Grenfell Uncovered (2025)

This is a Netflix documentary on the Grenfell Towers tragedy that left 72 dead. The fire traveled up the outside of the building in the cladding. The result was a fire that looked like a Hollywood film.

This film will crush you.  It's a sad story that reveals how hundreds of people were put at risk for profit. 

The film is a mixture of survivors tales and the story of the investigation in what happened.  I was locked in to the film from start to finish, I'm not sure that the mix really works. While I frequently complain that many Netflix  series really should have been a single film, in this is a case it should have been two parts, one telling the story of the fire and one telling the story of the investigation and what it turned up.

My complaint aside, I was moved. This is a sad tale that is very likely to be repeated over and over again.

Recommended.  

Mr Blake at Your Service (2023) is charming and playing around the country

 

John Malkovich and the cat

This is one of the great finds of 2025, Just as I was losing mydesire to watch movies, this joy came along and surprised and delighted me.

The plot has John Malkovich playing a successful business man mourning the loss of his wife. Looking to find a connection to the world he takes a job as a butler at the French manner house where he first met his wife decades before.   All is not wellin the house. The woman who owns the place is in financial trouble and and she too is mourning the loss of her husband. She wants a butler because she is planning on opening the house as a vacation rental.

I am not going to lie and say the plot does anything unexpected, it really doesn't. But what it does do is give us a great collection of characters we can fall in love with. Everyone is charming and the sort of person we want to hang out with. We like them and we like their little quirks.

Which brings me to Malkovich, I've never seen him play a straightman before. Seriously he plays essentially a regular guy and lets the others be the quirky ones. It's an eye opening experience because you realize just how good he is. Yes, we have had decades of great Malkovich roles, but at the same time watching this you realize what we could have had if he was just allowed to be a regular person on screen and not someone with an odd quirk. I suspect that he took the role because he was acting in French, which he is not supposed to be perfectly fluent in (there are jokes about him being English and not getting words right), but I still would have loved to have seen him do this other times.

What a delight. Once I gave myself over to it and realized the plot line wasn't going to be surprising I fell into the film and into the company on screen. I became one of them and by the end the turns had me getting misty.

I absolutely loved this film.

High art? Probably not, but this is better. This is the sort of film you'll watch repeatedly because you just love the place it puts you in. Honestly if this were in English this film would become a cable/streaming staple and in five years it would be considered a classic.

Highly recommended.

Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders (2025)

 This is a 3 part series looking at the cyanide murders playing on Netflix.

This is a solid look at the still unsolved "murders" in September and October of 1982. The series explains what happens and follows the trails as to what might have happened. It's a series that is going to give you a lot to think about. 

I really liked this series since it brought up a lot of details I never knew.  I remember being frighteneed and riveted by the events as they happened. I was also quite shocked when the case just kind of slipped off the radar. This film explains that.

There are some twists to this case that I never knew anything about, including one indication that this wasn't an intentional crime, but could have been an industrial accident that was covered up.

My only real complaint with the series is that breaking the series into three parts kind if infers that there is more to to this than there really is. I was slightly disappointed because I thought there would be a bit more to this. It's not fatal because this series still kicks ass.

Recommended.

LAST GUEST IN THE HOLLOWAY MOTEL (2025) Tribeca 2025

 Every year at Tribeca you walk blind into a film and come out blown away by a film off everyone’s radar.  It’s a film the audience walks out of and wonders if we really saw the film we just saw or not. This year, on one of the last days of the festival LAST GUEST became that film.

I’m going to be no forth coming about what happens in the film because the film ultimately is an ever changing one with revelation that literally happen all the way through the end credits.  You can’t leave until the screen goes black because things keep happening.

The film is the story of Tony Powell who was the last person at The Holloway Motel. The property has been sold and it is going to be turned into homeless housing.  Powell is waiting for word as to when he needs to be gone by.  As he waits and makes his plans he talks about his life as life begins throwing curve balls at him.

While I am not going to say much I will say that Powell is a former soccer player from England who came to the US and stayed, essentially disappearing from the lives of everyone in England.  What happened and happens is not what you expect, an it makes for a compelling viewing.  It also results in multiple moments that left me crying.

This film is just great storytelling. I can’t recommend this film enough.

A SECOND LIFE (2025) Tribeca 2025

 Second Life is a great film. I was told by William Lustig, director of Maniac and Maniac Cop that it was one of the best films at Tribeca and I had to see it. That may sound weird having a horror director recommend a lovely drama but Lustig is a film fan first and he wants to see anything other than horror. I have  almost never discussed actual horror films with him.

The film is the story of a young woman in Paris during the recent Olympics. Her job is to get customers to their Air BNBs and make sure they are happy. She is largely miserable inside and trying to decide if she is going to stay or go. Along the way she meets a bouncy American and as they walk through the streets she comes back alive.

This film is pure magic. This is the reason I love the movies. It’s a wonderfully told story about real people. It’s a portrait of a few days in time. There are some revelations, much to chew on, and just great time with great characters. 

I was moved.

I was moved so much that I tried to get to an in person screening just so I could see it and have the world disappear.

Pretty much perfect from start to finish A SECOND LIFE is q film you need to see and to give yourself over to.

Highly recommended it will make you smile for days.

SHAM (2025) Tribeca 2025

 Takashi Miike  goes into seemingly unexpected direction, or unexpected if you haven’t see the wide depth of the hundreds of  films he’s made. The film is not a violent action film  but a measured exploration of he said she said where a teacher is accused of bullying one of his students. He never truly says he is guilty even as his school buckles under the hint of scandal.

Essentially a three part film , the mother’s version, the teacher’s version and then the court room case. It’s a film you have to stay with until it catches it footing, about a half an hour in, and then it is gangbusters. This is an incredibly well done drama about the cost of giving in to a falsehood. (that isn’t a spoiler since the film is supposedly based on an actual court case).

While the film doesn’t have a great deal of bells and whistles, it does have a rock solid hand steering things. Miike truly is one of the best directors working today. He is a man who can do anything and make it look easy. Why he isn’t better known  and why people don’t watch more of his films (all his films are not AUDITION or --- or ---) I will see anything Miike does simply because it truly will not be like anything else out there, even if it is a remake or version of a familiar tale.

