a-ha: The Movie
Viewers don’t have to wait too long into A-HA:THE MOVIE, director Thomas Robsahm’s engaging documentary on the Norwegian pop band, to hear the song they became best known for but they may be surprised at how long Take On Me had been bouncing around within the minds and riffs of the musicians before it achieved ear worm status.  That’s just one of the many behind-the-scenes bits of information Robsahm presents in this doc that thankfully is more focused on the drama involved with the music than anything else that might have been pulling at the three-member team over the past five decades.  I liked that while Robsahm finds a healthy number of individuals to interview as he charts the band’s timeline, only the men themselves are ever shown responding to questions in the present day.   I can’t say I was a big enough fan to keep tabs on them above and beyond their #1 chart topper and their evergreen tune for the 007 film The Living Daylights (though I loved hearing about their tempestuous relationship with John Barry!), but I’m happy to have watched A-ha get their moment.

Being BeBe
It was with no small amount of hometown pride that Minnesota cheered on popular local performer BeBe Zahara Benet when she won the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2009.  This was back when the show was a novelty and before it became an established brand and although it has gone on to win a truckload of Emmy’s and spawned international versions and spin-offs, you always remember your first…and it’s not likely you’d forget BeBe anyway.  Director Emily Branham has an interesting doc for audiences, filmed over a number of years and with footage from BeBe in and out of drag.  There’s so much footage, in fact, that Branham actually has the vibrant star of BEING BEBE watch some of the film that’s been captured and provide commentary on how things have changed, or how their own personal thinking has evolved since Branham first started taping.  The breadth of that time allows the documentary to show growth right before our eyes, not just in the way that BeBe navigates some of the harsh realities of the reality television industry but in the levels of acceptance in their own life of where they see themselves fitting in among the influencers of the community.  While Branham makes some interesting discoveries on queer culture during some all-too-brief footage from Cameroon, I almost wish it was more of that or nothing at all because there’s clearly more to that side of the world we should know more of…maybe that’s Branham’s next film we’ll see at Tribeca.

Queen of Glory
I’m a sucker for a lived-in NYC tale and QUEEN OF GLORY, from first-time feature director #NanaMensah (who also writes and stars), has its authenticity certified gold almost from the beginning.  I’m not quite sure how Mensah sets the mood so quickly other than using a lot of real people and interesting/rarely used location shooting, but working with 75 minutes of story the multi-hyphenate star is able to bring audiences right into the world of Sarah, a daughter of Ghanaian-American parents that’s set to graduate with a doctorate from Columbia University and move to the Midwest where her married lover is about to start work.  Then, her world caves in and she inherits a Christian bookstore in the Bronx (and its parolee employee) after her mother unexpectedly dies.  With new responsibilities and new relatives to worry about, not to mention neighbors, friends, and lovers to juggle, Sarah has to find a strong foothold if she wants to regain balance.  Mensah has been in several movies/tv projects that I’ve liked her in and tailor-making this role for herself leads to success in all the right ways.  It’s not a vanity project in so much as the wealth of funny/dramatic scenes are spread around for a memorable supporting cast and the technical achievements are high.  It feels like a pilot of a television series, if I’m being honest, but it’s a show I’d want to see more of.

Enemies of the State  
Those crazy hackers!  When will they learn that in the end, the government will always find a way to get the good guys?  At least that’s what the family of Matt DeHart will have you believe.  In director Sonia Kennebeck’s documentary ENEMIES OF THE STATE, audiences are told several different versions of the truth and then asked to piece together what is the real deal from the burnt pieces of paper the numerous subjects interviewed have managed to torch at one time or another.  There’s little use in holding onto one theory for too long in the case of the DeHarts, a seemingly ordinary and all-American family that all served their country but who exhibited behavior at one time or another that indicated otherwise.  Less incendiary than the blurbs and synopsis would have you believe and relying more on carefully edited conversations to drive the swerves of plot than actual factual twists, the film engages to a point but comes up flat.  I think the dramatic reenactments sunk this one a bit too…I understand the need for them, maybe, but anytime you have actors playing the real-life people who are also being interviewed there’s just something in the viewers brain that always feels off.  Not the most breathless documentary you’ll see this year but if the topic interests you, give it a whirl.

