A very short pointer toward Mouth Full of Golds (2026) Tribeca 2026

This is the history of the rise of the grillz, teeth adorned with gold and jewels.

I am exactly precisely the wrong audience for this film. I do not have any jewelry of any sort. I was never one for the display of chains and such. In part because I never had the money to buy any, but more because since I had no money I was afraid of losing it. As a result I never developed a sense of need for gold.

That said, this is a breezy fast paced history of the jewel encrusted teeth  that tells us everything we wanted to know and more. If you are curious do see this film. 

IX XI (2026) Tribeca 2026

The events of September 11, 2001 via the stories of a people who spent time down and around the World Trade Center.

IX XI is one of the most frustrating 9/11 films I've seen.  While I absolutely love the stories told. I mean they are absolutely wonderful and completely unlike anything we've heard before becvause they give the events a different context, the filmmakers don't know what to do with them.

The problem is the presentation desn't work. The filmmakers didn't trust their story and had to present the stories in a way that distracts from the human story. It distracts in a couple of ways. First the film intercuts clips from movies and TV. Some of the clips are fine, but a large numer of them don't belong in the film.  The other thing the film does is that it has some of the inteviews take place in front of a background that resembles the sides of the towers. At the samt time the lower half of the frame is a reflecting pool  that resembles the one at the memorial. Why the filmmakers does this I can't remotely fathom because it is so distracting, especially since the background gets tinted different colors, that we stop listening to the story and look at the frameing. It is exactly precisely how not to make a film (especially since the images will probably not look so good on cellphones (which apparently is how many people watch everything things these days).

I ended up so annoyed I stopped watching the film the second time I watched it and just listened to it. It vastly improved the film.

(can some one explain why this film about  the tragedy of 9/11 opens with Edith Piaf's No Regrets? Its a huge WTF move)

Hallowarrior (2026) Tribeca 2026

 

The world has ended. Civilization has fallen. Some disease has killed everyone on earth...Only young Pumpkin (a glorious Milly Shapiro) remains. As far as she knows she is the only person left. She has been trying to to contact someone, anyone, via radio.  No one answers.  As Halloween comes around again she decorates her house and prepares for the trick for treaters.  She knows no one will come, but she hopes they will. 

And then some one arrives....

Ben Sottak's HALLOWARRIOR is wondrous. 

A throw back to the exploitation films of the 1970's and 80's it's a post apocalyptic tale of the sort they don't do any more. Its is raw and real. It's lived in and imperfect. It is flawed like its characters, however you won't care  and instead you'll want to curl up on the couch to eat candy and watch horror films with them. 

This is a film that is unlike anything we are seeing these days in the genre field. Not interested in blood and gore (though its here) and not interesting in producing scares (though they are here), this is a film that is entirely about the characters. This is something we haven't had since George Romero died a few years ago. 

As much as I want to talk about the characters on the screen I am going to only talk about Pumpkin. The reason for that because if I talk about anyone else I might say too much.  I will argue that Pumpkin is one of the greatest women ever put on screen. A Halloween loving outsider, she is the only sort of person who could survive in an empty world.  Far from strong, she is a severely damaged young woman. She may seem strong but she is beyond broken. One has to applaud writer director Sottak for going that dark. Watching the film at the Tribeca P&I a certain revelation  at first produced no reaction, however a call back later in the film, in a dark moment, had some gasping because what was just coloring was revealed to be a sign of horrific sadness and soul so broken it may never heal.  

That Pumpkin remains in our hearts through every moment is due to the work of Milly Shapiro. I  would love to say that she should get an Oscar, but frankly this time out I'm going to say fuck that and say that Shapiro is going to get something greater, immortality as a classic character of cinema.  Shapiro keeps Pumpkin human and some one we love no matter what happens. We never ever want anything bad to happen and we want to see her survive and maybe come back in  a sequel. I truly believe that Shapiro has crafted a performance that is going to live on forever. Shapiro has given us something we never get in the movies a heroine who is shattered and missing pieces and yet stronger than anything in the known universe.

She is going to be the totem for a good many people.

And apologies to the rest of the cast- you are that good too- I just can't say anything lest I say too much.

The plot of the film is unexpected. Yes, the film has Pumpkin meeting some new people, and yes we know they are bad news, but what happens and how it plays out isn't what we expect. The twists and turns are more real than we usually see. There are no super human villains nor the not really dead twists, this is just an ever growing battle for survival that is not typical Hollywood. (Again this feels like Romero)

Okay - let me explain something HALLOWARRIOR is it's own glorious thing. Ben Sottak has made a film that exists in its own universe and is not like anything else. The reason I am mentioning the director from Pittsburgh is not to suggest Sottak is riffing on him, rather it is simply  to do two things. First I want to place the film in a certain rarified air. This is on a cinematic mountain top like the other guys work. Secondly I need to be able to explain to you what you are going to see with out revealing too much. I am using the other guy simply so you can have a sort of idea what it is kind of like.

