Vanilla | Film Festival Today

Film Review: There’s Nothing Ordinary About This “Vanilla”

April 27, 2020

Middleburg Film Festival Review: All Style and No Substance, “Spencer” Ruins Its Subject with Cinematic Excess
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 27, 2021
Spencer (Pablo Larraín, 2021) 1 out of 4 stars. Pablo Larraín has done it again, and not in a good way. With Jackie, his 2016 meditation on the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the days following her first husband’s assassination, the Chilean director of the excellent No fell afoul of his penchant for overbearing sound and visuals to deliver a portrait both grating and simplistic. Yes, there were some pretty pictures to look at, and a ... >>
Middleburg Film Festival Review: Clifton Collins Jr. Gives “Jockey” Its Drive
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 24, 2021
Jockey (Clint Bentley, 2021) 3 out of 4 stars. A jockey’s life is hard, especially as the years go by. Plagued by injuries and declining revenue, the members of this rough profession need to pick just the right moment to jump off the horse. Stay in the saddle too long, and your value drops, or you sustain more damage. But the joy of the ride is difficult to abandon. Such is the conflict facing Jackson Silva (Clifton Collins Jr., M.F.A.), ... >>
Middleburg Film Festival Review: “Bergman Island” Intrigues, Despite Missed Connections
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 14, 2021
Bergman Island (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2021) 2½ out of 4 stars. Beautifully rendered and exquisitely cast, Mia Hansen-Løve’s Bergman Island takes us to Fårö Island, just north of Gotland Island, both of which lie south of Stockholm, Sweden, in the Baltic Sea. We journey in the company of Chris (Vicky Krieps, Phantom Thread) and Tony (Tim Roth, Luce), a filmmaker couple making a pilgrimage of sorts to the home of one of their favorite directors. That ... >>
Film Review: “Mass” Offers a Profoundly Moving Cinematic Experience
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 14, 2021
Mass (Fran Kranz, 2021) 3½ out of 4 stars. One of the wonders of engaged artistic expression, regardless of medium, is how it can lead us towards profound catharsis. Drama, especially, can be quite effective at this, its scripted narrative designed, if structured accordingly, for maximum effect. Still, some subjects prove especially challenging. How can one tackle a topic as horrific as a school shooting without somehow trivializing the horror? ... >>
Film Review: “Crutch” Examines Perception, Dance, and Disability
By Heidi Shepler
October 13, 2021
Crutch (Sachi Cunningham/Chandler Evans, 2020) 3½ out of 4 stars. Bill Shannon, a.k.a. “Crutch,” “Crutch Master,” or “Crutches,” is a multidisciplinary artist. He’s a dancer, a street performer, a choreographer, a skateboarder, and a filmmaker, among other talents. His range and experience would be impressive no matter who he was, but what people inevitably notice first about him is that he uses crutches with round bottoms as a mobility aid. ... >>

Film Review: Tornado Film “13 Minutes” Winds Up a Whirlwind of Drama and Tension
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Matt Patti, Spotlight
Film Review: Outrageous Dark Comedy “The Estate” Is Anchored by Exceptional Performances
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Matt Patti, Specialty Releases, Spotlight
Film Review: “Rhapsody of Love” Is a Patchwork of Stories That Never Fully Resonates
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Robin C. Farrell, Specialty Releases, Spotlight
Film Review: Visually Resplendent “Dune” Loses Its Messaging in the Desert
In >> Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Spotlight

Victoria Reviews “The Last Duel”
October 18, 2021
Ridley Scott’s THE LAST DUEL is rightfully an epic given the stars and the vast production. And ...>>
Victoria Reviews “Titane”
October 13, 2021
Provocative, daring and fearlessly original. The director, Julia Ducournau, has inherited Lars Von ...>>
Victoria Reviews “No Time To Die”
October 4, 2021
You’ll be thrilled to know that the Woke Army has won. The masculine icon of a 60 year reign is ...>>
Victoria Reviews “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
October 4, 2021
Chastain gives an astonishing performance. Its impossible to see the actress in the role. Chastain ...>>