Shame is a great film and highly recommended.

ICE ROAD VENGEANCE (2025)

Liam Neeson's Mike McCann returns to action in a film that is essentially unrelated to the first film. And  while it is basically another film in the Liam Neeson kicks ass series, the truth is it has enough twists that if you are forgiving, it's a really entertaining film.

In the film Mike is mourning his brother who wais killed in combat. The brother had hoped one day to climb Mount Everest, but died before that could happen.  When mike finds out that his brother wanted his ashes sprinkled on the summit, he books a flight and goes. Unfortunately while on the bus to the mountain he ends up in the middle of a battle involving bunch of bad guys who want to strong arm the locals in a small town to sell out so they can build a dam. This sets in motion a long protracted battle.

Okay, let me be up front, this film has a large number of problems. The effects are uneven, the action is uneven, the basic plot is well worn, there are some clunky turns and the pacing is a tad draggy at times. I know this. I am well aware of all the film's issues. 

And you know what? I enjoyed the hell out of this film.

I did, I really did.

This is the sort of film you stumble on and end up watching on a rainy Saturday night on the couch.  It is also the sort of film that I would have driven all over Long Island in order to see.

There are a couple of reasons that the film works. First we like the characters. We actually like the good guys and we hate the bad guys. 

The fact that we have likable characters adds to the second reason the film works, which is no one is safe. Everyone  gets hurt, shot, stabbed, punched. There is a  cost for eveything that happens. No one is superman, neither good huys or bad guys. Additionally Liam Neeson plays this as an older guy.  He is wearing down. There is a moment toward the end where it's directly referenced.

The film also works because its setting gives us a place to set the action we haven't seen hundreds of time before. How many Katmandu action films are there? Not many. 

I also love that once the film gets going things don't play out exactly precisely as we think they will. Yes there are turns that we suspect will go a certain way, but at the same time, they don't. The ending, for example is not exactly precisely what most Hollywood studios would have insisted to have happen. The ending is not a definite, but a maybe. (No I am not going to tell you)

And while there are problems some of the action, the truth is the action sequences are not the same old same old, in part because the setting, and in part because everyone ends up hurt.

I had a great deal of fun with this.

High art? Oh hell no- but one I will rewatch when I run across it.

Worth your time.

BOX MAN releases on home video June 30 From Third Window Films

Those who obsess about the box man become the box man

Gakuryu Ishii tells the story of a "box man", a man who lives inside a cardboard box. Based on a novel by  Kobe Abe, this film follows the Box Man as he talks about his life and his haunted by a photographer who is obsessed by him

Contemplating this film during the long period of time between watching and writing I think THE BOX MAN maybe Ishii's best film. A perfect marriage of story and cinematic skill this is a film that  perfectly showcases Ishii's skills as a filmmaker to tell a story that rocks us. I know that's an odd thing to say especially since Isshi has been rattling the pillars of cinematic heaven ince 1980's CRAZY THUNDER ROAD, but it maybe true. I know I will need to see the film again to be certain.

Even if it isn't Ishii's best, it's still a hell of a film and a must see. 

Feeling like a film from the 1970's with modern sensibilities the film is a heady mix of thought provoking ideas and off kilter turns. Sure the basic notion that we are all in our own boxes is there but at the same time there is so much more going on. Trust me on this there is plenty to think about on every level.

If you love movies or cinema or film you need to see this film. This is the sort of film that any lover of cinematic storytelling is going to eat up.

One of the great films that Japan Cuts in 2024.

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a look at artist Jens Haaning who scammed the Kunsten Museum out of $84,000 by giving them two empty frames instead of the cash in the frames. This caused a fire storm as the museum tried to get the money back, Hanning tried to stay out of trouble and leverage the controversy to his advantage.

Say what you will, Haaning is a scammer. He is the sort of artist that I have known for years who take advantage of rich stupid people and institutions by telling something cheap is worth a fortune. While I have a deep love of art I don’t like many artists and I’d like to pop them in the face.

Haaning is one I want to hit. He is clearly running scams and some times he makes money and more often he doesn’t has the vast  number of unsold works he still has. That he spent the money as soon as he got it isn’t surprising.  That he freaks out when he realizes things are not going to go his way is even less surprising.  

I was amused and horrified that we let con men like Haaning get away with his nonsense.

Worth a look.

STATE OF FIRSTS (2025) Tribeca 2025

Portrait of Congress Woman Sarah McBride who is the first openly Trans woman in Congress.

This is a super portrait of McBride from her birth to the present. It’s the story of a woman who was always interested in politics and who has stepped on the stage at an important moment, 

While I have seen other tellings of  McBride‘s tale before this is the best. It gives us lots of time to get to know her and what she stands for. While the film could be accused of being a bit too loving, she does not appear to have a dark side, I have no issue with it, simply because in a time of hate, a purely positive film is welcomed.

Highly Recommended.

MOVE YA BODY: THE BIRTH OF HOUSE (2025) Tribeca 2025

 This is a look at the birth of House music. It’s a Chicago centric look at the creation of the musical genre by the people who lived it.

This is a wonderful film. One of the first films I saw at Tribeca at the festival, it was a film I have been talking up ever since.  The film has a great beat and you can dance to it.

What makes the film so good are the stories told. The film explains the why and how and where it all went down. It reveals to us how the elements came together and most importantly how House influenced everything that came after it.

Is it the gospel truth, I say that having seen other films claiming to tell the story, I have no idea, but quite honestly it is the best telling I’ve seen and the most enjoyable.

The last two films I saw for Tribeca 2025: REBECCA and EMPIRE SKATE

While I will have a a couple more reviews coming from the festival I wanted to get my thoughts on the final two films I saw for the fest because I only had short reviews in me:

REBBECA
This is a Live Nation produced portrait of singer and actress Becky G (Rebbeca Marie Gomez) as she puts her new album together.

This is a slick, by the number and over polished film that feels like so many prepackaged film. This film is so slick that even the live music sounds prerecorded.  This isn't to say that the film is bad, just so by the numbers that odds are unless you are a fan you aren't going to be maddly in love with the film.

For fans.