I have to mention that the world in the film is wonderfully constructed. We believe the world has ended. We believe in small part because of Covid, but more because the clues we get ring true. We are not given exposition, we are given clues. The world feels lived in. Details come in references not sentences. Unlike the recent Spielberg film, which stops every couple of minutes to explan things or tell us things we don't need to know, Sottak simply lets the characters live their lives and trusts the audience to keep up and figure it out. I love being treated as co-conspirator and not a mindless child.

I'm not going to lie and say the film is perfect, it is not. There are things that don't always work, or feel like an odd flourish. At the same time the flaws  give the film a battle scar or two that make you realize this film was birthed via struggle and a great amount of love. Go with the flaws. Trust me, if you go with the bumps early on, by the time the shit hits the fan you won't care, you'll just want to know who lives and who dies.

Finding a film like this is why I love randomly going to movies. 

Movies like this are why I started Unseen Films, small hidden gems that need to be brought into the light and shared. This is a film that reminds me that originality and creativity in cinema isn't dead and that there are filmmakers who can take familiar forms and create something unique.

HALLOWARRIOR is a joy. Its one of the great finds of Tribeca and 2026.

Go see it.

Ariela Rubin on THE REVISIONIST (2026) Tribeca 2026

The Revisionist is a movie about three writers: a woman who is a bestselling author, her husband, who recently quit his job and wants to write his father’s biography, and their friend, who wrote an article for The New Yorker before disappearing for 15 years and suddenly resurfacing. They are all somewhat stuck in their lives.

However, things aren’t exactly as they seem.

I was a bit confused at the end, and I had to ask the man next to me if I understood it correctly.

I’m not sure what else to say about this film, but I really struggled to stay awake. I found it quite boring, and while the ending surprised me, it wasn’t enough to make up for the boredom.

Ariela Rubin on Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu (2026) Tribeca 2026

While I had heard the names Bob Odenkirk and David Cross before, I wasn't familiar with their comedy. (I think I'd only seen one movie that Bob was in.) As someone who enjoys films about friendship and travel, this immediately appealed to me. It was especially interesting to me because I've been to Machu Picchu. However, unlike Bob and David, I took the train rather than hiking in. My friend and I thought the hike would be too challenging, so I was curious to see how two men in their 60s would handle it.

I loved watching their experience and, in a way, living vicariously through them. I also enjoyed seeing the genuine friendship between the two. Early in the film, they mention that Bob suffered a heart attack in 2021, and few things make you realize how short life is quite like an experience like that. It became the inspiration for taking on this adventure, which had already been on Cross’ bucket list.

cI really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it. You don’t have to be a fan, or even know who they are to enjoy this. It inspired me to want to find a friend and plan an adventure soon!

A pointer toward Caity (2026) Tribeca 2026

I am not going to do a full on review of CAITY because it isn't fair. I came upon the film as the 76th film I'd seen for Tribeca, and while I know it is a good film, the weight of all the films that I had seen before made it so that I wasn't going to give it a fair shake.

The film has teen aged Caity trying to help her fanily put together their annual Halloween attraction. There are omplications because things are going side ways, including the fact that her dad has fallen off the wagon and there is a new employee who has caught her eye. As Caity is forced to shoulder all the responsibility of keeping the family and business upright, she begins to show signs of cracking.

I really liked this film a great deal. The cast is first rate. More importantly the script doesn't follow the expected path. There are some turns in the second half that were not expected. I sat up and took notice, both of how the film was not resting on its laurels and of the fact that I was going to have to revist this film down the road. There is something here that I need to focus on more than I was capable of doing at this first viewing.

Should I have held off and reviewed it later? Possibly but at the same time I could see how good the film is and it was and is important to get word out so you all can track the film down. After all ultimately all a review is simply a more detailed pointer.

Go see CAITY. It's something special.

GRANDMASTERS - Episode 101 (2026) Tribeca 2026

A look at the world of chess, particularly on the grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann as they seek to reshape the game in their image.

The festival is screening the first episode of the series, and seince I recently say the Netflix UNTOLD CHESS MATES doc I figured I would break my rule ans give the episode a look.