No Man of God
Jeez, another Ted Bundy film you may ask?  Really?  After the 2019 Netflix documentary series as well as the Zac Efron dramatized movie from the same year, it seems like Bundy has had his day in the sun but maybe it was time to look elsewhere for inspiration.  It was with that trepidation I approached NO MAN OF GOD, director Amber Sealey’s exploration of Bundy’s relationship with FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier during his last years as an inmate on death row.  Surprisingly, I didn’t find the film to be as staid or stuffy as I thought (or, honestly, as it could have been) but instead discovered some real electricity happening between stars Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby as the FBI Man and serial killer, respectively.  Meeting up at first to discuss behavioral trends but eventually for Hagmaier to take down Bundy’s final confession, Sealey handles the material respectfully and without giving any type of glory to Bundy after all the time.  Any time Bundy appears on film it does reopen these old wounds for his numerous victims so it’s conflicting to report on movies based on his life, but there’s good work being done here by both Wood and Kirby.  Almost working like a two-man play, Sealey doesn’t let the actors or the film get stuck too long in one spot and the action keeps moving at a good pace, allowing good supporting actors like Aleksa Palladino to have their moments as well.   

Catch the Fair One
Out of every film festival comes a few titles with buzz that continues on past the closing night party.  It’s the movie that comes back around as “Premiered at Tribeca” or “Made a splash at Tribeca” and most of the time they are on the money…but sometimes it’s just festival fever that takes over people’s good sense.  CATCH THE FAIR ONE is a movie you’ll be hearing about with good reason…at least I hope so.  Here’s a dark and riveting piece of revenge served ice cold featuring a debut performance that’s about as impressive as they come.  US boxing world champion Kali Reis plays Kaylee, a former professional boxer that puts her life at risk as she searches for her missing sister in a viper’s den of human traffickers.  Hoping to discover what became of her younger sibling, she isn’t prepared for the dark journey the answer provides.  Director Josef Kubota Wladyka’s film is gristly around the edges and oily in the center, the perfect condition for a thriller that consistently surprises and shocks, right up until the end.  Reis is dynamite, honest and forthright with a performance that devastates.  Executive produced by Darren Aronofsky, it’s not hard to see what drew the director toward the subject matter or the stars on the rise involved.  Keep your eyes open for this one and catch it, it’s far more than fair

7 Days
Oh yes, the pandemic films are already upon us and while we wait for the inevitable slew of documentaries on the subject that I’m sure will have us covering our eyes in horror and our ears in disgust at how it could have gone so wrong, why not make the most out of the interim time with the comedies that have had quick turnarounds?  Director and co-writer Roshan Sethi is used to churning out fast material after creating the popular television series #TheResident and he teams up with co-star Karan Soni to write 7 DAYS, a charming bit of fun that might have turned cloying had it not been for some justly earned care we develop for our lead characters.  Soni co-stars with the always dependable Geraldine Viswanathan as an Indian couple set-up on a blind date by their parents who don’t feel the spark but wind up spending a week together after being forced to shelter-in-place.  Naturally, this odd couple (of course he’s a germaphobe and she’s a slob) learns a thing or three about each other over these days, upending that whole “first impressions are hard to break” notion.  It has some of that same effervescent vibe that another Tribeca film about complicated millennial dating had (Dating & New York) but its super serious final act feels counter-productive to the lively peak it had just climbed. 

On the Divide
It’s the topic that continues to be the sole lynchpin in the way many people vote and a subject most steer clear of in polite conversation: abortion.  While not as frequent a subject of documentaries as it once was, with the heightened focus on the abortion act and reproductive rights, I’d expect more films like ON THE DIVIDE to emerge from the festival circuit in upcoming years.  For the most part, directors Leah Galant & Maya Cueva stay out of the debate and let the subjects they follow and interview speak for themselves and that feels like the way to go in order to present the most weighted conversation.  (And yes, it does need to be a conversation involving listening…not that I, identifying as male, have any real say or skin in the game).  Lucking out with three very distinct voices, over the span of several years Galant/Cueva chart the lives of a heavily tattooed young mother, formerly associated with gangs who now stumps daily for a Christian pregnancy center outside the Whole Women’s Health clinic next door as well as one of its volunteers and security guards.  We spend the most time with the mother, watching her begin the film deeply involved with her pro-life mission but eventually becoming sidelined when her own home life makes it difficult to follow the practices required of her new group.  Rey, the security guard for the clinic, is the most insightful and you’ll be longing for more of him each time the film cuts away.  While it doesn’t offer any magic solution to the problem at hand, it does highlight the backward slide facing the people in and around where the film takes place, serving as a cautionary tale for what the future holds.

