Vaughn Stein | Film Festival Today

Film Review: Great Performances and Moral Dilemmas Save the Often Predictable “Inheritance”

May 21, 2020

Film Review: “The Water Man” Deftly Blends Realism and Fantasy
By Robin C. Farrell
May 7, 2021
The Water Man (David Oyelowo, 2020) 3 out of 4 stars. Between the new family in town, the somewhat-haunted forest, a local legend, one dying parent, an estranged relationship with the other, and running away from home, one might expect The Water Man to feel like a bundle of strewn-together clichés. Instead, David Oyelowo’s directorial feature debut is a well-paced and cohesive expedition into that strange and wondrous place where imagination ... >>
Film Review: “Paper Spiders” Offers a Moving Study of Mental Illness
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
May 6, 2021
Paper Spiders (Inon Shampanier, 2020) 3 out of 4 stars. Melanie is about to complete a successful high-school career, graduating as salutatorian and probably destined to get into her dream school, USC. That’s where her father went, and since his death a few years prior she has thought of little else than to follow in his footsteps. She and her mother, Dawn, have a close bond, though it would be nice if the latter weren’t so controlling to those ... >>
OUTshine LGBTQ Film Festival Review: “My Fiona” Delivers an Earnest and Mindful Depiction of Grief and Loss
By Robin C. Farrell
April 27, 2021
My Fiona (Kelly Walker, 2021) 3½ out of 4 stars. Content Warning: Suicide, Death, Grief Grief is an intensely complex topic that can be both universal and specific. It’s a subject that those struggling with recent loss crave and avoid, borne from an urge to find meaning and stifle the overwhelming pain. Kelly Walker’s feature-film debut, My Fiona, depicts all of this and more, weaving an incredibly fluid and moving tale. ... >>
Film Review: “Together Together” Offers a Moving Study of Loneliness
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
April 23, 2021
Together Together (Nikole Beckwith, 2021) 3 out of 4 stars. In the gentle, sweet Together Together, Ed Helms (Tag) plays Matt, a single fortysomething man who hires a woman to be a surrogate mother for the child he wishes to have. She is Anna (Patti Harrison), a 26-year-old working in a coffee shop who harbors once-and-future aspirations for education and beyond. As they each navigate the complexities of what they initially considered a purely ... >>
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: “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. ...>>