Natchez (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a look at the city of Natchez in Mississippi which is reliant on the connection to the antebellum south, despite being one of the more progressive cities in the South (It was one of the first cities to have an openly gay mayor). As times have been changing the city's tourism as place with connections to the Confederacy has been dying off, as social change and the indifference of the younger generations to the past has left the city scrambling.

This is a really good film. I like how  it begins with a portrait of the city and its Garden Club in a way we expect. We think its going to show us a city in love of the fallen south, but that view quickly gives way to the battle to change the history being told. People are telling the story of life in the city beyond the rich white folks. We hear of the lives of the slaves.  And most interestingly we hear how the younger generations want nothing to do with the past. The city is not making money on tourism.

I was left pondering society, not just that of the American South but all of society.  There is a lot to unpack here, and I'm still working on doing that.

Recommended.

We Are Kings (2025) Tribeca 2025

In the early 2000's a young man has his life turned upside down when his crush walks into the Chinese restaurant and he goes off with her.

I really like this film a great deal. This is a solid little film with a great deal going on. It's got so much going on that I want this to be turned into a feature. I need more time with these characters.

I know I haven't said a lot about the film, and I'm sorry. I just loved this film so much that my desire to have more time with everyone is what I took away from the film.  I will say that if you loved DIDI from last year you are going to eat this up

Highly recommended.

Room To Move (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a look at dancer choreographer educator Jenn Freeman soon after she is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We watch as she explores how this changes her life and prepares a show based on the diagnosis.

This is most decidedly not a dance film. While the film is focused on a dancer, the film instead is a look at Freeman’s battle to deal with her autism. It’s a film that wants to put us into her head space and make us experience the world as she sees it.  The film is a lot of talk and discussion and sequences that make us experience her life.

Give this film points for not following a prescribed path, but take some away for not quite sticking the landing.  The problem  here is this film is incredibly personal. It’s a film that is so hyper focused that it’s hard to fully connect to the story we are being told. This is Freeman’s story being told in her way and it doesn’t really get out of the tunnel. Yes this is a great exploration of her story, but if you can’t stay with the hyper focus you are going to lose interest. I was good for a while , but there was a point where I began to lose interest and I stepped away for a bit.

The film isn’t bad but it feels too much like navel gazing and it isn't our navel.

A miss

THE DEGERNATE: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF ANDY MILLIGAN (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a look at filmmaker Andy Milligan, who was one the driving forces behind Off Off Broadway before he switched to making (bad) movies. His films were no budget exploitation films that stand alone in the patheon on cinema. I mean that in both a good way and a bad way. This film is full of clips and interviews with the people who knew and loved him.

Andy Milligan is a filmmaker who haunts me. I was scarred by his films right after high school when I was gifted with a VCR and I was watching every horror film I could get my hands on.  His images are burned into my head to such a degree that two months into Unseen Films run, I wrote an appreciation that was fueled by reading The Ghastly One: The Sex-Gore Netherworld of Filmmaker Andy Milligan by Jimmy McDonough.(McDonough is in the film. And if you love movies you need to read the book, it's one of the best films on cinema I've ever read). Milligan is a filmmaker I've recommended to people who want to see unique and one of a kind films.

Josh Johnson and Grayson Tyler Johnson's film is a love letter to Milligan, his achievements and his films. It's a really good look at the man and his movies.

The best part of the film are the nterviews with the people who worked with and knew Milligan. The afore mentioned Jimmy McDonough is in the film and he acts as the through line to the film connecting everything up. I would love to just listen to him talk for hours. Also here are Hope Stansbury, John Borske, Bob Liikala and Robert Berlin  who worked with Milligan behind and infront of the camera. Sam Sherman who helped promote Milligan's films. They are a glorious collection of people who not only tell us what was going on but make us fall in love wih Milligan.

The problem with the film, and it's nothing to do with the directors, is that Milligan's films do not work as clips. I've been watching the films for 43 years and unless you can see his films from start to finish, unless you can get into that Milligan headspace from the first frame his films come off as much worse than they are. Trust me, watching sequence play out of context does the films no justice. VAPORS probably Milligan's best from the 60's and 70's looks stilted when it's just pieces. Without the headspace it creates the film looks like bad porn despite being something else.

I should mention that I am not going to champion Milligan's films as conventionally good. They are not, however they are truly one of a kind and the work of a true artist. I say that without irony, Milligan was an artist.

If you love cinema in all it's forms you need to see this film.

