Joni Mitchell – Painting with Words and Music A+
Joni dazzles in the best of her three live albums. It helps that the show is built around “Hejira”. Of the 19 tracks, 4 are from this album.
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Category: Apple TV+
Echo Valley (2025) is Another Julianne Moore Triumph B+
Director Michael Pearce moves with visceral precision and Julianne Moore shows us, yet again, what a magnificent actress she can be.
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Beyond Utopia (2023) is one of the Best Documentaries of Recent Years A+
Director/Editor Madeleine Gavin masterfully combines these two storylines with some astonishing insights into what it’s like to live in North Korea
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Last Call (2023): A Serial Killer Preys on Gay Men in New York A+
Caronna gives these five men back their dignity, something they were stripped of when they became victims of a horrific crime.
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Grey Gardens (1975) Documentary Feature A+
After its release, the film’s high campness – a tragic story set in the faded milieu of New York high society – developed a significant gay following.
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Bono: Stories of Surrender is one of the Great Concert Movies (2025) A-
The man, on stage, in Naples, without the rest of his U2 bandmates, is in a great voice and equally fine storytelling form.
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Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) (2023) A
Photographer/filmmaker Anton Corbijn has directed a hugely enjoyable documentary about Hipgnosis, the duo who revolutionized the album cover as an art form.
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BS High (2023). Greed and Exploitation in American High School Football B+
American high school/college football is one big exploitation racket that massively exploits the young men on whose backs the whole system rests.
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Donyale Luna: Supermodel (2023) B+
Known “the first Black supermodel”, she was the first African-American model to grace the cover of Vogue – shot by photographer David Bailey – in March 1966.
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What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (2018) B-
The greatest movie critic of her generation. Pauline wrote the most incisive and respectful response. It was a gorgeous review of “Blade Runner”…
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The Dropout (2022) Limited Series Review A+
Amanda Seyfried is simply amazing. She gets Holmes’s uncomfortable stare and that otherworldly voice. But we also get Holmes as a real person.
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The Curse (2023) is Making Me Feel Very Uncomfortable! A+
Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie’s brilliant “The Curse” brings out the masochist in me. Thanks to the genius of Emma Stone, it’s essential viewing
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The Staircase (2022) Limited Series Review A+
The result: compulsive viewing for seven out of the eight episodes. Colin Firth is spellbinding. Toni Collette is equally superb.
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Mrs. America (2020) and the renaissance of Jeanne Dielman A+
Blanchett then slowly hangs up the phone and returns, defeated, to the kitchen. In un hommage à Akerman, the camera frames her in medium shot.
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Enlightened (2011) – TV Series Review A+
Laura Dern is a card-carrying liberal from Riverside. who wants to do good in this world but gets sidetracked by some deep personality flaws
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Red, White & Royal Blue (2023). Even Texas Turns Over in Gay Romance! B
Nicholas Galitzine, as Prince Harry, gives a perfect performance. Utterly believable. He’s the ONLY reason to see this. But he is reason enough!
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Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023) Film Review A-
We also discover, in a beautifully acted scene by McAdams, who steals the picture, that Barbara is estranged from her devoutly Christian parents.
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Eileen (2023) Hits All the Right Buttons A
Oldroyd pulls out all the stops and the three actresses complement one another so perfectly that we end up savoring 2023’s best scene.
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Fallen Leaves (2023) Is An Affair to Remember A+
The leads are just about perfect, and the film is enlivened at every turn by the director’s usual penchant for deadpan humor.
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Godland (2023) Hlynur Pálmason’s Masterpiece A+
Pálmason, his cinematographer (Maria von Hausswolff), and his composer (Alex Zhang Hungtai) evoke colonial memories reminiscent of films like “Black Robe”.
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How to Have Sex (2023) Mia McKenna-Bruce shines in Manning Walker’s debut A-
“How to Have Sex” follows three teenage girls on vacation in Greece. Mia McKenna-Bruce delivers a heartbreaking performance as Tara. One of 2023’s best.
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The Road Dog (2023) Road Movie Meets Stand-Up B+
Doug Stanhope is “The Road Dog” of the title in writer/director Greg Glienna’s inspired blend of the road movie and stand-up comedy.
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Saltburn (2023) Emerald Fennell’s Sophomore Triumph A
Fennell’s writing and directing are brilliantly inventive, with humor, tragedy, and horror mixing perfectly. She gets immense support from her cinematographer, Linus Sandgren, whose work here is truly breathtaking.
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Shortcomings (2023) An Asian-American Comedy. B+
Min, playing a dislikeable character, manages to make Ben, if not exactly likable, then certainly sympathetic. Both Sherry Cola and Debby Ryan are superb.
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Sick of Myself (2023) Film Review B+
If you can take moments of extreme gore and disfigurement – it succeeds more as a horror movie than as a piece of social satire – you could do worse.
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You Can Live Forever (2023) Film Review A-
Laporte is tremendous in portraying a complex character who appears to have an “escape” but really doesn’t. It’s a heartbreaking performance.
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Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (2022) Film Review A-
Beautifully Queer friendly, the relationship between Bee (Maria Bakalova) and Sophiie (Amanda Stenberg) is the emotional center of the movie.
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Causeway (2022) Film Review A
And Henry gives a tour de force performance that matches his spine-tingling monologue in “If Beale Street Could Talk”. Like Lawrence he is one of the all-time greats.
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Emily The Criminal (2022) Film Review A
Plaza’s performance is something to behold. All of that nervous energy is now bursting out in a performance that is always true and believable.
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Girl Picture (2022) Film Review B+
Aamu Milonoff is exceptionally good, giving a beautifully grounded yet magical performance. The kind that makes you sit up and take notice.
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