EMPIRE SKATE
This is a 30 for 30 look at the NYC skate culture that grew up around the Supreme brand.

This is one of the rare 30 for 30 films that didn't fully resonate with me. This feels like there is an assumption that we are aware of the subject. I was not fully and I kind of felt lost. The real problem was that I never fully connected with it and as a result I just kind of let it wash over me.

Worth a look, because it isn't bad, but this is best for people familiar with the subject.

ON A STRING (2025) Tribeca 2025

A violist still living with her parents tries to sort out her life and the ex-boyfriend who informs her that philharmonic has an opening for a viola opening.

Isabel Hagen writes, directs and stars in this charming little film. Hagen has created a film with some really wonderful moments and some great characters. I laughed repeatedly at some of the things that happen (the opening wedding proposal is destined to be considered a classic).  I was delighted.

My only complaint about the film is there are a couple of quirky turns that don't really need to be there (I'm looking at you obnoxious brother). It makes me think that the next time out, assuming Hagen doesn't use the quirks she'll make a perfect film.

This is a film that's worth your time.

Recommended.

 

Jesszilla (2023) Opens Friday

I went into this portrait of teen boxer Jesselyn Silva blind. I had loved the short film that played DOC NYC a few years back so this was high on my must see list for the festival. I was not disappointed and completely blindsided by the turn of events in the film.

The film is the story of Silva as she trains for and competes in the boxing tournaments for girls her age. She is a kick ass young woman with a drive that most men don’t have. She is a fighter in the truest sense of the word and watching her compete is so much fun. What isn’t so much fun and kind of shocking is the turn the story takes not long after her appearance in one of the competitions she is diagnosed with cancer. I was not prepared for what happened or how Jess is forced to take a new course in life. Jess being Jess I’m certain this will lead to bigger and better things. (And I hope we get to visit her again in a few years)

I’m not sure what to say. This is just a great film. It’s good time with great people. It’s a wonderful portrait of a young woman

JUST KIDS (2025) TRIBECA 2025

This is the story of several trans kids who are trying to just live their lives in an age when the far right is trying to control them.

This is a lovely portrait of some people who are just trying to live their own lives but are in danger of circumstance and politics preventing that from happening.

This film will move you. The reason is that this film is simply a portrait of a bunch of kids who just are. They are not remotely what the right would have you believe, but they are instead just kids.  And their families are just regular people struggling to do what is best for their kids, including moving from one state to another just so they can get life affirming care.(And the film makes clear that the care isn't always meds, but simply be able to get support and advice). There is no flash, just life. This film makes clear that the fear mongering is pure BS.

This is an important film that corrects the hysteria.

Recommended.

CUBA AND ALASKA (2025) Sheffield 2025, Brussels international FIlm Festival and Munich International Film Festival

By the time we realized we were supposed to be afraid it was too late. - Alaska

This is the story of two friends, Alaska, so named because people think she is as cold as ice, and Cuba, nicked name because growing up they thought she was from Cuba. When the war in Ukraine started they took up being medics. They work together to keep each other sane  and alive.

This film is not what you expect. It's a film that doesn't behave like any typical war/Ukraine documentary. This is a glorious celebration of life and of friendship. It's the story of two women who are trying to do the right thing and still live their lives. 

Made up of a combination of body cam footage, cellphone video and footage shot by the film crew this film puts us into the action in ways that pretty much no other Ukraine doc has. This is not a world of gloom and doom, but is instead something much more complex. Life is going on outside the war zones, even if the war hangs over everything.  Its a film that reveals the situation in Ukraine to be much more complex.

I was knocked back on my heels by this film. It did not do anything I expected it to. It went all over the place into unexpected places and it made be rethink how I think about not only the war, but all war and the reporting about them.

This film is wonderful. I love that it is not conventional and forces us to truly engage with it.

Highly recommended.

CUBA AND ALASKA  played the Sheffield INrernation Doc Fest, is currently at  the Brussels International Film Fest and will be at the Munich International Film Festival June 29 & 30 and July 4

It's Dorothy (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a life and times of Dorothy Gale, the lead character in The Wizard of Oz, the book, the movies and the place of all of them in the hearts of millions.

One of the best films of 2025, IT'S DOROTHY is a glorious celebration of The Wizard of Oz. This film gloriously lays out why the story, in all it's forms, means something. This is a film that explains why the story is important. 

What I love about the film is that in addition to telling us why the story means something, it makes us feel the importance. We connect to the love people feel for the film and we emotionally understand why people connect. I make this point because earlier in Tribeca there was a film about the love people feel for Jack Keroauc's On The Road. It makes the case intellectually but not emotionally. We don't feel any connection to the beat classic. However we do feel the connection to Oz.

I was moved to tears. I found myself connecting to the people on screen, which connected me to the people in my life. I could feel why the books, or the the film, ot THE WIZ or WICKED means the world to them.

This film is magnificent.

Highly recommended.

BEYOND THE GAZE Jule Campbell's Swimsuit Issue (2024) opens tomorrow

The life and times of the Sport’s Illustrated Swimsuit issue  as told by the woman behind it, the photographers who shot them and the women who filled the pages. It’s the story of how one person changed the lives of many people for the better and how ultimately the cheesecake photos resulted in things that were so much more than just eye candy.

This is a good look at Jule Campbell and the people who crossed her path. It’s a film that is going to tell you everything you wanted to know about the Campbell and then some. Perhaps a little bit too much. While the film is never bad I began to run out of steam  probably about 30 minutes before the end. I think it was more that I had heard everything I felt I needed to at that point.  That’s not a knock, but more a statement that I had to step away.

Quibble aside, the film is quite good and worth a look.

Wendy Feinberg's Photos from the Tribeca 2025 Premiere of DEPECHE MODE: M

 

THE PRICE OF MILK (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a look at milk in America... and the dairy industry in country as well. It's a complex story that is going to piss you off...in a good way.

Starting with the Got Milk Campaign  the film spins off into some unexpected directions revealing that the dairy industry is messed up with the Federal government taking money from small farmers for campaign that won't help them and how companies like Fair Life scam the system to make millions which they use to further scam the system to make more money.