Recommended.

Brief thoughts on Maintenance Artist (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a portrai of artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles—the firstArtist-in-Residence at the New York City Department of Sanitation. Ukles uses garbage and left over materials to make her art.  As she looks toward "retirement" she looks back at her life.

This film didn't work for me. The problem is not the art or the filmmaking, rather the problem is Ukeles herself. Her mannered, almost formal way of speaking makes he sound like a bad lecturer. Watching her interact with the garbage guys in some of the archival footage had me laughing. There is no sense of her being natural and she comes off as bad actress.  In a weird way her presentation makes her seem almost like a human Marcel Duchamp/ Avant Garde work of art. She is the least natural person I've ever run across in a documentary.

There is some good material here and it is worth trying, but just be aware you may not connect to the film's subject.

Bird in Hand (2025) Tribeca 2025

A woman named Bird goes home to plan her up coming wedding along the way she tries to reconnect with her mom and deal with a neighbor who bought an old house next door.

BIRD IN THE HAND is an amusing film  but it isn’t likely  to hang with you. I saw the film some 24 hours before I sat down to write about it but I found that most of the film had vanished from my memory.  That’s not an absolute knock on the film, I did enjoy it when it was on, but it does mean that down the road I will probably be wondering if I saw it when it gets a release.

To be honest the one over riding thought  about the film is that it is one of a number recent films where mothers try to connect with their mothers who are distant and self-absorbed. It seems like a number of filmmakers are trying to sort out their own lives. What I find extremely interesting is that the woman at the center are handfuls them self. They are all not your typical female characters.  I like that we are getting women who are complex, even at the cost of them not being wholly likeable.

In the present film Bird is a handful, and not particularly a warm and fuzzy person. She does what she wants, to the extent of breaking into her mother’s house and insisting on staying there to plan the wedding.

As a result of filmmakers not following the same path we are getting films that break the mold, and even if they are not giving us completely likeable characters we are not getting films we’ve seen a dozen times before.

Rebirth (2025) Tribeca 2025

Set in a future where abortion is illegal, this is the story of a woman who is unable to to take a day off from work and decides to take a black market abortion bill jut before her shift as a waitress. The pill unfortunately has unexpected side effects.

The basic story is based on an actual story. The denouncement is not and it seems to infer a larger story waiting to be told.

This is a neat little film. For most of it's running time it's an uncomfortable thriller about a working woman having to deal with evil bosses and shitty customers while being sick. Its a film that hit. s the memories of anyone who has ever worked in a crappy job. The urgency about abortion and a woman's right to make her own descisions about her body add additional levels of tension and emotion.

I really liked this film, though I'm not certain about the denouncement. As I said above the film the film infers that this story is going to be expanded because it brings up a ton of questions in the final moments.

Questions or no, this is a solid little film and one you need to see. 

Recommended

Just Sing (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a look at the University of Southern California’s VoCals. They are an a ccapella group who perform musical number of the sort you see in the PITCH PERFECT FILMS.

This is a really good film. Full of wonderful people and infectious songs, JUST SING will make you feel good.  It's a delightful trip with a group singers as they share their lives and prepare for the collegitae championships.

Fifteen minutes into the film I was texting my brother to take my niece to see this film. She is currently in a high school level group that is dsoing the same thing and I know that she is going to eat this film up.

What an absolute delight.

I'm sorry I don't have much more to say than that. It's not because I don't have the words, but simply words aren't necessary because this film simply exists on an emotional level.

Recommended.

Brief thoughts on HORSEGIRLS (2025) Tribeca 2025

As a mother  (Gretchen Mol) deals with a not very good medical diagnosis, she worries about what will happen to her autistic daughter (Lillian Carrier).  However there maybe hope as the young woman gets a job at a Halloween Store and joins competitive hobby horse dance team.

This is a nice little film. While the film hits many of the expected notes for a film like this the cast sells this. Both Mol and Carrier are delights and we will gladly follow them anywhere. The pair makes this a small gem of a film that is worth your time.

Recommended.

Re-Creation (2025) Tribeca 2025

In 1996 French filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier was murdered near  her home in West Cork. While journalist Ian Bailey was suspected by the police he was never charged in Ireland. He was tried in absentia in France and found guilty. RE-CREATION is speculation on what might have happened in the jury room if Irish authorities had taken it to trial.

There have been numerous documentaries investigating the case including a Netflix limited series that Bailey sued  over. I've seen several of them and I am intrigued by the case. I still am not certain as to what happened. This is another attempt to make sense of the murder.