No Running
There’s no reason NO RUNNING should be as disappointing as it turned out to be.  It’s got a picturesque location, the cast is made up of “Oh yeah, I like them” faces (Shane West, Rutina Wesley, Bill Engvall, Taryn Manning) and the young stars Skylan Brooks and Diamond White are, for a time, promising as appealing leads in a story involving some mystery and suspense in a small town.  Alas, all of director Delmar Washington’s stylish attempts at making the film flashy can’t breathe life into Tucker Morgan’s fairly dreadful script that breaks apart early on and continues to shatter into smaller pieces the longer the movie plays.  What could have been a paranoid thriller that harkened back to the old ‘50s thrillers of yesterday, albeit with a bit of that modern twist, turns into a lame Get Out wannabe that neverwas.  It’s a town where people turn horrifyingly racist in the blink of an eye and believe they can find decades old evidence (and do!) without so much as a magnifying glass.  Washington also imparts my absolute least favorite way to open a film…starting at one point in time and then flashing back “X” number of days in time.  Washington (or Morgan?) doesn’t even pick the right scene to start with…I was able to fix it with just one quick edit in my brain, immediately improving the opening and closing of the film which would start NO RUNNING off on much better footing. 

Settlers
On the website for Tribeca, SETTLERS is described as a ‘riveting ride’, which is a bit deceiving because it insinuates the film has a place to go.  For my money, after an admittedly intriguing first 45 minutes it never felt like this one knew where it was ultimately headed and that leaves it in a strangely sedentary state.  That keeps the viewer from fully pursuing the ins and outs of all the characters, because we’re never all that concerned that they are going anywhere.  First-time feature director Wyatt Rockefeller thankfully has an eye for visuals and while the budget was likely not huge for the film, it looks like whatever cash there was has been spent in all the right places.  The family living in a homestead on Mars has a small farm with animals and an outpost home that doesn’t just look like a recycled set from the latest cancelled Star Trek series.  Father (Johnny Lee Miller), mother (Sofia Boutella), and daughter (Brooklynn Prince) are going about their daily business until one day they awake to see the word ‘LEAVE’ written in giant letters from outside their window. Who wrote it? Are they coming back? Who are the real enemies? Who was here first?  All questions Rockefeller poses, answers, but doesn’t satisfy completely.  None of the resolutions are that intriguing, even if the performances from everyone in the cast are almost universally better than the material they have been provided with.  It’s a shame, too, because the production design and performances are there…they just needed the script to meet them at their level.

Werewolves Within
A number of films have been adapted from video games and felt like it, but while I knew this horror comedy was brought to life based on the popular 2016 multi-player game, WEREWOLVES WITHIN pleasingly played like its own beast.  That’s largely thanks to director Josh Ruben casting the movie just right, starting with Sam Richardson as an earnest forest ranger newly arrived in the town of Beaverfield who barely arrives before he’s on the hunt for whatever (or whomever?) is picking off the ruddy townfolk one by one.  The suspects are plentiful and colorful, from the gay tech millionaires to the town crank to a visiting environmentalist attempting to stop an industrialist wanting to build a pipeline through the town (he’s also in town for an extended stay with others at a rustic lodge).  Writer Mishna Wolff keeps things fast and loose throughout, nicely keeping the identity of the lycanthrope at bay as long as possible.  This allows the cast to take their time and to my surprise the various comedic bits don’t feel strained in their capable hands.  I have to again call out Richardson’s enormous charm heading up the cast, the movie works as well as it does because he plays the lead with such ease and just the right amount of a sideways glances at the rest of the townies.  Second place cheers to Milana Vayntrub as the town’s kindly postal worker that becomes Richardson’s tour guide and partner in sleuth.

as of yet
There’s a pleasing DIY vibe to writer and co-director Taylor Garron’s observant comedy AS OF YET which finds her character Naomi struggling to navigate pandemic life in NYC without her roommate while at the same time nurturing a new relationship that has potential.  Sounds simple enough but Garron is up to something far more interesting involving everything from pandemic paranoia to clashes over racial tolerance in a newly charged climate.  I wasn’t sure at first I was going to respond as well as I did to as of yet but once it gets rolling it is frequently extremely funny and surges ahead at break neck speed.  It also takes time to offer some good dialogue between friends just being friends, talking about nothing but eventually getting to the root of the matter.  This conversational tone (which gave off an early Lena Dunham vibe) is helped in no small part because Garron has nabbed some excellent supporting players for her film that she co-directed with Chanel James.  Each time a new face pops up, hold on to your seats.  This one also has maybe the best ending of any film I saw at Tribeca…just perfect based on everything that has come before.  Others will disagree but I loved it.

