Sara Clements

For this week’s main podcast review, Sara Clements, Josh Parham, Giovanni Lago, Joselyn Safadi, and I are reviewing and discussing the latest film from Ryan Coogler, “Sinners,” starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Buddy Guy, Delroy Lindo. A blending of different genres forms a singular vision from not only one of the best Black filmmakers working today but one of the best filmmakers working today, period. What Coog...

From the first shot of Sinners, you know you're in for something soul-stirring. A young man, soaked in blood and clutching a shattered guitar, stumbles into a church full of worshippers. His name is Sammie (played by newcomer Miles Caton in a revelatory performance), and his story is one of pain, beauty, and transformation. So too is Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler's latest film, a bold and breathtaking journey through the heart of the Mississippi Delta that sings with soul and screams with terror. Sinners is not just a horror movie – it’s a sermon.

Set in 1932, during the...

In 1993, The Wedding Banquet marked a quiet revolution in cinema. Directed by the then-rising Ang Lee, the film’s protagonist, a Taiwanese immigrant in New York, attempts to keep his sexuality hidden from his traditional parents by marrying a woman who needs a green card. Tackling themes of queerness, immigration, family, and cultural identity, this romantic comedy offers an empathetic portrayal of the cultural and generational pressures many immigrants and queer people face. It’s a film that...

If you've ever felt that pit-of-the-stomach anxiety before a first date – sweaty palms, forced small talk, scanning for red flags – imagine that cranked to eleven with your child’s life on the line. That’s the gut-punch premise of Drop, the latest genre bender from director Christopher Landon. It’s a film that begins with flirty glances across a table and ends with a bone-chilling choice. Produced by the genre masterminds at Blumhouse, Drop is a dark date-night rollercoaster that lands somewh...

In “The Teacher,” Oscar-nominated Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi delivers a stunning debut feature that acts as both a cinematic gut punch and a quiet act of resistance. Set against the lush yet haunted hills of the West Bank, where olive trees burn beside crumbling homes and settlements loom like phantoms of power, the film is as visually arresting as it is emotionally shattering. Every frame is a protest.

This isn’t merely a film – it’s an elegy for stolen land, lost sons, and the unbearable weight of generational trauma and injustice. Drawing from real events and lived...

The thriller is a genre that never seems to tire, even when defined by the pulse-pounding simplicity of a clear goal, a looming threat, and characters teetering on the edge of panic. Of course, Netflix’s “Bullet Train Explosion” has the above, but reading its premise may mistake it for an adrenaline-fueled homage to “Speed,” the 1994 cult classic where Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock race against a deadly speed limit. But that comparison, while tempting, does Shinji Higuchi’s latest film a disservice. This isn’t just “Speed” on rails – though the premise does echo this – it’s actually a...

In Black Bag, Steven Soderbergh serves up a tantalizing cocktail of espionage and intimate drama, where betrayal and loyalty dance on a razor’s edge. A master of tension, Soderbergh crafts a world where the stakes are deeply emotional, offering a sleek and intellectual spy thriller. The film, written by David Koepp in his third collaboration with the director, examines the fragility of relationships set against the backdrop of intelligence work. This isn’t just a race against time to stop a global catastrophe – it’s a psychological chess game between two people whose devotion to each other...

With “Satisfaction,” first-time narrative feature filmmaker Alex Burunova delivers a debut like a more subdued version of Chloe Domont’s 2023 film, “Fair Play.” It’s the kind of psychological drama that slowly cuts deep into the cracks of a relationship. While not reaching the same volcanic heat as the cutthroat office politics in the latter Netflix film, “Satisfaction” is fittingly more of a slow boil than a sear.

“Satisfaction “explores the unspoken fractures between two people, something born out of one traumatizing betrayal. The film charts the unraveling of the relationship between...

n GG Hawkins’ debut feature, “I Really Love My Husband,” a lush paradise serves as a stunning backdrop to a comedy-drama that explores the complexities of marriage and desire. Teresa (Madison Lanesey) has only been married to Drew (Travis Quentin Young) for a year, but the cracks in their seemingly picture-perfect relationship are already beginning to show as they embark on a tropical honeymoon. What starts as a journey to rekindle their bond quickly unravels into a web of confusion and jealousy. This honeymoon may not push them to a happy future but rather shatter it.

Teresa’s internal...

In his feature film debut, writer-director Brwa Vahabpour crafts a poignant and humorous narrative in “My Uncle Jens,” a story that explores the complexities of family, identity, and the disorienting experience of displacement. At first glance, the film may appear to be a lighthearted comedy about an unexpected visit from a quirky uncle, but it soon delves into the deeper themes of cultural clashes and personal discovery.

What begins as a frustrating disruption quickly evolves into a deeply emotional journey as the film’s protagonist is forced to confront the uneasy intersection of his...

“Fucktoys,” directed and written by Annapurna Sriram in her feature debut, is an audacious and campy adventure that blends grindhouse aesthetics with an exploration of sexuality and self-empowerment. It’s a wild, chaotic experience that takes viewers on a journey through the filth and fantasy of Trashtown, USA. It also feels like a rare cinematic experience, one where women and queer storytellers can explore things like sexuality unapologetically. While men are celebrated for pushing boundaries in storytelling – this year’s Best Picture winner “Anora” comes to mind – it’s time for women to...

Since Bong Joon-ho took Hollywood by storm with his Oscar-winning film, Parasite, audiences have been eagerly anticipating his next project. In Mickey 17, the South Korean filmmaker delivers a genre-defying work that blends dark comedy, sci-fi, and biting political satire. With Mickey Barnes (played by Robert Pattinson) as our reluctant, “expendable” protagonist, the film explores themes of identity, death, and the human condition. It’s a journey through absurdity and tragedy, questioning what it means to truly be human in a world where lives can be printed, memories are repeatable, and...

Region A Blu-ray

Commentary with director Hannah Pearl Utt, writer Rhianon Jones, producer Mallory Schwartz, and executive producer Tristan Scott-Behrends

Trailer

Booklet featuring an essay by film critic Sara Clements

English SDH subtitles

“My Dead Friend Zoe” is a raw and visceral look into the lives of veterans grappling with the invisible scars of war. At the heart of the film lies the devastating reality that comes after the return home: American veterans with PTSD have been found to have “an unadjusted rate of 50.7 deaths by suicide per 100,000 person-years of risk, compared to a rate of 13.2 in the general adult population,” according to a study for the National Library of Medicine. This grim statistic underpins the journey of Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), a U.S. Army veteran not only battling the demons of PTSD but is...

"Mr. Nobody Against Putin” is a hauntingly powerful documentary that brings to light the silent courage of civilians in the face of an oppressive regime. Directed by David Borenstein, this film follows the journey of Pasha Talankin, an event organizer and videographer at Karabash Primary School in Russia, while he navigates the disturbing and often heartbreaking transformation of his school into a propaganda machine for Putin’s war in Ukraine. The footage, captured by Pasha himself, tells a story of bravery that often goes unseen – the bravery of those who dare to expose the truth in a...