I got pissed off. I got pissed off because this film revealed all sorts of bad and good things that I never knew.  Walking out of the press screening I knew I wanted to see this again, when I wasn't at the end of a long day of seeing movies.

Whether or not you like milk this film is a must since it says a great deal about how we live our lives.

AstroNots (2024) hits Your Tube today

As two astronauts prepare to be launched to mars one of them has a panic attack.  This is an amusing little twi hander that is going to make you laugh. It’s a perfectly done comedy that nails it in so many different ways.

The fact that it had me laughing out loud says so much

This is definitely one to track down.

(There is a post credits scene)

Star Trek Strange New World Season 3 Episode 1- Tribeca 2025

I went to see the first episode of the new season of Star Trek Strange New World with John and Bully at Tribeca. They screened the episode and then did a Q&A.

The episode is the second part of a story involving an invasion by the Gorn. Seeing it without seeing the first part I was enthralled. I picked everything up easily. It was awesome and now I have to go back and see what went before.

The Q&A was a lot of fun. It was a delight listening to the moderator try to trip up Akiva Goldsman on the seeming "mistakes" in Trek.  Goldsman had answers for everything. I also loved seeing Carol Kane talking about how she never watched Trek and had no idea what she was getting into. It was wonderfully refreshing.

I had a blast and as someone old enough to have been watching the series since the original run it was old home week despite my never having seen an episode.

MY MOM JAYNE: A FILM BY MARISKA HARGITAY (2025) Tribeca 2025

Mariska Hargitay assembles her family and the friends who knew her mother, Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay is trying to connect with the mother who she barely remembers (Hargitay was three years old when her mom was killed in a car accident)

This film is not really about Mansfield the movie star, but about Mom. This is a film that looks to help Hargitay sort out who her mom was and why she did the things that she did.  It's an incredibly personal film that is not going to play well for anyone who is looking for the life of a star, it is instead the life of a woman behind the Hollywood persona. Hargitay wants us to feel the woman who spoke as she did at home and not the one on the movie screen.

This is an intriguing film. It's a film that holds our attention because the film simply doesn't go and do as we expect it to. There are some interesting twists here and little facts that most people who are not Mansfield superfans would know. For example, while I knew Mariska was in the car during the crash, I didn't realize that they authorities didn't know she was in the crashed car and only found her when one of her brothers asked if she was okay. They then went back and found her wedged under the front seat.

Ultimately this is a lovely film about finding oneself and refinding a deeper connection to our families.\

Recommended.

Wendy Feinberg Photos from the Tribeca 2025 Premiere of THE ROSE : COME BACK TO ME

 

Nightcap 6/22/25 - Tribeca winds down, bad restoration

the qote at the bottom of the DVD cover is mine

Yea, Tribeca coverage at Unseen Films is never ending... or will end in about a week. 

Between Ariela and myself we will have around 150 film reviews.  As this posts I'm just starting to put together some photo pieces based on the pictures Wendy sent me.

I know you're probably sick of it - but the truth is some of the films coming are some of the best films of the year.

---

I'm going to get dis-invited to a certain festival but I need to warn you that there is going to be screenings of the restorations of several classic films from the Shanghi Animation Studio.  THE SEALED BOOK and THE MONKEY KING UPROAR  IN HEAVEN are due to  play NYC in a month.  THE MONKEY KING is being pushed as being a restoration of the complete film which is enouh in some people's eyes to make it worth seeing.(The film was restored  in 2012 and slightly shortened with input by the original filmmakers).

The problem is that the restorations were done by AI and the result are films that look nothing  like the original films, but like something that was cranked out by computers recently. All of the details in the original images is gone.

I discovered this  because I was watching a version of THE SEALED BOOK on You Tube and was kind of shocked by how the image looked like it was done recently. This lead me to reading on the the film and discovering the studio's use of AI to do the restoration and how it was removing details in the images. 

---

I am having computer issues.  not sure  how this will play out...

A Matter of Time (2025) Tribeca 2025

 Eddie Vedder gives a performance to raise money to help cure epidermolysis bullosa, a painful genetic disease that makes the skin seperate from the body. The skin ends up as fragile as a butterfy's wings. As we watch Vedder perform we get to know several of the people suffering from the disease.

This was one of the best films at Tribeca and maybe 2025. It was an absolute sin that this film played late in the festival because it greatly reduced the audience for the film and it prevented it from having a chance of winning many awards. I was the only member of the press in the screening and it was a fraking shame.

This film will moved you - bring tissues. The young people struggling to live their lives will break your heart with what they have to suffer and make your spirit soar because you will understand that we humans can overcome anything.

What I loved was that Eddie Vedder comes off a genuine wonderful person. His comments to and about the people we have met makes you realize that he loves each and everyone and that he considers the as friends. Too often you see celebrities phone in the love, but not here. When he introduces Better Man and dedicates it to one of his friends who passed you feel his loss.

This film is a great film.  You need to see this, for all sorts of reasons, but mostly to see some of the most amazing people you will ever meet. 

Highly recommended.

Wendy Feinberg's Photos from the Tribeca 2025 Premiere of ANDY KAUFMAN IS ME

 

BILLY IDOL SHOULD BE DEAD (2025) Tribeca 2025

The life and times, and almost deaths, of rocker Billy Idol.

This is a wonderful celebration of Billy Idol. He was and is one hell of a guy. He has been around the block and then some ans he has the scars and stories to prove it.

While there is a lot of great music in this film, what you are going to remember are the stories. There are so many crazy things that happened that you can't help but lean in as Idol tells us the story of his life. While I know things were left out, it is understandable since this is Billy's telling (and because this isn't supposed to be 6 hours).

I had a blast watching this. If you love Idol or the music from the 80's this film is a must

Recommended. 

Ariela Rubin on The Shadow Scholars (2025) Tribeca 2025

The Shadow Scholars is a shocking documentary about a subject I had no idea existed. Patricia Kingori, the youngest Black woman professor at Oxford University, investigates the industry of academic ghostwriting in Kenya. Around 40,000 Kenyans are writing essays for students in the West. An estimated 37 million people have used their services. Many of these students go on to become doctors, nurses, pilots, and other professionals we trust with our lives, all while passing off someone else’s work as their own. It raises ethical questions.