Socks on Fire
An entry from the 2020 all-virtual festival that went on to win the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, Bo McGuire’s SOCKS ON FIRE got an encore presentation at the 2021 in-person festival and I’m glad audiences were able to catch this one virtually again this year.  How else would us Midwesterners have seen this peculiar but enthralling look into the dark side of one Southern family’s dirty laundry hamper, exposed for all to see by one of its own?  Using home movies, interviews, and reenactments, McGuire paints a picture of growing up in Hokes Bluff, Alabama as a relatively serene youth but having a far different view as an adult when he returns after the matriarch of the family dies and all hell breaks loose.  That’s when the in-fighting of his relatives began and the real story of Socks on Fire takes off.  While it occasionally drifts into a syrupy Southern gothic noir that doesn’t always work, by and large this is both a sad reflection on the progress of acceptance and a satisfying bit of just desserts to those that need their bad deeds exposed.

Accepted
When you think of controversy over college admissions, your mind instantly goes to the scandal uncovered in 2019 that arose over the criminal conspiracy to unfairly influence admissions decisions at several top American universities.  (Let’s be honest, you REALLY think of Aunt Becky from Full House though, don’t you?).  Prior to that, the biggest news story about questionable college admission practices came out of the TM Landry Prep School in Louisiana.  Originally heralded for its 100% acceptance rate, many of which were for minority students that wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to go to Ivy League schools they were admitted to, it came under scrutiny after it’s methods of teaching and faulty transcripts were uncovered by the New York Times. Director Dan Chen had a bit of good (cinematic) fortune to already be there following the students and leaders in the school and ACCEPTED is the result of his years following them along their path.  Viewers get a real time view of the salad days of the school and the benefits three students find not just in the educational structure of the institution but in the emotional structure provided with friends and growing self-confidence.  That stands in stark contrast to life for the three after they leave the school when the truth comes to light and it’s difficult to see spirits break before your eyes.  However, Chen’s project has full follow-through in its short running time and is the rare documentary that feels rounded off even if the story isn’t yet finished. 

The God Committee
More entertaining than anything about it (trailer, poster, cast) currently suggests, THE GOD COMMITTEE was one of the last movies I watched at the #TribecaFilmFestival and almost felt like a fine transition piece back into the mainstream film world after a week of off-the-wall shorts and indie features that were attempting something different.  This one is pure entertainment and works quite well, despite some late-breaking moroseness which betrays its strikingly cold exterior it displayed for the majority of its run time.  Kelsey Grammar plays a duddiest of fuddy duddy doctors in a NYC hospital that’s part of a group who decides the order in which patients get organ transplants.  When a heart becomes available, it comes down to three candidates, each with their pros and cons.  Deciding with Grammar are fellow doctors Julia Stiles, who manages to be convincing as a physician but struggles with the deeper layers the role requires later on, and Janeanne Garofalo.  The real reason to see this movie is Garofalo who never got the credit for being the good actress she is…and she’s great as a possibly compromised doctor, bringing nuance to the character in subtle ways.  Taking place in two different time periods, director Austin Stark handles the jumps well and while its aspirations gets the better of it in the end, THE GOD COMMITTEE held my attention based on more than just the performances.

