This captivating coming-of-age love story affirms Wanuri Kahiu as a filmmaker to watch. In 2018, filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu discovered her film Rafiki was going to premiere at Cannes Film Festival, a first for Kenya. Meanwhile, in her own country, where anyone found engaging in same-sex sexual activities can face up to 14 years in prison, …
Written by
Leslie Combemale
Little: These Actresses Bring the Fabulous to a Flawed Film
Frustrating pacing nearly derails superior performances and great co-star chemistry in the new film Little, a sweet confection still great for a night out with your gal pals. Though it proves itself uneven, it is also a nice reminder to stay anchored to your true self. Comedies celebrating black girl magic are all too rare. …
Mapplethorpe Movie Review: Matt Smith Makes Art
Whether you know his work or not, Robert Mapplethorpe remains an important, iconoclastic figure in the histories of both LGBTQ rights and contemporary art. So much so, in fact, that in 2017, Belgian designer Raf Simons built a couture collection, in collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, around the famous photographer’s images. Now in theaters, …
Captain Marvel Review: This Superheroine Story Flies High
Captain Marvel brings a super dose of woman power to the cineplex this weekend. Along with champions of parity in film and strong female leads, fans of Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson, cat fanciers, and lovers of fun everywhere, you’ll want to be there for it. There’s one thing you’ll want to know about the …
Untogether: AWFJ Cinema Siren review
With the film Untogether, writer/director Emma Forrest examines creativity and intimacy, how they intertwine, give rise to inspiration and feelings of inadequacy, and often self-destruct under the pressure we put on them. A mixed bag, the film isn’t altogether satisfying, apart from watching the actors engage themselves fully in their portrayals. There are moving scenes that …
Capernaum Movie Review: Indelible Indie on the Invisibility of Street Children
Capernaum is one of the five films nominated for a foreign film Oscar this year, and has the distinction of having won the Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. This heartbreaking film is challenging viewing. Director and co-writer Nadine Labaki hired non-actors who had lives very close to those represented in the story, …
Rust Creek Review: An Escape Thriller With an Everywoman You Can Root For
Director Jen McGowan’s Rust Creek, released in January both in theaters and on demand, is a compelling, exciting, and surprisingly unusual thriller. Female moviegoers have had to learn to accept that they aren’t going to be represented three-dimensionally in a large percentage of films released. This is particularly true in thrillers, which are often made …
Bathtubs Over Broadway Review: Terrific Doc Celebrates Tractor Tunes and Sunscreen Serenades
On rare occasions, the truly bizarre and the utterly charming intersect. Just such a case can be made for Writer/producer/editor Dava Whisenant’s directorial debut, which mines the strange world of industrial musicals in the new documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway.These productions had their heyday in the 50s through the 70s, and were populated by talented performers …
Jinn Review: Mother-Daughter Magic
Jinn, a new semi-autobiographical film by writer/director Nijla Mu’min, articulates the challenges many face in some form of other in their own lives, and it comes right on time. A coming-of-age drama about a teen grappling with her mother’s conversion to Islam and her own shifting beliefs,. It shows the sides of the religion not …
Boy Erased Review: This New Drama Highlights the Hell of Conversion Therapy
Written for the screen, directed by, and co-starring Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased tackles the subject of conversion therapy camps and in-patient clinics that attempt to alter sexual orientation and gender identity. Starring Lucas Hedges as Jared Eamons, the son of Baptist preacher Marshall (Russell Crowe) and his stay-at-home mom Nancy (Nicole Kidman), the film follows Jared as he …