Rian Johnson | Film Festival Today

Film Review: “Knives Out” Delivers a Sharp Comic Caper

November 26, 2019

Christopher Llewellyn Reed’s Favorites from 2019 Middleburg Film Festival

October 22, 2019

Film Review: In “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” the Force Rises, Then Takes a Midday Nap

December 13, 2017

Film Review: Environmental Doc “8 Billion Angels” Uncovers the Hard Truth Behind the Biggest Problem Facing the Earth Today … Humans
By Matt Patti
April 22, 2021
8 Billion Angels (Victor Velle, 2019) 2½ out of 4 stars. If you were to ask anyone around the world what the largest issue facing the Earth is today, many would make the case for environmental issues being at the top of that list. If you were to also ask what the leading contributor to our environment’s decline is, most would likely blame pollution. However, I’d bet that few people would realize off the top of their head that the biggest factor ... >>
Film Review: “Sensation” Is Impressive in Its Presentation, Even If It Comes with a Few Flaws
By Adam Vaughn
April 15, 2021
Sensation (Martin Grof, 2021) 3 out of 4 stars. Martin Grof (Excursion) returns to the director’s chair with his second feature film, one that clearly comes across as clever and captivating, even if it takes until its finale to do so. Nevertheless, Sensation is thought-provoking, visually compelling in every way, and leads the viewer to a truly mesmerizing climax. It tells the story of Andrew Cooper (Eugene Simon, Kill Ben Lyk), a postman ... >>
Film Review: “Beast Beast” Examines the Teenage Experience with Fresh Eyes
By Hannah Tran
April 15, 2021
Beast Beast (Danny Madden, 2021) 3 out of 4 stars. Danny Madden’s coming-of-age Sundance drama, Beast Beast, like many other films of its genre, aims to paint a truthful representation of teen culture in modern America. But unlike many of those other films, Madden’s story chooses to display the problems these characters face less through the lens of typical high-school-movie pressures and more through the painfully current anxieties regarding ... >>
Film Review: “Future People: The Family of Donor 5114″ Proves Metaphysically Profound
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
April 10, 2021
Future People: The Family of Donor 5114 (Michael Rothman, 2021) 3 out of 4 stars. Imagine you are minding your business as a freshly minted teen and you receive a Facebook message from someone claiming to be your half-sister. Not only that, but there are more siblings where she came from. Sure, you always knew your mom used a sperm donor to conceive, but the details of the faceless dad, much less the possibility of other children emerging ... >>
What to See at the (Virtual) 2021 Annapolis Film Festival
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
April 8, 2021
It looks like we are not yet out of the global coronavirus pandemic (please remember to get vaccinated!), and so we enter its second year with a continuation of the virtual versions of film festivals that evolved over the course of 2020. Last year, the Annapolis Film Festival had to quickly convert itself from a live event to an online one (hardly alone in that quick transformation), but now the 2021 fest, which runs April 8-18, returns with a ... >>

Film Review: “The Odds”
March 8, 2021
Bravo! A Herculean effort to deliver a highly original two-character horror movie. You want to ...>>
Film Review: “Nomadland”
March 7, 2021
NOMADLAND’s star and producer is two-time Best Actress winner, Frances McDormand. She was given the ...>>
Film Review: “Wonder Woman 1984”
December 30, 2020
What happen to Wonder Woman? She is a supporting character not given much to do. What happened to ...>>
Film Review: “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”
October 24, 2020
It’s Baron Cohen’s commitment to the character and no wink to the audience that still captivates. ...>>