People who know me IRL (mostly) know that I’m a cross stitcher. I spend dozens of hours a week on my couch, usually 2-3 hours nightly and more on weekends stitching. Outside of work and sleeping, it takes up the next biggest block of my time. I’ve even made some stitching projects that combine my hobby with movies. This is all to say that I am delighted that SIFF is offering one of their theaters for crafty movie fans this Sunday at noon, promising a place to congregate while the beloved (though not by me) movie Labyrinth plays on screen.
Freaky Tales is a messy, chaotic celebration of 1980s Oakland
The record-breaking game of Sleepy Floyd of the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 10, 1987, Freaky Tales. The film tells the story of a mysterious green power that swept through Oakland in the ‘80s.
Secret Mall Apartment gives audiences the keys to an unbelievable 2000s art project
Stay in a shopping mall for a whole week without getting kicked out by security? Sounds like an initiation rite for a fraternity pledge, but in 2003 it became an all-consuming immersive project for eight artists in Providence, Rhode Island, that stretched on beyond the initial prank for four years.
The Friend delivers a heartbreaking exploration of grief from a unique perspective
We’ve all been there; we can watch countless humans die in films without batting an eye, but the moment a dog dies, the tears start streaming. Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s The Friend offers a fresh take on the classic dog movie, where instead of a human grappling with the death of a dog, we see a dog facing the loss of his human.
Jason Statham punches his timecard in A Working Man
In his latest action thriller, A Working Man, Jason Statham portrays Levon Cade, an ex-Royal Marines commando who leads a relatively unassuming life as a construction foreman in Illinois.
Death of a Unicorn doesn’t know what the Hell it is, but you won’t be bored
Death of a Unicorn (2025 | USA | 104 minutes | Alex Scharfman) Make no mistake: Like the mythical beast name-dropped in …
Black Bag is a wickedly fun spy thriller that respects your time by not wasting any of it
Black Bag is a sleek, sophisticated, and sexy thriller with some exceptional filmmaking from Soderbergh. At 93 minutes, not a moment is wasted. Once the plot is established, momentum propels the film like a brisk clip. This is not an action film, though. Soderbergh and Koepp are interested in the letting the story unfold while allowing us into the minds of the exceptionally cerebral players. Why does each character do what they do? Are they being manipulated? Or are they doing the manipulating? Is remaining loyal to your country and your partner mutually exclusive?
In Novocaine Jack Quaid is comfortably numb
Dan Berk and Robert Olsen subvert the unlikely hero trope in Novocaine, where everyman Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) leverages his rare condition—an inability to feel pain—to rescue the girl of his dreams.
Naomi Ackie and 17 (or 18) Robert Pattinsons propel Bong Joon Ho’s latest Mickey 17
Pity poor Mickey Barnes. Life is pretty terrible for most people in a dystopia, of course, but for Mickey, it’s particularly awful because he just cannot stay dead when he dies. As an “expendable,” he signed up to a life of many deaths and as many resurrections (reprintings).
Slamdance 2025: Quick Reviews
While the in-person festival has come to a close, the virtual Slamdance Film festival is in full swing. Nearly every film available at the theaters in LA are now available for streaming for a killer price. I’ll have more pocket reviews coming up!