False Positive  
Going by surface dynamics, you’d be forgiven if you saw FALSE POSITIVE as a modern-day Rosemary’s Baby, though it does have a little of that sinister ‘60s classic paranoia going for it.  However, in the hands of star Ilana Glazer and co-writer/director John Lee the film takes a modern and decidedly take-no-prisoners feminist satirical spin on that old gaslighting trope that finds a sensible woman betrayed by a number of people she is meant to trust.  Glazer’s Lucy is trying to get pregnant with her older husband while building her career and when she finds success with both, juggling the two becomes an issue when the pregnancy tosses several curveballs her way.  As her doctor that might be more malevolent than miraculous, Pierce Brosnan savors each line as if he’s eating his last meal and it was particularly nice to see Gretchen Mol show up as Brosnan’s head nurse that’s scarily devoted to her boss.  Glazer and Lee populate the film with hugely awkward interactions between Lucy and a number of men who think they’re being “woke” but come off sleazier than ever…and just try not looking away from the screen when Brosnan goes about his preparation for an examination. (Insert total body shuddering sound here.)  Eventually, the film gives way to its lesser impulses and ditches the clever fun for bloody business but it’s an incredibly welcome entry in a musty genre that needed a polish.  It’s available now on Hulu.

We Need to Do Something
A rare stumble for a number of otherwise reliable players, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING is nothing to get that excited about, despite a frighteningly relatable array of terrible happenings to one Midwestern family congregated in their tacky bathroom as they weather a heckuva bad storm.  Initially, it seems like it will be a family vs. nature run wild sort of deal, with thunder and lightning giving way to crashing trees that prevent an already high-strung foursome from leaving an increasingly bad situation.  Sadly, it becomes a “who can be the most awful to one another” bit of ghoulish no-fun, almost frustratingly so.  The filmmakers throw a few effective sequences into the mix (snakes in enclosed spaces = gold) but rely far too much on human ugliness for the real horror.  Performances range from quite good (Loved Vinessa Shaw as the matriarch and Sierra McCormick as the angsty daughter with several secrets she’s sitting on) to whatever Pat Healy is doing. Director Sean King O’Grady is far more successful in flashback scenes taking place outside of the privy prison…so I’d be interested to see what they could do with a project that allows for more expansion.

GraceLand
This is a home of major Anna Camp and Elvis fans so I have to thank the makers of GRACELAND, a friendly and easy-going short, that gave me ample doses of both.  While this 14-minute reel of a girl who thinks she’s the reincarnation of The King feels more like the beginning idea of a longer narrative feature, there’s clearly something to play with should Bonnie Discepolo want to open this up a bit and flesh out a few more of the themes introduced.  As a viewer just dropped into the lives of Grace and her family, we don’t get much time to know anyone or much of their history before we’re asked to care about the tricky emotional peaks they need to climb.  I’ve a feeling there’s more to come with these characters and it’s a role Anna Camp would be an inspired choice to stay with.  Wisely written and played with some incredulity at the situation but never intentionally inflicting judgement, Camp previews just a little of her own character’s insecurities during the film and that’s worth exploring further.      

With/In, Volumes I and II
Two volumes of short films written and made by celebrities tasked with capturing life during the pandemic could have been such a bunch of pretentious baloney and let me tell you, I was 100% prepared for WITH/IN VOL I and VOL II to be booooooooring.  I mean, really.  All these stars.  Something had to fly off the rails.  What a surprise to find that both volumes, even with the occasional passage that’s marginal at worst, is quite a delightful mix of thoughts and ideas cleverly brought to the screen with creativity.  Championed by the likes of Trudie Styler (who appears in one segment), the anthology is broken up oddly into two inequitable halves with strong chapters found in both.  I particularly liked Bart Freundlich directing his wife Julianne Moore in a piece that feels excised from a movie both would be interested in making when their schedules allow…and please please please bring @taliabalsam along when you do! Rosie Perez directs herself and friend Justina Machado in a funny and ultimately moving look at how the emotions our friends have seen via FaceTime over the last year might not be what we’re really feeling inside. While it goes silly in the end, Julianne Nicholson’s entire family gets in on the action with a often riotously funny examination of how a peaceful day with your family can upend itself quickly.  Even Gina Gershon’s completely random closer is totally unique and authentically her, sidestepping affectation in favor of approaching the material differently.  Both volumes are worth watching and while you’ll need to see Vol I for Moore, Vol II gets you more bang for your buck.