This is a solid look at the current state of chess. While the film focuses on Magnus (himself the subject of a 2016 Tribeca documentary) we do get a sense of other players who I am guessing will be added to the mix. I like that you get a sense that the series is going to be covering a lot of ground once it gets up and running. I'm curious enough that I will tune it when the rest is released.

If there is any issues with the episode it's that there is an assumption that you know who the players are and what they are referencing. The episode hits the ground running and while that's fine, this is the first episode, I would have been lost had I not seen the Netflix doc a couple weeks ago.

Quibble aside, I'm curious where this will go.

Time Warp (2026) Tribeca 2026

A drag theater company in Rocky Springs Wyoming stages a shadowcast performance of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.

For those who don't know a shadow cast performance is when a group of actors perform live infront of the screen.

A film filled with "gee whiz, let's put on a show!" engery, TIME WARP is a sweet, if incredibly messy, look at the company coming together to put on the performance in a place that seems like it should be going on.  It is a film that exists purely on the heart of the people on screen and the filmmakers behind the camera. Its a film that is going to find its audience because there are going to be a lot of peoplewho relate to the people on screen and realize that they can do the same thing, and thus find their people.

Honestly this film is so earnest and honest, and good, that I really can't critique it because it just doesn't seem fair to point out every little problem.

That said, there are two things that I can't let go. The first is the fact that at 115 minutes the film is probably 20 minutes too long . Some sequences run a little too long. I felt the wrong sort of tired at the end. The other problem is some things are left hanging. Most are minor but just about the very end we get a mention that there was a mass shooting in a nearby town just after the performance. It makes sense as to why the shooting should be mentioned, but in all honesty it  should have resulted in some sort of on camera reaction and not just some lines of text.

Quibbles aside this is, as I said above, is a sweet little film. It may not be the best film you see all year but it will be one that makes you smile.

Death Boom (2026) Tribeca 2026

Now that the Baby Boomers have shifted into the last years of their life there is now a boom in the death rate, as more and people are passing away. How are we going to handle it.

First a warning: This film is graphic. It does not look away during embalming nor during cremation, nor during anything else. If that is going to bother you do not attend the film. 

This is a very good film that looks into all the issues surrounding dying, including new additions to the death industry (composting), Pollution (embalmed bodies can and do pollute ground water when the chemicals leach into the ground and cremation pollutes the air),  the way the business is run and the way people think about death. It's a film that is full of everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask.

I really liked this a great deal and I can't wait to share it with several people I know who are interested in the subject.

At the same time the film isn't perfect. It has a definite point of view and it fumbles a few facts. For example to spin the death rate during during covid into a warning of what we will be facing very shortly. The problem is that covid was an abnormal factor that increased the death rate in a short period of time The disease was killing people all at once, and it was not the normal ebb and flow, just a sudden spike.

Quibbles aside, this is a super film and a must see for anyone interested in what happens after we die.

Ascension (2021) Tribeca FIlm Festival 2026 Free Screening Sunday

One the truly great films of this year's Tribeca is a look at class and employment in China. Starting at the bottom of the pile with people looking for jobs the film wanders through society  working up post the laborers, the factory workers on to the middle class salesman and shop keeper up to the mega wealthy who play golf and eat in mansions. 

Told via observational photography the film is a series of beautiful sequences that not only delight the eye but tickle intellect. All hail director Jessica Kingdon who has assembled a masterpiece  that makes us realize, really realize between the haves and the have nots.

You will have to forgive the brevity of this review. While the film is one of the best you will see all year, it is a film you need to experience rather than read about. The film's power is in the collection of images and how we react to them. Its film I need to discuss with you after you see it since how we react to it and how I react to t will fuel deep discussions.

One of the best films of Tribeca 2021 and possibly of the year as well.

Mario (2026) Tribeca 2026

This is a portrait of former New York Govenor Mario Cuomo.

This is a good if by the numbers look at the man who challanged the rise of the Republican right in the 1980's and went on to run New York State for several terms. Its also a good reminder that Cuomo did a lot of good despite giving us two sons who tarnished the family name.

I really liked this film a great deal. It was a nice trip back to when politicians were more civil and actually wanted to make a difference and not just line their pockets. I always liked Cuomo and it was nice to revisit his trimuphs.

Beyond that there isn't much to say. The film does exactly what it sets out to do with out reinventing the wheel.

Definitely worth a look if it interests you. I full expect this to be picked up and run on PBS down the road.

Something You Should Know About Me (2026) Tribeca 2026

Away at an artist retreat the very shy Al, finds that he has to decide whether or not to confess his feelings for his best friend or lose him to a rival.