While some of the promotional material suggests that this is an examination of the facts of the case that will allow the audience to decide, this is actually a polemic that is arguing that Bailey may not have been the killer. I don't have a problem with that but there are issues with some aspects of the film.

The first problem is that director/star Jim Sheridan is a friend or aquaintence of Ian Bailey. (I'm still not 100% certain how friendly they were/are). While that's fine unto itself, presenting this film as a wholly neutral film (we are supposed to make up our own minds) doesn't work. The problem wouldn't exist if Sheridan wasn't in the film, but the fact  is he acting as the foreman and is steering the discussion and he does so in a manner that isn't natural. This is more a dramatic lecture not a dramatic film.

The other problem is that a great deal of what we see and hear are things that would never go before the jury. The conceit of this being an actual jury discussion is never really followed as the jury discus evidence that would not have been presented to them (such as statements of one of the witnesses who changed her testimony). I wouldn't have cared but as a real trial film this film collapses. (Yes I know what goes in the US is not what would happen in Ireland, but some of the evidence was listed as questionable by some of the documentaries)

While I like the film, its an intriguing concept, I really wish that Sheridan had simply made a documentary. He could have said what he wanted with out wrapping it in material that forces the facts and the fiction to grate against each other (why do you have Colm Meaney silently play Bailey when Bailey appears in actual photos? And why use Vicky Krieps  when all she does is just ask questions?)

My resenvations aside the film is worth a look, especially if you like true crime tales.

Tatami (2023) opens Friday

Leila, an Iranian Judo champion, travels to Georgia with her team for a competition. When the possibility of her having to compete against an Israeli athlete arises (something forbidden by the government) she is ordered to fake an injury. When she refuses she and her family are threatened.

This solid political thriller is based on actual events. The Iranian government has been manipulating things for ther own ends for years and we can feel the real world tension bleeding off the screen. You can sense how this is going to go. What sets the film apart, though, is that there is a point where the film turns. The film doesn't take the expected route to the end, and we are better for it.  I say that because when the film turned the film lifted up a couple points in my eyes.

Shot in a moody black and white with a deliberate aspect ratio that creates a sense of claustraphobia TATAMI grabs us early and drags us along.

Recommended

Terror Night (2025) Tribeca 2025

Josefine puts the baddest bass box in her car and then goes on a date with her boyfriend. The trouble is someone has a problem with the loud music.

First I have to say stay through the credits.

After that I need to say that that this is a wicked little horror film with a humorous edge. I'm not going to say what happens, but it will make you say WHOA.

One the best horror shorts I've seen in a long time. While I hope that this doesn't go to feature (its a tightly wound short), I will be first in line of it does.

Recommended.

Brief thoughts on HOW I LEARNED TO DIE (2025) Tribeca 2025

A young girl with cancer discovers she has a 60% chance of dying from an upcoming surgery. She then decides to live it up in the time she has "left".

This is a solid little film. Its very funny and very charming and I want to see it again. And I suspect its a possibility since the film has the feel of a proof of concept film. If that is the case, sign me up.

Recommended.

Brief thoughts on SISTER! (2025) Tribeca 2025

James a transfemme is stalked by Tessa who claims to be her half sister via sperm donor. James wants no part of it but Tessa insists they spend time together.

This is a loud comedy that seems to have been cut from the sitcom cloth. Sure the language is not for prime time TV, but the comedy is old school. It's very much of a type and whether you click with it or not is going to depend on if you like the humor.

This did make me laugh, but not enough to recommend.

Brief thoughts on TERROR MAKES YOU SLENDER (2025) Tribeca 2025

A guy gets hustled by a woman looking for money. When she gets caught, her mark gives her advice and she seeks pay back

 Odd rambling film has some good performances and a great sense of Harlem, but beyond that I'm not certain it adds up to much. Yes, you will have no idea where this is going, but at the same time I'm not certain there is anything in the ending.

A miss.

(And despite the title it is not a thriller or anything like it)

A pointer towards We Are Pat (2025) Tribeca 2025

Director Rowan Haber looks at the Its Pat sketches from Saturday Night Live and how it connected with some people.

Pat was a character whose gender was not specified and who made people uncomfortable. I never found Pat anything more than just okay. I know why Pat had a series of sketches, but  at the same time it seemed to be rather one note. Watching this film I hoped to find out what the wonder of Pat was.

I'm still hoping to find out.