Shapeless
Earlier this year, The Father took us inside the mind of a man slowly careening downhill suffering from brain disease and Anthony Hopkins wound up with an Oscar for it.  Now along comes SHAPELESS, which makes a similar play in exposing the inner demons associated with eating disorder and having the guts to go all the way. All. The. Way. Co-written by star Kelly Murtagh, giving the kind of bravura strenuously physical performance you wind up watching through hands covering your eyes, Shapeless uses body horror to jerk you to attention but derives its biggest shocks for pain found in grounded reality. Watching hopeful singer Ivy slide into a black pit of her own making could be exhausting, but don’t look to director Samantha Aldana to cut viewers much slack.  As Ivy’s obsession with her consumption intertwines with her music, she begins to transform in ways that are slight at first, shocking in conclusion.  The film’s got some amazing, haunting visuals (ooo-wee, some of those last moments are splendid!) but learners looking for outright horror are best directed elsewhere — this is strictly a horror horse of a different color.  Kudos to Murtaugh for exposing some raw nerves and also for her alluring vocals throughout.

The Beta Test
It’s hard to talk at all about the newest film from writer/director Jim Cummings without giving too much away so let me just say this: THE BETA TEST serves as both a cautionary tale of manhood run amok & a cinematic facial peel for wheelers and dealers in Hollywood. While the previous films from Cummings have enjoyed some under the radar cult status and grown in popularity with some grassroots word-of-mouth PR, I’d expect IFC to get this one out in front of people in a unique way. It’s a thriller for those that like something more intelligent and satirical than lowbrow and ordinary. Cummings is excellent as is the other players assembled, especially Virginia Newcomb as his hapless fiancée that has her eyes opened just a fraction of a second too late.

See for Me
The first movie I saw at Tribeca, I think I got a little swept away in my admiration for SEE FOR ME because the more I think about it the less I am solid in my praise for it. Not that it isn’t worth a recommendation because I love a home invasion thriller as much as the next person. And star Skyler Davenport takes what could have been a stalwart character that refuses to be a victim and gives her a tricky moral compass that you don’t often see in these films. As a blind athlete using a new app to help “see” around a house they are cat-sitting, Davenport makes a fine pair with Jessica Parker Kennedy as the eyes on the other side of the screen. This becomes a sneaky little B & E thriller with a mid-point twist that doesn’t just make the film more interesting, but the characters as well. Director Randall Okita manages some taut pacing, and the score is right on target score. Never underestimate the power of a good baseline! It may show some large holes in the light of day but that first viewing was pleasant enough for me to have been amped about the rest of the festival offerings.

Blind Ambition
Went into the spirited documentary BLIND AMBITION fully expecting it to be a narrative feature and after seeing it, I’m just waiting for the announcement that it is Hollywood bound.  The story of four Zimbabwe immigrants living in South Africa that enter The World Wine Blind Tasting Championships, becoming the first team from their country to do so, is perfect fodder to get a dramatization from a big studio and I spent much of the film casting it with stars who would likely play the colorful characters featured in Warwick Ross and Rob Coe’s doc.  Though fairly mannered in terms of documentary beats (you can see every roadblock, stumble, phoenix rise, etc. coming from several vineyards ahead) Ross and Coe suck you in early on by introducing you not just to the men that make up the Zimbabwe team but to their families in South Africa and back in their homeland.  Ross and Coe even manage to find a quasi-villain of the piece, the men’s rotund, past his prime, and mostly deaf French coach, and make him a wee bit lovable.  It needs a change in title ASAP but otherwise this is audience-pleasing ready for release.

Dating & New York
The rom-com gets a millennial overhaul in DATING & NEW YORK, a charming as all get out bit of whimsy set in the “city than never sleeps but sleeps around a lot” and featuring a trio of winning performances from Jaboukie Young-White, Francesca Reale, and Brian Muller and one outright barnburner.  That would be the riotous Catherine Cohen playing the “best friend” character but taken to a different level with the right mix of acerbic wit and honest worldly wisdom.  Director Jonah Feingold could turn the volume down on that score (the city never sleeps because it needs earplugs) and opt for less straight-forward shooting at times, but of all the Ephron-esque attempts to examine friendships with benefits in recent memory this one gets closest to the bullseye.  Those smart folks over at IFC just snapped this one up so keep an eye out for its release in the near future. 

Liza Anonymous
The theater nerd in me is what instantly attracted me to a short like LIZA ANONYMOUS.  Shows like Dead to Me have explored how imposters can infiltrate a recovery or support group but @aubreysmyth’s likable small bite short takes it a step deeper, but thankfully not darker. In fact, it could have been easy for this one to slide into a grody place as we follow Liza (Danielle Beckmann) through her attendance at weekly meetings for addicts and the varying personalities she takes on while there.  When she’s caught, it initially exposes truth comically but then dovetails into a sweet message of forgiveness and acceptance of self…which is often the same end result of the sessions Liza fakes her way into.