The writers in Kenya are highly educated, but because the country has one of the youngest and fastest growing populations in the world, there aren’t enough good jobs available. Many of these writers earn only about $1 an hour, often working under tight deadlines to help students get their papers in on time.

I had two small issues with the film. First, while it discusses how AI, like ChatGPT could affect these Kenyan writers, it also uses AI to generate the faces of the people interviewed. It is done to protect their identity. The faces weren’t blurry, but they also weren’t entirely clear, which felt distracting. Second, I found it difficult at times to understand the Kenyan speakers because of their accents. Only one speaker was given subtitles, but I think it would have been wise if they used subtitles for all the subjects.

I also would have liked to hear more from the students who pay for these services. The film briefly includes one, but I understand the risk and why it probably wasn't possible.

Overall, The Shadow Scholars tells a troubling story. Wealthy students are able to earn degrees they didn’t truly earn, while talented Kenyan writers are unable to find legitimate good paying jobs. I'm curious to see if this winds up becoming further exposed.

Definitely worth a watch.

Wendy Feinberg's Photos from the Tribeca 2025 Premiere of TOW

 

Wendy Feinberg's Photos from the Tribeca 2025 Premiere of THE BEST YOU CAN

 

Ariela Rubin on THE BEST YOU CAN (2025) Tribeca 2025

The Best You Can is the first movie in 20 years that real life couple Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedwick starred in together, and their chemistry makes it worth watching.

The story is about Cynthia, a urologist married to a man about 30 years her senior who is beginning to suffer from dementia. One night, she's awakened by a burglar in her home. A neighbor must have reported the break-in, Stan, a neighborhood security officer, arrives just in time to see the burglar running away. He climbs through the window to check on things, only to be nearly hit by Cynthia, who’s ready to defend herself. After checking out the apartment, Stan asks to use her bathroom and while Cynthia is talking his ear off, Stan has to ask her several times if she can stop talking and finally says he’s been having trouble urinating. Cynthia tells him she's a urologist and gives him her card. Thus begins their unlikely friendship.

What follows are late night texts between the two, filled with them joking around and sharing personal things about themselves. Their banter is fun and easy.

There’s also a subplot with Stan trying to connect with his 20 year-old daughter. While I liked parts of it, it didn't really feel necessary for the movie.

In the end, while I didn’t love this movie, I enjoyed it and would recommend it. It also makes you think about what are the moral obligations of connecting with a new friend and forming a flirtatious friendship while your partner is mentally declining?

Ariela Rubin on One Spoon of Chocolate (2025) Tribeca 2025

The first ten minutes of One Spoon of Chocolate were so intense and gruesome that I almost walked out of the theater. I decided to stay, and the next day, I am still thinking about it.

The film stars Unique, played by Shameik Moore, who I wasn't familiar with, but I thought he was excellent in the role. Unique was just released from prison and is on parole. He convinces his parole officer to let him relocate to Ohio to live with his cousin, Ramsey, his only remaining family.

He lands in a small town called Karensville (unsure if this is a real town name or was used to set the scene, I'm going to guess the second). What starts as a hopeful fresh start quickly turns into the opposite.

While playing basketball at the community center, Unique and Ramsey are confronted by a group of white men who spew racist slurs and demand they leave, as well as give up their ball and sneakers. Unique says they'll leave, but refuses the rest, and shortly after a fight breaks out. Unique wins that fight, but things only escalate from there. The group sets out on a violent, racially driven mission to destroy them, and ideally kill them. As the story unfolds, we learn the whole town is complicit, from the liquor store worker to the coroner, and worst of all, the sheriff, who is the father of the group's leader.

This film is very very disturbing. The racism and violence are extreme. There’s illegal organ trafficking. The sadness is heavy. Most of the time, it feels hopeless for the black characters when every part of the system is against them. I'm not sure I can say I liked this movie… but I didn’t hate it either. What I can say is that I felt incredibly tense the entire time, I had to cover my eyes during several scenes (which I saw others doing), and I was worried I would have nightmares (thankfully, I did not).

There are brief moments of hope, especially when Unique decides to fight back. That part of the film had the audience cheering, clapping, and even laughing. Just as you feel hopeful that the story might end well, the film ends abruptly, which is unsatisfying.

I wouldn’t call this film enjoyable. What I can say is that it made me feel tense, angry, nauseous, sad, and at times hopeful. It's also one that makes you think about racism and violence in the US. It’s a brutal film, and not one I would have ever sought out on my own.

I went to the premiere, and afterward, RZA, who directed it, asked the audience if the film made them uncomfortable. Many people said yes. It seemed like he accomplished what he wanted to.

Nate Hood on The Life of Chuck (2025)

 

In recent months I’ve noticed a stream of articles describing a new phenomenon infecting much of the content being produced by streaming giants like Netflix. I use the word “infecting” because I can think of no better way to describe its pernicious influence on media. Named “second-screen shows,” these are programs which are specifically designed to be partially ignored in the background by audiences as they putter about on their phones. The results are overly expository dialogue where characters will painfully state and restate what they’re thinking about and doing and unnecessary superficial narration. This is diet entertainment, artistic “content” stripped of all nuance and subtlety. Perhaps it was with this trend in mind that I found Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck such a breezy breath of fresh air. Based on a novella by Stephen King, the film plays like an anti-second-screen show. It demands attention, not because of the complexity of its plot or dialogue, but because so much of the film lives and dies in the corners of what is not explained, what is not made tangible. Here is a film that takes bold narrative risks with its story, assuming that its audience can follow its emotional arcs and implications without everything being spelled out or explained. It demands attention, and those willing to give it will find one of the most rewarding films so far released in 2025.