No that's not right, intellectually I know why Pat resonates with people but at the same time, Pat's wonders elude me. Thats's not to say the film is bad, it's not it just didn't connect to me.

If you're interested in Pat, then give the film a try. Otherwise give it a pass.

The Square (2024) Tribeca 2025

THE SQUARE is an animated film from Korea. Its set in North Korea and it  follows a Swedish Diplomat who begins a clandestine romance/friendship with a woman who works as a late night traffic cop.

This is a small scale anime influenced romance of sorts. Because of the situation in the country there is a limit to how far the couple can take things. It is a kind of doomed romance that ends up taking on the mantle of a political thriller as the couple tries to remain out of harms way.

While this is good little film, it is rather slight. This is the cinematic equivalent to the Harlequin romances which entertain you for a couple hundred pages before being promptly forgotten when the film is done.

Worth a look if you’re curious but nothing you need rush out to.

Very Brief Thoughts on WIdow Champion (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a portrait of  Rodah Nafula Wekesa. She is a Kenyan widow who acts as an advocate for other widows who are in danger of losing the land they lived on. The laws in Kenya favor men and once the patriarch of a family dies other people start circling trying to steal the land for themselves.

This is a largely verite look at Wekesa doing what she does, talking to widows and then trying to get an agreement that favors the women. Its a low key film with a lot of talking, particularly by people just sitting around. It's interesting, but at the same time I drifted off. 

If the subject interests you give it a try. If it doesn't step away.

Meet Pol Pot (2024) opens Friday

Based on journalist Elizabeth Becker’s memoirs about her trip to Cambodia with two other journalists to interview Pol Pot, MEETING WITH POL POT is a fictionalized account of what happened and how it went sideways.

Director Rithy Panh continues his examination of what happened in his country a half century ago. Here we have a look at how efforts to see what was really going on the country was blocked by the leaders of the country. Panh uses what ever he needs, dolls and archival footage, in order to to make us feel and understand the madness that was running rampant.  At times it's a real kick in the pants.

Unfortunately Panh doesn't always blend the emotion and the intellectual sides together. Part of the problem is that other than what happens to the three journalists, there isn't anything really new here. We've been here before, particularly in Panh's own films so some of the pauses where nothing happens or we go on the well controlled trips through the country feel a bit like filler. It's not fatal but it it prevents the film from being as compelling as it should have been. 

I liked this film a great deal but I wanted to love it, particularly because I love the directors earlier films. This film felt like a revisit to the well. Perhaps if this was a bit closer to what actually happened I might have liked it more (there is real mystery involved).

My Reservations aside, this is still worth a look, especially if you don't know what happened in Cambodia when the whole country went mad.

Bleeding (2024) is on Screambox

I’m going to explain this badly because it’s the only way to explain it simply. In a world where vampires exist, their blood is used to make a drug called blood. It is highly addictive, and dangerous to produce. In the world a young man tries to help his blood addicted cousin get out of debt of a drug dealer by getting some blood. However the plans go sideways when they find a girl in an abandoned house.

One of a kind horror/social commentary film is an interesting ride with a unique feel. It doesn’t always feel like a horror film so the horror sneaks up on you and hits you over the head. I wasn’t certain early on if the film was going to work, but the film pulls it together to be something special. Ultimately it’s a more overt social commentary, in this case a look at addiction, wrapped in the robes of horror.

Worth a look.

How Dark My Love (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a portrait of artist Joe Coleman as he paints his wife Whitney Ward over several years.

I have always been a fan of Joe Coleman. I have books and recordings of his works. I love his art and the dark sense. I love the details in the things he paints. They are works of art you can spend years looking at and still not see anything.  I have always liked to listen to Coleman talk. I find him talking about his art and his world facinating.

Or I did until I saw HOW DARK MY LOVE.  For the first time in decades I was kind of bored by all the talk. It's not that what was said was bad or un interesting, its more that Coleman speaks in such a low key manner I drifted off. 

I want to see it again, but at the same time I'm not certain how this is going play for non-fans.

Dead Language (2025) Tribeca 2025

Aya goes to the airport to pick up her husband. Because of the way things play out she picks up a stranger and becomes facinated by him.  The facination sends ripples through her life.

This is based on the directors 2015 Oscar nominated short AYA. I have not seen the short but I am curious about how they opened up the film.