Billed as a sweet and raunchy trans rom-com in the Tribeca material, SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ME may have a tough time finding it's intended audience because of the fake political divide that some pundits are using to try and control the country. That's sad because the film could be a life line for a shy gay or trans kid who needs to know that their are people like them out there. I really think that for a some people this film is going to connect to them and give hope.

The trouble is that as good as this film is in many places it has some serious issues that are going to keep it from connecting to a larger audience.

The first problem is that the humor here doesn';t always land. Some times the jokes are a bit too low brow and are groaners, and sometimes they are ill timed.  The placement  and the level of the jokes doesn't always work with the film coming off busted TV sitcom pilot.

The more damaging problem is EJ Marcus  as Al. I don't know if it's because of the way it's written or because of the way Marcus portrays him but Al comes off as wildly much too closed up and one note. No matter what happens Al never connects to the audience. There is a downbeat nature to the performance and even when things result in happiness it never fully bleeds off the screen. I love that Al connects to the people on the screen, but for me Al was the one character up there that I felt nothing about. I almost always connect to the outsider lead character and root for them  and here I felt nothinng. I liked everyone else in the film but not our hero. Its a fatal flaw that punches a huge hole in the center of the film and makes everything seem worse.

There are some great things here, a sense of life, some great secondary characters and some awesome animation, but the film is undone by uneven comedy and not particularly well done lead character. 

His House, Home (2026) Tribeca 2026

A closeted tean caring for his dad with MS, has his world shaken up by an openly gay home health aide who comes to help.

This is one of the great films of Tribeca. A film of life told expertly, it's a film where the silences speak volumes and when the words come they explode in out hearts. This is a brilliant piece of filmmaking.

I was rocked, to some degree when the film ended, but more so a day or two later when I sat down to write this film up. This is what films should do, worm their way into our hearts and then grow there.

Highly recommended.

Rambling on DISCLOSURE DAY (2026)

This is the story of a group of people trying to get word out that we are not alone in the universe over the course of several days.

DISCLOSURE DAY disappointed me. Part of it is the trailer implied something that wasn't in the screen, part of it is the fact that the film has plot chasms it keeps tripping over, plus it raises all sorts of issues (such as what happens to religion if get proof that their are aliens) that deserve a film unto thelmselves but instead are given a Cliff Notes exploration, and lastly nothing makes any sense to the point that the film cheats on how its resolved.

Steven Spielberg has a solid basic story but the script just doesn't work. Reducing what should be a deep and thoughtful story to essentially dual chase tales, one the man who stole the proof and the other a weather reporter who begin to act weird, the film strives for forward motion over emotion. There is a wanting to talk about god and aliens and the need for empathy but the film only does so fleetingly. Spielbeg the showman of JAWS, JURASSIC PARK and the Indiana Jones films clashes with the SPielberg who made AI, EMPIRE OF THE SUN, MINORITY REPORT and SCHINDLER'S LIST. The tone of the film is all wrong with tension about whether the characters will survive being undercut with humor. It feels like Spielberg doesn't know how to present things.

The plot construction is lousy. Its a film set in a world at war but which it never gives us any real sense of what that means except in the exact moments that it will affect the plot. There is no world except for the characters in that scene. Crowds are not real people but window dressing. There is no sense of anyone outside of the cast with background characters only going one level deep. No cars pass on busy roads in the city, there is nothing alive pastthe last row of people on screen. Life stops well before the edge of the screen. Things happen that make no sense: why build a house if only a room was important, the villain is the villain until he isn't. More importantly watching the film you quickly realize that there is no danger, that everything will be okay, because Colman Diego not only says it but also because everything happens because "magic". The magic of the aliens will make everything okay despite the bad guys being able to do what they do. It isn't reality its a badly written wish fulfilment  fairy tale.

And how it's told is very lazy. Spielberg leans into his 55 year old bag of tricks in such away that this isn't a master at the top of his game but the work of a adequete jourman making an unimaginative film for the suits based upon the work of an earlier director (in this case his earlier self). The opening wrestling sequence, outside of the POV, is staged with zero creativity. Its a by the numbers assembly. Look at the sequences where all the bad guys are chasing the characters or standing around, there is no sense of reality (other than the car flipping on the bridge) or any effort to do anything different than hundred of other films that riffed on what Spielberg had done. This is by the numbers work at best. 

The best sequence by far in the whole film is when Colin Firth appears in our hero's girlfriend's mind and she tries to fight him. Its a masterclass in tension. But nothing outide of that in staging or writing works remotely this well.

The CGI mostly looks wrong and fake. 

