The movie Annihilation is a strange, gloriously ambiguous visual wonder. It is writer/director Alex Garland’s interpretation of Jeff VanderMeer’s Nebula-award-winning first novel in the Southern Reach Trilogy. There are elements of the story that recall a wide variety of what has come before, from Predator, Sunshine (for which Garland was the screenwriter), Apocalypse Now, and …
On this first day of 2018, I’m thrilled to announce my addition as a member of AWFJ, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. An official invitation and close scrutiny of my work was required, and I’m quite thrilled I made the cut, and that I’m now part of such a great, talented group of female …
This year’s WAFCA Award winners were announced today. When I opened my super-secret email letting the critics who are part of the Washington Area Film Critics Association know about the winners, I was pretty stunned. I voted for Get Out as Best Film, but I didn’t imagine many of my colleagues would. For me, the …
Mudbound, Call Me By Your Name, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Lady Bird are some of 2017’s best films: On the weekend of October 20th, the 5th annual Middleburg Film Festival began at and around the Salamander Resort in the upscale, equestrian town, and as they have from its inception, they presented some of …
Loving Vincent is the first fully oil painted feature film. The brainchild of two filmmakers who have worked in animation, special effects, and live action, the film breaks new ground, while being visually stunning and driving a story about the last few weeks in the life an artist who died penniless but is now one …
Opening this weekend is Crown Heights, a new film from writer/director Matt Ruskin. It is based on a true story that is both horrifying and all too timely. It also illustrates the best and worst of what humanity can be. A teenager was gunned down in Brooklyn, New York in 1980, and the police arrested …
Women Rocking Hollywood 2017 was Victoria Mahoney, Aurora Guerrero, Tina Mabry, Rosemary Rodriguez, Angela Robinson, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Kirsten Schaffer. All Hollywood Powerhouses! Such graciousness and talent. It’s incredible to me that at SDCC, in an environment full of famous people and A-listers, I would not trade for anyone within a 5 mile radius, the female …
PRIDE IS FOR EVERYONE: Cinema Siren says all people should celebrate, and Oscar-winning writer of Milk and LGBTQ activist Dustin Lance Black explains why. If you celebrate love, celebrate Pride. This weekend, and all month, Pride is happening in the LGBTQ community. Yes, there are parade floats and people marching. There are scantily-clad folk in …
CINEMA SIREN INTERVIEW: Director of Megan Leavey Gabriela Cowperthwaite talks about female directors, female soldiers, the freedom of documentaries, and the gift of animal loyalty. Coming this weekend is a film based on the real-life experience of a female marine and her canine companion. Review is HERE. I spoke to director Gabriela Cowperthwaite about her …
No doubt you’ll need a movie to go see after you’ve seen Wonder Woman this weekend. We have you covered. Dean is an entertaining little independent movie written and directed by standup comedian, writer, and artist Demetri Martin. It features the drawings for which Martin has recently become known, delving in both the narrative, and the visuals via …