DEAD LANGUAGE is one of the best films I've seen at Tribeca. While the film feels a little long in the middle, the film pulls it all together with a finale that rocked my world. This isn't to say that there is anything wrong with the middle section, more that the half hours that book end the film are so strong that I wished that the middle was as tight.

That the film works as well as it doesn is due to the cast. Both Sarah Adler as Aya and Ulrich Thomsen are note perfect. You understand why they end up dancing around each other. They are matched by everyone else on screen,  but since they are the focus of the film I'm mentioning them.

I fell into the film.  The airport opening pulled me in and made sure I was going to the end. Small things like Aya refusing to answer her mother's call and  her handing the phone off charmed me to my soul. I had been there with several people I know. It was the moment where i was reassured that the film was going to be real. The truth is beyond the performances, it's all the small moments that make the film. All through the moments are these little things that make the film feel real.

I had a blast and the ending had me misting up.

What a glorious discovery.

Go see it.

The Rose Come Back to Me (2025) Tribeca 2025

One of my favorite discoveries of this year's Tribeca is THE ROSE: COME BACK TO ME.  The film charts the rise of the Korean group The Rose from their formation on to the present day. We see how they came together, broke apart and then came together again. 

I was hooked from the opening moments where we see where the group perform the title song. There was something about it that hooked me and I just went along to the end.

While there is nothing special about how the film is presented, on the other hand the four guys at the center are wonderful. You can't help but like them and you completely understand why they are becoming a global sensation.

One of the must sees at Tribeca-its so good I had to go back and see it at the festival.

I Was Born This Way (2025) Tribeca 2025

Portrait of Archbishop Carl Bean who recorded the song I was Born This Way in 1977 for Motown. The disco hit became the first gay anthem. Bean later moved from music into activism and the church. The film also charts the importance of the song, Lady Gaga's reimagining of it for today and Billy Porter's efforts to try and find the tapes of the recording where there is supposed to be a "lost" B-side.

I was moved to tears frequently. This film is just a wonderful portrait of one man, scarred by his early life who pushed through to change the world for the better. Its a film that reveals how one man who most people don't know did wondrous things.

It's a hell of a story and one that surprises at every turn.

I can't recommend this film enough.

This is one of the best films at Tribeca 2025.

Mother, May I Have a Kidney? (2025) Tribeca 2025

 

Doug’s mother on finding her son has Leukemia : He’s going to be a bigger pain in the ass

Doug is estranged  from his mother. So much so that they haven’t spoken for years and she didn’t tell him she moved out of his childhood home. When his kidneys begin to fail he has to find her and convince her to give him one of her kidneys.

There is a really good story here, I just wish that the series didn’t have such obnoxious and self-centered people at the center.  These aren’t people but cartoons. It’s a musing but the underlying story is so strong that you wish they had played it straight and not gone for laughs.  I’m guessing that the need for this to be a series instead of a feature is what  makes it so silly.

I truthfully I am amused by this series, and had I had the whole thing I would have watched it all. However the problem is that what is here, from performances to writing is really strong, but the comedy just weakens it.  

Seasoned (2025) Tribeca 2025

Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody star as versions of themselves as a self absorbed New York couple who have a tough time navigating life without annoying everyone around them.

Normally I don't watch pilot episodes because it's tough to say where the series will go and if it wasn't for Patinkin I would have stepped away from this. I'm a fan of his so I was curious how this would play out. That rule of not watching just the pilot should have been adhered to since while this is amusing, I'm going to be hard pressed to know where this is going to go beyond this.

The problem with the series is that as funny as the pair is they really aren't likable. They are the sort of sweet but obnoxious New York City residents who think they  are the cat's pajamas, even though they aren't. They are the long time married cople sharing one brain. A little bit of time with them goes a long way. Where this will go is beyond me, though I'm curious enough to see that I would tune in when the show shows up. That is not to say the show is bad, only I don't know how long it can be sustained. (ADDENDUM: Only this one episode was filmed, though five more episodes have been written)

On the plus side Patinkin and Grody are great. They are the reason to see the show, but to be honest they will have to becareful since they are so good they may end up typecast.

JULIET and ROMEO (2025) gets a special one night screening in the UK on June 11

This is a music version of the classic Shakespeare play with new music from writer director Timothy Scott Bogart. It is th first of a trilogy (according to the press material I have) aiming to tell the real story of the lovers and covers the story in Shakespeares tale

Big and flashy this is an inoffensive retelling of the tale that seems a bit less bloody than other versions. It’s an amusing romp where some veteran English actors such as Dereck Jacobi can chew scenery in the scenes.