The film is told in three chapters, charting the life and premature death of accountant Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) in reverse chronological order. Surprisingly, Chuck is barely a background character in this first part as the film follows the lives of several of Chuck’s neighbors and acquaintances as the world ends, and I mean that literally. Earthquakes knock California into the sea, wildfires consume the farms of the Midwest, famine ravages Asia. One day the internet goes out. Then televisions, then phone networks, then electricity. And amidst it all, middle school teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) tries to reconnect with his ex-wife Felicia Gordon (Karen Gillan) as one-by-one the stars wink out of the night sky. But no matter where Marty goes, he keeps seeing signs, billboards, and advertisements that say “Charles Krantz: 30 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck!” What do these signs mean, and who is Chuck, Marty wonders. He has a vague memory of someone he might once have known, but he still can’t quite place him. Does he have something to do with the end of the world? The first segment literally ends mid-sentence as we’re spirited away nine months previously to the second act where a narrator (Nick Offerman) explains that in less than a year Chuck will be dead of a brain tumor. But for now he’s alive and attending a banking conference. In between meetings he has an unexpected encounter with a drum busker named Taylor (Taylor Gordon) where he goes into an impromptu dance with a young woman suffering from a recent breakup. Why does this mild-mannered man break into dance? What moves him? Before we can know we’re transported to the last act where Chuck, now a child, lives with his grandparents and is warned away from their house’s cupola where there reportedly live ghosts.

There is more to this film’s narrative, and I’m skipping over many crucial things and characters from each act, but the point remains that The Life of Chuck is a wonderful jigsaw puzzle of people and incidents that all point towards common emotional revelations: the purpose of living, survival through grief, wonder at the infinitude of the self among an even more infinite cosmos. I’ve repeatedly seen the film compared to Frank Capra’s reality-warping Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and indeed both films seem concerned with the full measure of a man and the weight of the choices and circumstances that define their main characters’ lives. But whereas It’s a Wonderful Life leaves things all neat and tidy by the film’s end, The Story of Chuck leaves many of its riddles unanswered. Here is a film that rewards repeat viewings and active imagination to understand. That’s about as anti-second-screen as things get.

Ariela Rubin on Ride or Die (2025) Tribeca 2025

Ride or Die is about two women, Paula and Sloane, who go on a spontaneous road trip from Missouri to California. The two reconnect after randomly seeing each other at a thrift store. They went to high school together, but hadn't seen each other in years.

Sloane quickly clings to Paula. It starts as she first asks for a ride, then winds up at Paula's home, and then convinces Paula, who had mentioned recently graduating from film school and wanting to move to California, to go there on a whim. Sloane also gets the idea that she could star in Paula's films. Paula, who's a planner, doesn't like the idea, but Sloane convinces her. They barely know each other. What can go wrong?

Everything that can go wrong, and more does. Things spiral pretty quickly. Paula wants to go back, but Sloane, who is definitely a wild child, keeps convincing her to continue on and says they can't go back.

I haven't seen Thelma and Louise in many many years, but this movie reminded me of it. While I didn't love this movie, I did enjoy it. It's fun and chaotic.

Recommended, but not a must see.

Ariela Rubin on TWINLESS (2025) Tribeca 2025

Go see Twinless without reading any reviews or anything about it. It won't be what you expect. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It’s unique, and the story turned out to be very different from what I thought it would be based on the synopsis. 

I always find it impressive when one person does it all, and James Sweeney does just that, as a writer, director, producer, and lead actor! Dylan O'Brien is the other lead actor, and they both were terrific. I attended a screening with a Q&A with James Sweeney, and he shared that he originally wrote the script back in 2015, inspired by both a breakup and a fascination with twins. 

Sweeney also mentioned the film is coming to theaters on September 5, so definitely keep your eyes out for it!

The Gas Station Attendant (2025) Sheffield DocFest 2025

Karla Murthy's THE GAS STATION ATTENDANT is amazing. The film is Murthy's meditation of her life and a celebration of her father who never gave up on the American dream. It is a film that is full of life and humanity.

Constructed largely from home movies and the phone conversations Murthy had with her dad while he was working as a gas station attendant the film is a very open discussion of life between a father and daughter as the talk filled the quiet times at night. Her dad talks about his life and journey to America and trying to make a life for his family. Murthy then uses his words to explore her life as a first generation American of mixed cultural parents (her dad is from India, her mom from the Philippines).

You will get lost in this film. I started the film and promptly fell into it. Murthy's storytelling is masterful, there is a simplicity to it that allows the tale to fully resonate and for all the themes it is exploring to fully shine through. By the end of the film I wanted to hug both Murthy and her dad for within them I see the best of us.

A staggering achievement and an absolute must see.

Ariela Rubin on RELAY (2025) Tribeca 2025

In Relay, Riz Ahmed specializes in negotiating payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals threatening to expose them. His latest client is played by Lily James, who had planned to reveal that a food company’s product could cause serious harm to people, and the company wasn't letting people know. However, after being harassed, all she wants now is to return the documents and be left alone.

Riz’s character, whose name we don’t learn until near the end, uses a telephone relay system, typically used for the deaf or people who are hard of hearing, to keep his identity hidden. The system involves a third-party operator who relays typed messages to the other person. None of the calls are logged, and they are bound by confidentiality. It's a smart way for him to remain anonymous while managing these high risk deals.

I think it's best to go into this movie without knowing much. I would describe it as a slow-burn thriller. It kept me curious the whole time. There are no big car chases etc, so some people might be bored? I certainly wasn't though. I really enjoyed it. There was a moment near the end that made me say, “What?!” out loud, something I didn't expect. I'm still not sure if I loved the direction the film went from there on.

Overall, I thought Relay was excellent. It’s one of my favorites of the festival so far, and I’d definitely recommend it.

Ariela Rubin on Everything's Going to Be Great (2025)

Everything's Going to Be Great is about Buddy and Macy (played by Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney) who work in the theater business, while also raising two very different sons, Lester and Derrick. Lester is very quirky, he struggles to fit in in school and he dreams of being onstage. Derrick dreams of being on the football team. The family is struggling to make ends meet, and constantly on the move as the theater business is unpredictable. 

This is in a way your typical dysfunctional family movie, which I always have a soft spot for. There were many lines that had me laughing out loud, especially with some of Macy's very dry lines. There were many touching and sad moments as well. 

I liked it, but I didn't love it. Recommended, but not a must see.

