Jeanne du Barry (Maïwenn, 2023) 2 out of 5 stars The French do costume dramas well. Given the nicely preserved locations from their past, it’s no wonder that period pieces seem to come so easily. Still, there’s more to making an engaging work of cinema than merely placing it within an accurately reproduced historical backdrop. […] The post “Jeanne du Barry” Remains a Cipher first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

After a hiatus in 2023, the Maryland Film Festival (MdFF) returns in 2024 to celebrate its 25th anniversary, running May 2-5. On offer is a great variety of content, from shorts and feature-length films (new and older) to VR, AR, games, and more. It should make for an exciting mix of options for any and […] The post Maryland Film Festival Celebrates 25 first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

Infested (Sébastien Vanicek, 2023) 3½ out of 5 stars Spiders are a vital part of our ecosystem, and in recent years I have fought against my earlier tendencies to kill them inside the home. Still, I wish they could avoid building webs across my walkway, as there’s something particularly unsettling about stepping through those sticky […] The post “Infested” Offers Sick Thrills first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

Max Beyond (Hasraf Dulull, 2024) 2½ out of 5 stars As feature films based on video games continue to proliferate, director Hasraf “HAZ” Dulull (2036 Origin Unknown) deviates from the mainstream trend to bring a cinematic rendition of a more obscure but fascinating such game. The movie takes place in the distant future, where a […] The post “Max Beyond” Is Thrilling If Clunky first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

Abigail (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin/Tyler Gillett, 2024) 4 out of 5 stars Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, two founding members of the filmmaking collective Radio Silence, bring their unique blend of light-hearted laughs and splattering gore to the unhinged delight of their newest film, Abigail. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett (Ready or Not) put us into the perspective […] The post “Abigail” Delights with Jokes and Gore first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

Dusk for a Hitman (Raymond St-Jean, 2023) 3 out of 5 stars The hitman phenomenon keeps on churning as more and more films involving assassins come out year after year. Audiences can’t seem to get enough of taking an inside look into one of the vilest professions in the world. While many of these films […] The post “Dusk for a Hitman” Mostly Hits Target first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

Kiah Roache-Turner, a filmmaker who is no stranger to blood and guts, dabbles in the tried-and-true, and always entertaining, genre of the creature feature. His new film, Sting (which I reviewed last week), employs the terror of both arachnophobia and claustrophobia with a giant spider running amok in a rundown apartment building. I had the […] The post Interview with “Sting” Director Kiah Roache-Turner first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

The Greatest Hits (Ned Benson, 2024) 2½ out of 5 stars Letting go of the past is never easy, especially where trauma is involved. It becomes even harder when certain triggers plunge us back into previous memories, preventing us from recovering and moving on. This is the dilemma that Harriet, the protagonist of The Greatest […] The post So-So Beats Weaken “The Greatest Hits” first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

Sting (Kiah Roache-Turner, 2024) 3½ out of 5 stars The killer shark is never just a shark. The unstoppable alien loose in a spaceship is never just an alien. And the giant spider that is roaming within the walls of an apartment building in Kiah Roache-Turner’s creature feature, Sting, is not just a giant spider. […] The post “Sting” Offers Compelling Allegory first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more

The Beast (Bertrand Bonello, 2023) 2 out of 5 stars Inspired by Henry James’ 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle, French director Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast follows a star-crossed couple through time and space as they manage to never quite consummate their relationship. A meditation on love, loneliness, the meaning of emotion and our […] The post “The Beast” Has No Bite first appeared on Film Festival Today ..read more