And I do mean this is a romp since the film is brightly colored,  has big flashy production numbers and shows signs of the creators having seen the theatrical smash & JULIET and having seen THE GREATEST SHOWMAN a few too man times (some of the songs sound like there are borrows.)

Truthfully I enjoyed myself. Normally I hate this story of young love gone amok (I mean how many people die over a week when the wrong people meet?) but this time out of the box it’s  good enough that I had a good time. How did that happen?

While I don’t think you will remember this a week or so after seeing it, it is still a good time at the movies and is definitely worth a look.

Cherry-Colored Funk (2025) Tribeca 2025

A long time con man opens up an ice cream store, something he always wanted to do, and finds his big day is wrecked by the appearance of all the people he's scammed in the past.

This is a much too short film than needs to be expanded.  As good as this is the film is there is simply too much being thrown at us.  While it's great that there is this sense of life off the edges of the screen and a of a vast back story, this film feels like we are coming in towards the end of the tale. Yes, we have enough to follow what is happening, but there isn't really enough here to connect emotionally. I understood what was happening and why, but I didn't feel anything.

While wholly satisfying  the film is worth a look at what we may get down the road

Brief thoughts on God's Lonely Magician (2025) Tribeca 2025

A depressed magician who can make things magically appear (though what that is he can't control) muses on his life and what it means to be happy.

This is a really off beat little film. Where and how it goes is not what you expect. I went from not connecting to it, to being invested because I had to see where this was going.  

While not for everyone, in an age where so many films echo other films GOD'S LONELY MAGICIAN stands out as a one of kind gem.

Recommended

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION (2025) Premieres at the Kaminari Japan Film Festival June 9

 

The Latest film from Kenneth Frank is a home run. It's a heartfelt and very human story of a 12 year old girl trying to navigate her summer vacation and her family. 

I'be been following the work of Ken and his cohorts at In The Garage Productions for several years now. Over that time I've been enjoying their films and watching them grow as filmmakers.

The last two films from Ken were comedies and I had mentioned in reviews that he should step away from the comedy and just focus on the drama, which has always been his strength.. In December Ken emailed me to say he made a drama and asked me if I wanted to see it.

Yes, yes I did. And yes yes you do.

The film is a beautifully acted, wonderfully told tale that gives us some very real moments in the life of a family that are going to echo moments in your life. Nothing feels false. Everything is dead on target. And while the time frame  feels slightly wonky, nothing that happens in the film feels wrong or off. Nothing feels added for dramatic effect. Events play out as they do in real life. There are no big screaming adult moments, only what Grace would see. There is no effort to wedge in false emotional moments.

The cast is first rate. The reason that the film works is because of them. Raquel Sciacca as Grace gives a starmaking performance and Dawson her real life brother turns in a magnificent physival performance that makes you want to go up and give him a hug.

After the screening Hubert Vigilla and I were discussing he film and comparing it to Annie Baker's JANET PLANET. Everything that Baker's film does wrong, this film does right. Here we have a lead character who is a real person and not a cliche or just an audience surrogate. She exits because she it genuinely the focus of the film.

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION is a genuine coming of age film about real people dealing with real issues. We are getting a real story and not a lecture by a filmmaker to their younger self.

This film is a genuine gem. Its filled with life and love and the confusion that life causes. It is a film full of genuine wisdom including a show stopping moment when Grace's Mom reveals the secret of of life. It's a moment so on target in it's perfection it hits like a bolt of lightning.

This film is glorious. 

I am in love with this film.

Search out this film.

JIMMY & THE DEMONS (2025) Tribeca 2025

This film is so much fun, which I think its, subject James Grashow would be happy about.

The film is about artist Grashow as he works to finish what he fears might be his final work. He's 79 and knows the clock is ticking. The work is a giant sculpture in volving a cathedral, demons and assorted other things. Along the way we get the know, the man, his work, his life and most importantly his view of life and fun.

Ths film made me smile. Grashow is just a wonderful guy. His sense of fun and of life really connected to me. I completely could relate to his art, which if you've ever seen my monster bag or the work of my brother makes perfect sense.

There is something about Grashow's view of life and his insistence on never stop having fun that we need intodays world. Its an infectious world view we all need to experience.

I loved this film a great deal. Seeing it after several very heavy films for Tribeca it was a wonderful palette cleanse and it ended up being one of my favorites to this point.

I can't recommend it enough.

See it.

