Sara Clements

Hot off a reported $20 million Netflix distribution deal, Fair Play is not only one of the best films at this year’s Sundance but also one of the best debut features in years. Writer-director Chloe Domont crafts a sharp and tense psychological thriller that examines gender office politics with brutal honesty. Looking at the ways in which our modern world is still very much archaic, a woman’s journey up the corporate ladder proves perilous.
Dating a co-worker turns nightmarish in Fair Play. Wh...

Polite Society is a different kind of teen movie. Writer-director Nida Manzoor, known for her work as the creator of We Are Lady Parts, crafts an original action comedy that’s a blast from start to finish. Coming to theatres this April, its narrative contains a vibrant mash-up of sisterhood, friendship, and teenage woes, with a side of cultural and parental pressures. It’s a film that will find a relatability with the viewer thanks to all its nuances, but if that doesn’t grab you, the kick-as...

Films often explore fatherhood and motherhood, but not what it’s like to be the stepmother or stepfather to someone else’s child. In particular, we’ve grown up with films that have depicted stepmothers as evil, but rarely does it explore the deep connection they can form with a child they’ve suddenly become a part of raising. Rebecca Zlotowski’s “Other People’s Children” explores this kind of dynamic but through the eyes of a woman who never had a child of her own, wants one, and is reaching the last tick of the biological clock. It’s a subject that results in an emotional rollercoaster...

L’immensità translates to “the immensity.” This can mean different ideas to different people: the immensity of work, family, or simply life. It’s a weight that the family at the center of Emanuele Crialese’s latest drama carries. “L’immensità,” based on the director’s own life experience, is an honest and poignant portrait of a mother and child who feel alien in a world that doesn’t understand them. It’s an emotional journey of a child discovering his sexuality and the strength of a mother’s love that transcends time and place.

“L’immensità” is visually striking from its very first frame...

Coming to Shudder later this year is Laura Moss’s Frankenstein-inspired Birth/Rebirth. The writer-director, along with Brendan J. O’Brien, crafts a story that takes the Mary Shelley horror classic in a new direction, eliminating the patriarchal dominance over the feminine. Posing elemental questions about life and humanity, this modern take on the classic work boats terrific performances and succeeds at showing a mother’s desperation to hold on to their child, no matter the cost.

A nurse and ...

It’s that time of the year! It’s our annual Sundance Film Festival recap podcast. For the 2023 festival, we gathered a group of people from inside and outside NBP who were in-person at the festival and covered it online. Joining me for this packed episode I have Amy Smith, Cody Dericks, Ema Sasic, Lauren Cohen, Sara Clements, Zoe Rose Bryant, and guests Aaron White from FeelinFilm, Anna Miller from DiscussingFilm, and fellow Evergreen Podcaster Christina Jeurling Birro. Join us as we reveal o...

From What To Expect When You’re Expecting to Lady Bird and Tully, there are many films that explore motherhood and its complexities. Tully, in particular, tackles the subject of postpartum depression in a raw and intimate way. There aren’t many movies like it, proving that the stigma around postpartum is alive and well. Emer Reynolds’s Joyride, with a screenplay by Ailbhe Keogan, comes so close to achieving and even surpassing the heights of the Charlize Theron vehicle. Postpartum is one thin...

In 2010, Roald Dahl’s famous children’s book, Matilda, received musical treatment. Matilda the Musical was met with critical acclaim and awards recognition for both its West End and Broadway performances. It was only a matter of time before that success lead to a film. For many, Danny DeVito’s Matilda is a childhood staple and Mara Wilson will always be the one and only Matilda Wormwood. Tony Award-winning director Matthew Warchus’ Netflix film adaptation of the stage musical probably won’t c...

Eleven years since his first solo adventure, Puss in Boots is finally back and quick to introduce his audience to a new fairytale. Joel Crawford’s and Januel Mercado’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish finds the Zorro-inspired feline seeking the last wish granted by a wishing star that fell from the sky. Coming face to face with Death, and realizing that this is one opponent he may not be able to defeat, he believes this wish will save his life. It’s not the only animated film this year to touch o...

Babylon, the ancient city and biblical image of societal iniquity and hedonism, is the perfect title and description for a film about Hollywood in the Roaring ’20s. This decade brought economic prosperity, excess and joie de vivre for many. Men and women alike gave in to their sinful desires for booze, sex, and drugs, and their temptations for fortune and fame. It was an age of jazz and sexual liberation, which proves an entertaining film setting. Writer-director Damien Chazelle’s epic, Babyl...

From Pinocchio’s very first frame, you’re hit by its stunning, intricate craftsmanship with almost tangible quality. The blend of practical and visual effects is so seamless that it’s hard to know what was handcrafted and what wasn’t. The first frame also carries symbolism. Guillermo del Toro and co-director Mark Gustafson chose a pine cone hanging on a branch as their first shot because it represents the many themes they’ll explore, like resurrection and enlightenment. In del Toro’s retellin...

The romance genre is full of picture-perfect love stories — but we want the real thing. And getting the real thing also means diversifying the genre. This year, films like Fire Island and Bros put relationships between men front and centre. As both are breezy comedies, it was only a matter of time before we’d get a more dramatic entry that would have us reaching for the tissue box.
Michael Showalter’s Spoiler Alert, based on the memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello, follows...

For this week’s second podcast review, I am joined by Sara Clements & Dan Bayer. Today we’re reviewing Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, “Pinocchio,” (or titled “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”) starring Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Ron Perlman, Cate Blanchett, Finn Wolfhard, Christoph Waltz & Tilda Swinton. There have been many versions of this timeless story, but del Toro and co-director Mark Gustafson have taken the beloved wooden puppet and placed him in the world of stop-m...

From gay pirates and lesbian baseball players to queer vampires and ballroom legends, this was a hugely entertaining year for LGBTQ+ TV.
This was a thrilling and heartbreaking year for LGBTQ+ television. For proof, look no further than the fact that multiple shows on this list have already been cancelled, along with several other queer-themed programs that got the axe in 2022. Some of this is the result of sweeping industry forces: entertainment giants are merging, streamers are consolidating...

You might be tempted to call this list “chaotic,” but I’d prefer “eclectic.” As LGBTQ+ representation expands, and as queer and trans people continue to make deeper inroads into the film industry, we’re witnessing an explosion of talent across genres. Gone are the years when a list like this would only have a blend of arthouse fare and Oscar-baiting biopics. Instead, 2022’s fresh batch of queer cinema included chilling horror films, crowd-pleasing romantic comedies, groundbreaking animated fa...