Tribeca 2025: The walk-outs - why I didn't make it to the end

One day during Tribeca I tweeted that I walked out on three films  that didn't work for me. I was asked as to why. Here is my explanations:

REFLECTION IN THE DEAD DIAMOND is a beautifully made spy film about an old spy remembering the old days. It's a stunning technical achievement that is like watching a 1960's spy film done in the style of the James Bond openings. There are a ton of references to Euro-spy films. After half an hour I had no idea what I was watching, who was who or when anything was.  I cut my losses and left- there were several other films to try.

12 MOONS moody black and white character study is form over content. This film looks great. Its about a 40ish woman struggling to deal with life but after a half an hour I had no idea what was happening or why.

FIOR DI LATTE- Words of death "experimental comedy" which is how this film was described in the promotional material.  Actually between the description and the inclusion of Tim Heidecker as the star made this the only film in this years slate where I scribbled "Avoid" on the film list...unfortunately I didn't put it on my schedule so I wandered in.  As the audience roared and I sat their stone faced I decided that this wasn't going to work for me (never mind the use of a  miscarriage as part of a running the joke about a puppet show). 

Ariela Rubin on Happy Birthday (2025) Tribeca 2025

Oof. That's the first thought that comes to mind after finishing Happy Birthday. This film really weighed on me emotionally. It was quite the depressing film.

The movie starts off with two 7 year old girls, Toha and Nelly, playing together. What we soon learn is that while the two girls are friendly, Toha is actually a maid who is employed by Nelly's family. This was very shocking and disturbing to me.

On Nelly's birthday, Toha wants to help make sure Nelly has the perfect birthday. Toha accompanies the mother as she goes shopping for the party, getting clothes, a cake and food. Once back at the apartment, Toha's sister comes to pick her up. She goes back to her home and we soon see the difference in their lives. Her family survives by catching and selling fish. What makes the movie even sadder is that when Toha asks her mom when her own birthday is, her mother has no idea. She has no idea of the month or date and you can see the indifference she has about it. Toha says she wants a birthday party, and her mother laughs.

Toha makes it her mission to get back in time for Nelly's birthday party. She is innocent and excited to make it back in time, not realizing that the family had called her sister to pick her up, because they didn't want her there.

After watching this film, I was curious and did some googling. I learned that according to a survey in 2021, 1.3 million children in Egypt, nearly 5%, were involved in child labor. That was very upsetting to find out. I highly recommend the film, but it’s truly heartbreaking. It really pulled at my heart. It shows the cruelty of inequality, especially experienced by young children.

Ariela Rubin on Charliebird (2025) Tribeca 2025

Charliebird tells the story of Al, a music therapist working at a children's hospital. Her newest patient is Charlie, a 17 year old who upon meeting her, wants nothing to do with her. After spending the last three years living in hospitals, Charlie has given up hope and is convinced she’s going to die. Al approaches her with kindness, a sense of humor, and patience, promising never to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. Slowly, Charlie begins to let her in, and the two form a touching friendship.

Throughout the film, we see flashes of Al’s past, something that was clearly traumatic by her reactions to the memories, but the film never reveals what happened. (Unless I missed it, which I don’t think I did.) I would’ve liked to learn more about her backstory, as it seemed to weigh heavily on her.

Nonetheless, I really liked this movie. It’s a heavy one, which I felt in my heart, but I highly recommend it. I loved the chemistry between the two leads, and both actresses did a fantastic job.

Don't Tell Larry (2023) releases June 20

Dark office farcical comedy about two friends scheming to get ahead at their company who say something to the off center Larry and suddenly find themselves sliding down a dark path as events spiral away from them and Larry gets more sinister.

I was not planning on covering this film because I was too swamped with an upcoming festival, but the right person leaned in and whispered into my ear that this was going to be the perfect palette cleanse for all of the documentaries that I was watching. I didn’t think they were right and I didn’t think I would be able to make time, but both things somehow happened.

While I like a good comedy I can be mixed in farce. When Farce is done right it brings belly laughs, when it’s done wrong the over the top nature can make the jokes cringey. Fortunately with LARRY the filmmakers get the tone exactly right and as a result the laughs keep rolling through the whole film. What impressed me was that even as the tension goes up because the stakes become dire  the film remains very funny. We are laughing as we are sitting on the edge of our seat because it’s just so funny.

I went from not wanting to see this film, to telling a bunch of my friends who cover films that they want to include the film in their upcoming coverage.

In an age when comedies can be crap shoot DON’T TELL LARRY is a winner.

Worth a look wherever you can see it.

Tribeca 2025 Short Takes: A TREE FELL IN THE WOODS, WHAT MARIELLE KNOWS and SUN RA: DO THE IMPOSSIBLE

A TREE FELL IN THE WOODS
Four friends go away for New Years and secrets are revealed. 

A great cast lifts up a run of the mill script to make an okay film about yuppie types having a revelations.

WHAT MARIELLE KNOWS
A couple discovers that their daughter has psychic ability and knows what they say and do.

German mannered comedy is a little too well put together at times and you can feel how the film is constructed and striving to be clever. It is also so low key and dry as I wasn't sure if this was a comedy.

It's not bad, but we've seen this sort of thing before and it doesn't do much new.

SUN RA: DO THE IMPOSSIBLE
An American Masters portrait of the Jazz legend. and Afro futurist.

This will tell you eveything you wanted to know about Sun Ra but were afraid to ask.  It is also full of great music. I learned a lot and had a great time.

Recommended.

The Final Round (2025) is on VOD today

This is a look at boxing official Robert Lee, who was arrested by the FBI as part of a case against promoter Don King. The FBI really didn't have a case and they told Lee thd at they wanted him to flip of King. The trouble is that  Lee didn't have the information the FBI wanted, so they told him to make it up.

This is an interesting little story. I completely understand why this film runs only about 70 minutes. Its a side tale to the circus that was Don King's life. That isn't to sell this film or the story short, rather I say this tale takes on a greater importance if you look at it connected to that story. Its a story that colors the King tale.

I liked this film a great deal. For me it was an unexpected joy. I say that because I was offered the film in the middle of Tribeca coverage and I greed to take it on as sort of palete cleanse. I didn't expect to put it on and find my full attention taken from the first couple of minutes.

This is a film that's worth your time, especially if you remember the show man that was the man they wanted Lee to lie about.