KISSES AND BULLETS (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is the story of two women, on in New York and one in Iran who protest the Iranian government as part of the ementWomen, Life and Freedom Mov in 2022 and connect via photos.

This film will make you cry. A staggering exploration of courage under fire and self expression. It’s a film about doing the right thing despite the potential cost.

I was moved.

While I thought that the film should lead into a feature, the truth is the end final third of the film is so perfect and so moving that I don’t want it ruined.

Wow.

One of the best at Tribeca

Last Dive (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is the portrait of Terry Kennedy, a legendary diver who decades earlier had made friends with a 22 foot manta ray he called Willie.  As Kennedy is getting close to the end of his life he decides to make one final trip to Baja in Mexico in an effort to try and reconnect with his old friend.

This is one of the very best films playing Tribeca and one of my favorite films of the year. This is a glorious look at life, at friendship and the lives we have lived. By the end of the film I was so moved that I was wiping away tears.

This isn't just a look at the effort to find Willie, but so much more. It'a a portrait of Kennedy, who lived several lives It's a love story of Kennedy and his wife. It's the story of the friendship. It's a look at efforts so stop the hunting of mantas. It's a look at aging and at how we live life.

This is just magnificent filmmaking...and I say that before I even mention the jaw dropping underwater images. Trust me you want to see this as big as possible.

Highly recommended.

Brief thoughts on THE INQUISITOR (2025) TRIBECA 2025

Portrait of Congress woman Barbara Jordan, who was the first black woman to serve in the Texas House of Representatives and the first to be elected to represent Texas in Washington.  She was a woman who changed  America and made it better.

While the form of this Independent Lens is conventional, there was nothing conventional about Jordan. The fact that she was a one of kind person makes this film must see. Sitting in my seat watching Jordan raise hell and do good had me smiling from ear to ear.

You need to see this film. In an age where everything political is filled with a level of bullshit, its great to know that there once was a time when there were people who wouldn't stand for it and do what was right.  

I loved this. 

Go see this glorious celebration of a hell of a woman and a hell of an American.

BACKSIDE(2025) Tribeca 2025

This is a look at the men and women who work behind the scenes at Churhill Downs in the days before the running of the Kentucky Derby.

This is an observational film where we watch the various people we are following going through their days. We watch as the horses arrive, are worked out, and are taken care of. We then watch as the horses go home after the race. It is a film of stunning beauty.

I'm going to be honest and say that your reaction is not going to be my reaction. I say that because I grew up with a grandfather who drove horses across the country for horses races. My dad  often traveled with my grandfather and often helped take care of the horses. I listened to the backside stories that floated through my family for decades. Seeing the things that I had been told about for decades play out before my eyes connected me to my father and grandfather and I could feel their presence with me while I was watching the film.

That said, you want to know what I think of the film objectively. 

Objectively this is a beautiful film. Its a film that dwells in the beauty of the horses and the racetrack. It's a film with images that you will want to hang on the wall. The storytelling is similar to the work of Frederick Wiseman however director Raúl O. Paz Pastrana uses more beautiful images which makes us fall in love with the people on screen.

This is a super film.

If the subject interests you, please go see it on a big screen.

RISE (2025) Tribeca 2025

Based in the story of Tobias Mupfuti, a boxing coach, this is the story of a small boy named Rise who hounds a boxing coach to take him on. The kid does and the coach and the kid form a bond.

One of the great films of the  year, this film will make your heart soar. The central relationship is as perfect as anything you will see all year. Yea Rise can be a handful, but he is a genuine handful, by which I mean he’s a real kid and not a cinematic construct.

I absolutely loved this film. It moved me. Not just because it’s a lovely story but because it talks of things greater- this is a film about facing fear and doing what you have to.

This is magnificent.

An absolute must see at Tribeca.

Poreless (2025) Tribeca (2025)

A gay Muslim makeup founder ends up as a finalist in a Shark Tank like contest but has complications spring up when he has an allergic reaction.

My initial thought was that this was not going to be anything special. It started off seeming to head down a well worn path. However once the allergic reaction occurs and things are turned upside down the fim finds it's own footing and the laughs increase.  I went from this is cute to this is very clever and funny.

PORELESS is a delight.

Ovary Acting (2025) Tribeca 2025

While at a party celebrating her sister's up coming motherhood a woman ends up arguing with her ovaries about whether to be a mother or not.

This is an unexpected joy. Yes the film is about not needing to have kids to be a successful woman, but it is more than that. This is a film about finding your own path regardless of your orientation.

