The Vast of Night | Film Festival Today

Matt Patti’s Top 10 Films of 2020

December 30, 2020

Patrick Howard’s Top 10 Films of 2020

December 29, 2020

Film Review: “Elvis from Outer Space” Trolls the Audience with Zero Charm

July 7, 2020

Film Review: Exceptional Filmmaking and Clever Storytelling Come Together in “The Vast of Night” for a Unique Sci-Fi Experience

May 28, 2020

Sundance Review: “Prime Minister”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
February 5, 2025
Prime Minister (Lindsay Utz/Michelle Walshe, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars Born in 1980, Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand in 2017. She was both the first woman to serve in that office and the youngest in over a century-and-a-half. A progressive politician—head of the Labour Party—she led her country via a left-leaning coalition that promoted equal rights for all. Unfortunately, though she was at one point extremely popular, the ... >>
Sundance Review: “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
February 4, 2025
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (Shoshannah Stern, 2025) 4½ out of 5 stars Marlee Matlin is both the only deaf actress to win an Oscar for Best Actress and also the youngest actress overall to claim the award. This was for the 1986 film Children of a Lesser God (CoaLG), directed by Randa Haines and based on the eponymous 1979 play. She was 21, and starred opposite William Hurt, 15 years her senior, with whom she began a relationship on set. ... >>
Sundance Review: “All That’s Left of You”
By Hannah Tran
February 4, 2025
All That’s Left of You (Cherien Dabis, 2025) 4½ out of 5 stars It may be impossible to condense a history that feels as vast and complex as Palestine’s into a single story. But through the lens of a family, All That’s Left of You—from director Cherien Dabis (Amreeka)—reminds us how storytelling can stir all-encompassing emotions capable of capturing something much larger. Spanning almost 75 years, Dabis’ film creates an epic tale with an ... >>
Sundance Review: “The Things You Kill”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
February 4, 2025
The Things You Kill (Alireza Khatami, 2025) 3½ out of 5 stars In The Things You Kill, director Alireza Khatami (Oblivion Verses) crafts an allegorical thriller filled with metaphysical mystery. Using deft cinematic strokes, he creates a patriarchal landscape where crimes repeat from one generation to the next, his characters prisoners of a behavior they can never fully escape. The result fascinates, even if many of the deepest truths remain ... >>
Sundance Review: “Predators”
By Hannah Tran
February 2, 2025
Predators (David Osit, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars The notion that a film has no idea where it’s going would typically be seen as a criticism. In the case of David Osit’s Predators, it becomes the documentary’s cardinal virtue. Osit (Mayor) dives into the rise, fall, and eventual fallout of To Catch a Predator, Dateline NBC’s hidden-camera series from the mid-2000s. TCAP, as it’s known by its devoted cult following—both from its original broadcast ... >>

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 ...>>
Chris Reed’s Top 10 Films of 2024
December 31, 2024
This was another good year for movies, though perhaps ...>>
Matt Patti’s Top 10 Films of 2024
December 30, 2024
2024 will be a year remembered for many reasons. There ...>>
Hannah Tran’s Top 10 Films of 2024
December 29, 2024
I have never wrestled so much over what was going to ...>>