Underland (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a look at the world beneath our feet, a mine turned into a research facility, a cave complex and some man-made constructions.

The people doing PR for this film did everything they could to make sure the press saw this on the big screen. They insisted that the images needed to be seen big. And they were right. There are some truly spectacular images in this film.

The problem is that the film is more essay and mediation than a straight documentary, so the film is put together so as to be somewhat hypnotic. We drift off on the images and the music and the result is that despite the film being beautiful to look at we begin to drift off. It's all so low key as to put us to sleep. I fought keeping my else open.  Yes, I was enjoying what I was seeing, but at the same time it's not exciting... even if the discovery of human handprints deep deep into a cave complex blows out mind (How did they get that deep with just torches?)

This is great to look at, but it may put you to sleep.

Boy George and Culture Club (2025) Tribeca 2025

 The life and times of Culture Club as told by the boys in the band.

This film is a great deal of fun. This is a loving tribute to the band, by the band that leaves a great deal out but is so full of great music and wonderful stories you won't care.

The truth of the matter is this film is only about the band and their time together. Yes things are mentioned, like Boy George being, very briefly Bow Wow Wow, but the truth is this is just about the band. It's not a bad thing, unless you want to know everything about the band and the people in it.  This is not going to tell you eveything.

On the other hand it is going to entertain you. I smiled from start to finish. Yea, I was kind of disappointed that this wasn't a deep dive, but I then I realized that had that been the case of the fun would have been lost and desire to watch it again.

I had a blast.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to hear great show biz stories.

Harley Flanagan: Wired For Chaos (2024) opens Friday

With the film getting release to theaters, here is a repost of my review from DOC NYC

One of the unexpected great films of DOC NYC and 2024, HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS is a look at Flanagan, the lead singer of the Cro-Mags who is still chugging along.

The film tells Harley’s story from being raised by a single mom on to the present day. It’s a story of a hard life where the young Harley had to try to beat off a trucker who was trying to rape his mom, to his angry early days in music where he tried to stab people to his much calmer days he is spending with his family.

This film floored me. This is nominally a music doc but it transcends the genre to become a shining portrait of humanity. It’s a glorious portrait of the human spirit and of a person’s ability to change for the better.  I can not tell you how good this film is. When I saw it I had put something like 60 films for the fDOC NYC behind me and then I saw this and all the others were pushed back a step or so.

I don’t care if you like Harley’s music or not, you need to see this because it’s a great story compellingly told. Finding films like this is why I try and watch as many films from DOC NYC as I can.

Highly recommended

DEPECHE MODE: M (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a document of the Mexico City Memento Mori shows from the group Depeche Mode.  The tour was their return to performing after the death of member Andrew Fletcher (who presence hangs over the film and the concerts)

The first screening at the Tribeca Festival was a trip. A cock up at BMCC caused the film to start late since they failed to mark or make clear that some seats were reserved. Trying to sort that out resulted in a lot of yelling and screaming and for eveything to start about 25 minutes late.

Watching the film was a trip. The place was full of Depeche Mode die hards, many of who came great distances to be there. When the film started they interacted with it much like a concert, singing along and waving their arms with cues on screen. It was a one of kind experience....

...and completely unlike the press screening (yes I saw some of the film twice) where the audience sat their like lumps of wet noodles.

For me the film works best in the final third (from WORLD IN MY EYES to the end) because at that point the film does away with the medative sequences about life and death. Yes those sequences reflect the soul searching nature of the Memento Mori album, but thet also take away the momentum the concert sequences should have (and which we truly see in the final third). For me that final third is some of the best sequences I've seen in any film all year. That section of the film made me feel like I was seeing the group again in person. Honestly that sequence of songs is emotionally exactly like being there.

I really liked this film a great deal, though I will say this is going to play best for fans.

Play it loud and big.

Titan: The Ocean Gate Submarine Disaster (2025) Tribeca 2025

 This is a look at the Ocean Gate disaster. It is not focused on the actual implosion, but on what amounts to the criminal chain of events that reulted in the death of five people.

If you have any interest in the Ocean Gate debacle you will know most of this. You will have heard bits of this from news reports. On the other hand this is the first time where not only wasn't it focused on what happened to the passengers, but it was the first time that we travel the whole road to the disaster. It's a hell of s story and when we hear the sound of the implosion we are sick to our stomach.

This is sad tale. Its the story of a rich man who thought he knew best and who thought his money could buy him what he wanted. The sad thing is that eveyone at Ocean Gate was told at the start what happened was inevitable. They knew from the start it would happen, they didn't know when, and yet they kept going. 

Despite knowing how it goes I was still shocked and horrified.

This is a super film. I like that the film always remains steadfastly focued on the people, not the lurid bits.

If you're curious give this film a look.

The Best of Tribeca 2025

I was not going to do a Tribeca wrap up because I just didn't have the time. I still don't but I have been asked repeatedly what the best films I saw at the festival. For those who are curious my list is as follows (and a bunch of these will be on the best of the year list):

LILY- a short film based on a Stephen King Story about a tiger in a boys bathroom

RISE- a glorious short about a young boy who wants to box.

OH YEAH! - a great portrait of Yello and the song that is now part of world culture

SHE DANCES- Steve Zahan and his daughter star as father and daughter who come back together at a dance competition.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON- my six year old is still bouncing.

KISSES AND BULLETS is a brief kick in the pants

DEAD LANGUAGE - a lovely opening and wonderful needle drop make this something special

THE WOLF THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD - an ever changing film keeps you off balance and totally connected.

SNOW BEAR one of the most beautiful films you will see al year. Everyone who saw it couldn't stop talking about it.

The final third of DEPECHE MODE M, when the film finally just becomes a concert film it becomes exactly like going to a Depeche Mode concert

IT'S DOROTHY - One of the great films of the year is a look at the Wizard of Oz and why it resonates with generations of people.  All films exploring culture should do it this well

A MATTER OF TIME - Eddie Vedder gives a concert to raise money and awareness for epidermolysis bullosa while we get to meet the kids suffering with it. It will crush you to your soul and make you smile.

A SECOND LIFE - a wonderful film about a woman finding her second life during the Paris Olympics. This is why I love the movies.