Despite it all it's not a bad film, but at the same time it's no where near what it should be. Honestly the film highlights a problem with Spielberg as a filmmaker in that he doesn't get how a plot should work. Things happen because.... it will be cool or it will get the characters out of a situation. Look at his WAR OF THE WORLDS where the aliens have been underground for centuries just because, or READY PLAYER ONE (pick a moment)nothing feels genuine or if things would happen that way, the Indiana Jones films where things happen for effect, MINORITY REPORT which has plot problems, WEST SIDE STORY  where some of his tweaks  don't feel as if people, even those in a musical, would do that and others.

The film also highlights how, with very few exceptions Spielberg doesn't want to deal with the bigger, more important issues. You would think that a film about the revelation of alien existence would explore how people would react. Instead the revelation comes at the end and simply results in people staring at their phones. The isue of religion and a large universe is danced around with most of the exploration really left to a few gee whiz statements, which while meaningful, isn't a real exploration but our being force fed. Honestly Spielberg for all his talent will, with the exception of a handful of films (where it should be said he does knock it out of the park), will never ever deal with serious subjects in any seriuous or grity manner.

I wish that someone other than Spielberg had directed the film so that it didn't feel like a Spieberg knock off.  I wanted a film that kept me thinking long after it ended, not having me move on to the next thing as soon as the conversation after the filmended and my friend hopped into a cab and I headed to the subway

ChikaBOOM! (2026) Tribeca 2026

A young girl, Chika, who wants to be a magician like her dad opens a sealed jar her dad kept hidden and releases a pink force, Boom, that wants its freedom.

This is a sweet little film that feels like an effort to kick start a series. Its a visually spectacular film that hits all the expected points and delights us with each turn. 

More action than anything else, this is something that is going to have a long life at festivals from here on out.

Gas Station Attendant (2025) opens Friday

Wth THE GAS STATION ATENDANT opening tomorrow  here is a repost of my review from when it premiered

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.

NIO KO BOKK (This Belongs to All of Us) (2026) Tribeca 2026

Surfing films are a vital part of my annual coverage of Tribeca. Way back in 2010 at my first Tribeca the last film I covered was a film about river surfing and it blew me away. As a result, anytime there is a surfing film I will cover it.

But NIO KO BOKK is so much more than a surf film. Yes the subject of the film is a surfer in Dekar in Senegal, but the film is so much more. It is a celebration of life that is wise and wonderful and says more in its ten minutes than any three hours long art house films. It is a film that is a delight for the eyes and ears.

Basically it's one of the best films you'll see of any length in 2026.

Yea it is that good.

Highly recommended, the screenings are all rush.

Steal a ticket or bribe someone to get in.

Saba (2026) Tribeca 2026

 

A world were gravity is reversed

This is a great looking alegorical animated film. It has some great bits that will delight you. I loved the bits

The problem with the film is that the conceit doesn't really make sense. Some things go up and some things don't. There doesn't seem to be a logic, which makes its tough for the film to generate suspense.

If you just take it on its own terms it's actually quite good

Time Machine Maidan (2026) Sheffield Doc Fest (2026)

This is a docufiction essay portrait of the battle of Maidan in the Ukraine. It’s a mix of reality and fiction based on reality. For example the main character is based upon a number of young people who went to the front line.

This is a trippy film. Told from a first-person point of view the film drifts through time where it uses footage of actual events to create a real sense of being there in the moment.

This is one of the best films I’ve seen on Ukraine. It’s not that the film gives us tons and tons of fact but instead it creates a head space. This is not us witnessing things, rather this us our living the events. Yes, we are seeing it through another person’s eyes but it presented in such a way that we are living it.

This is magnificent achievement.

If you are growing weary with all the Ukraine films and need to see something that will restore your faith in subject and humanity, see TIME MACHINE MAIDAN.

The Lorraine (2026) Tribeca 2026

THE LORRAINE is one of the great films of Tribeca. The film is the history of the African Experience in America through the lens of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

Of course, we all know the Lorraine as the place where Dr Martin Luther King was shot and killed, however the truth is it’s so much more. In a time of segregation, it was one of the few places that people of color could stay. It is also a gateway into Memphis which was an important stop for people traveling north and south through the country.

I was about ten minutes into the film when I just stopped taking notes. There was too much here, too many facts too many stories, too much life to try and make notes. I had to simply let the film wash over me. Notes would come on the second of third trip through. This was something I just needed to experience.

What kicked this film up in my opinion was that the filmmakers give everything a context. We are not given facts, but also the explanation of why they are important. The really amazing thing is that the film  gives us the context so flawlessly that we are just surfing the stories. Everthing builds on everything else. This is a magnificent achievement in documentary filmmaking.

I can’t recommend this film enough.

See it