What makes the film so good is due to both the wickedly funny script, which is right on target even as you can't believe its going there, and to the animation style. The characters and the acting just sell this well beyond it has any right to be. This is a laugh out loud film big laughs.

Never mind the subject just know its a great film.

The Wolf, the Fox and the Leopard (2025)ribeca 2025

This is the first of the Tribeca 2025 features that I fell in love with. It’s the first  film that I emailed everyone I knew to say to cover it. It’s one of the best of the festival and one of the best of 2025.

The most basic telling of the plot has a feral girl found in the woods making a winding way back to civilization. Told in a prolog and several chapters the film does not go or do what you think and as such I am not going to give you any clues. I say that because one of the joys of the film is watching the shifts from part to part. When I started the film after reading what it was about I thought, wrongly, that the write up was not the film. There is a problem with some Tribeca films in that the films shift between being accepted and screening so the synopsis end up wrong. This time out it was right on target... but incredibly, and intentionally, lacking in detail.

This is director David Verbeek‘s best film. I’ve seen several of his earlier film and while I liked them there was always a point where he lost control and the films didn’t stick the landing. Here the film sticks the landing largely because the division of the tale into parts allows for narrative breaks. Actually the structure demands them.

The images are arresting and the soundtrack nigh on perfect. Watching the film I got lost in the sound and image  to the point where I didn’t realize that some one had come up next to me to ask a question.

The crown jewel of the film is Jessica Reynolds as One/Alice the feral girl. This is a performance for the ages and assuming it gets backing odds are she is going to be an Oscar favorite. Seriously she is that good. 

This film is magnificent. I  cannot and dare not say more than that because I am somewhere beyond words, even after seeing this multiple times. Just see  it and be rocked.

It is unlike anything else at Tribeca or that I’ve seen this far in 2025 and as such it is highly recommended.

ALICE HEART (2025) Brooklyn 2025

ALICE HEART is about a young woman who is finishing college and plans to do great things and then makes a left turn  and drops out  causing all sorts of ripples in her life.

Inde drama about a young woman in college is exactly like several dozen other inde dramas about young people that fill film festivals and take that for however you want to take it. 

It's good but unremarkable.

INSIDE (2025) Tribeca 2025

Mel (Vincent Miller) is a young convict that was moved from juvenile detention to an adult prison on his way out of the system. There he makes the aquaintence of an older con, also heading for release named Warren Murfett (Guy Pearce). As Warren tries to help Mel another con begins to influence the young man.

Almost every year Tribeca seems to have some sort of prison drama and this year it's INSIDE. It's a good prison drama  that keeps us wondering how its going to play out.

I liked INSIDE a great deal. It's a solid drama that doesn't do most of the things that you expect from prison dramas. For me the highlight was Guy Pearce, who for the first time in my experience doesn't play big. Pearce is playing a supporting role and keeping it very real. He is just a guy. I had to do a double take because he turned off the look at me charisma with the result he, wonderfully, didn't overpower the screen.

Definitely worth a look.

Freeman Vines (2025) Tribeca 2025

Portrait of 82-year-old Freeman Vines has been hand-carving guitars. He is trying to replicate a sound he once fleetingly hear, but along the way he has been creating works of art and confronting the racism of his home town.

This is a wonderful film. Its a wonderful portait of a great craftsman and his life and art. There are stories here that will haunt you.

Why is this just a short? This magnificent film seems to indicate that there is so much more to Vines. I want a feature.

I loved this film so much that I was sending emails to friends saying that they need to cover it and to some programmers I know to say program it.

Highly recommended,.

SONGS OF BLACK FOLK (2025) Tribeca 2025

This is the story of how Rev. Dr. Leslie Braxton  putting together a musical performance for Juneteenth in his home town of Seattle. He managed to do so by enlisting his nephew and musician Ramon Bryant Braxton, who moved back from New York to do so.

One of the best films at Tribeca 2025 needs to become a feature. I say this because I want, nay , I NEED to hear more of the story of how this all came together. More importantly I need to see more of the performance. 

This film has so much crammed into it's 26 minutes, I mean its the story of the performance, of the family, of the neighborhood and of the experience of being Black in the Pacific Northwest, that you are going to be groaning when this ends. There are so many threads that need following. You are going to want to know more. 

Because I don't know if we will ever get to see more of this story I have to insist that you go see this short. It's a magical experience and is good for your soul.

Highly recommended.