination both real and metaphorical. Though present-day Iran may not be the international bogeyman some would have us believe, ... >>
Maryland Film Festival Review: Brilliant “Fire of Love” Burns Brightly
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
May 3, 2022
Fire of Love (Sara Dosa, 2022) 4 out of 4 stars. By the time married French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft died on June 3, 1991, on the slopes of Mount Unzen, in Japan, they had long since established themselves as premier experts in their field. As we learn in Fire of Love, director Sara Dosa’s excellent archival documentary about the duo, they pioneered much of the research we now take for granted. Not only that, but they were ... >>
Film Review: “Peace by Chocolate” Offers a Delicious Taste of Harmony
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
April 29, 2022
Peace by Chocolate (Jonathan Keijser, 2022) 3 out of 4 stars. A true story brought to dramatic life with a combination of genuine humor and deep pathos, Peace by Chocolate tackles the weighty issues of our present with a healthy dose of whimsy. A tale of refugees who make good, it follows the odyssey of the Hadhad family as they try to start over after leaving war-torn Syria. Twentysomething Tareq is the first to arrive in Nova Scotia, the ... >>
Film Review: Psychological Thriller “The Aviary” Explores Post-Traumatic Effects of a Cult
By Matt Patti
April 28, 2022
The Aviary (Chris Cullari/Jennifer Raite, 2022) 2½ out of 4 stars. While some cults encourage violence towards others, others have resulted in mass suicides. These two outcomes are likely what most folks think of when it comes to cults. However, perhaps even more chilling are the cults that seem peaceful and the cult leaders that appear to actually want to help people but turn out to have sinister motives. Indeed, some cults don’t even seem to ... >>
Film Review: Fiery Chemistry in “Anaïs in Love” Nearly Makes up for Trite Story
By Hannah Tran
April 28, 2022
Anaïs in Love (Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, 2021) 2½ out of 4 stars. French romance Anaïs in Love opens with a literal burst of energy as the titular character races through city streets to make it to a meeting with her landlord for which she, characteristically, is late. The story that unfolds is less a traditional narrative than a series of exploits of an eccentric but vibrant woman who adapts to life as it comes at her. However, while Anaïs is ... >>

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 ...>>

Victoria Reviews “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

Film Review: The Eyes Have It in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

Film Review: “The Big Sick” Is the Cure for What Ails Us

The 2017 SXSW Film Festival Offers Another Fine Selection of Movies