P.S. Burn This Letter Please
Now available on Discovery Plus and screening at this year’s festival, P.S. Burn This Letter Please is a striking documentary about the lives of a group of gay men in 1950s New York City.  The letters found in the storage unit of a late Hollywood agent provide the entry point for directors Michael Seligman and Jennifer Tiexiera to bring the audience into the underground drag scene of that era. A far more dangerous time to live for the LGBTQ+ community, through interviews with people that lived it or knew people that died for it, the wealth of information is top-notch.  However, it gets repetitive and at 105 minutes the doc begins to feel long after some time.  Essentially, it becomes the same story over and over again (which is sort of life, right?) and while I feel the doc could use some trimming, it’s hard to lose the interviews with the men that survived the onslaught of AIDS in the 80s and watched their friends and loved ones die.  Worth a watch, but be prepared to feel the squirm around the 75-minute mark.

All My Friends Hate Me
Poor Pete, he’s having a terrible birthday weekend in All My Friends Hate Me by the time he starts getting chased through the woods by an axe-wielding psychopath.  Oh, I’ve started my capsule review too far into this cheeky UK comedy with a dash of horror thrown in on top of some thrills.  Don’t worry, I didn’t give away too much of director Andrew Gaynord’s unpredictable yarn and I definitely didn’t reveal why Pete would be running away from his birthday party in the first place.  After all, a stay at a luxe mansion owned by the parents of his college friend for his celebration sounds like the perfect getaway…until a last-minute addition to the guest list changes the group dynamic for the worse.  Co-writer and star Tom Stourton nicely threads the needle of his performance in a way that has us tossing Pete our pity one moment and pretending we don’t know him the next.  The script keeps changing direction so much that it’s next to impossible to nail it down, much less figure out quite where it’s headed, until it reveals its endgame.  Quirky, maddening (in a good way), and increasingly ominous with a sufficient payout for your time, this is one to keep an eye on.

The Novice
Isabelle Fuhrman’s performance in 2009’s very underrated horror film Orphan still is sort of burnt onto my brain, so I didn’t need a lot of encouragement to buy that her character in THE NOVICE, a college freshman that joins the school rowing team, is a little, er, dark.  A sport not greatly captured on film, director Lauren Hadaway shows how rowing crew demands both physical and mental alacrity and only those operating at the top of their game will move ahead.  Used to being the best and punishing herself physically for anything less, Alex (Fuhrman) leaps headfirst into crew with the intent on moving to the elite varsity squad as quickly as possible.  In competition with her former novice friend, Alex tunes out all other aspects of her life and own physicality in her focus on winning.  Despite obvious comparisons to Black Swan and Whiplash (both of which are favorable and true), Hadaway’s The Novice is visually rich in the storytelling department with razor sharp editing (from Hadaway) and has Furhman turning in a devastatingly haunting performance.  It’s the type of superior work in indie cinema that should be hand delivered to awards voters over the next six months to ensure they see it, remember it, recognize it.

If you’re like me, you’ve simply read about the Tribeca Film Festival from year to year and thought “one day, I’ll go” but the logistics of scheduling yourself for the length of the festival is quite the commitment.  Luckily, the organizers of the fest have found a way to bring Tribeca out of Lower Manhattan out to the communities around the country by introducing Tribeca at Home.  While you may be missing the fun atmosphere that comes with attending a film festival and being in the room when a movie screens for the first time, you can be one of the first audiences to see a title before it’s released or finds a distributor.  Hey, I’ve been to film festivals and seen very good films that haven NEVER come out in the U.S. so…you might get lucky and see a hidden gem that stays hidden!

The final category to examine is brand new this year: Tribeca at Home.  Like many film fests did this year, Tribeca will stream a number of films through their portal so audiences can watch the movies on their computer or compatible devices on their television.  (Side note: buy a Roku, they have every app for every service you could want…screening life is so much easier now!)

Let’s take a look the films I am going to make some time for over the next few weeks.  Surprisingly, we’ll start with several shorts that aren’t part of the other group but do show up in the online-only option.

Face it, over the next several years the pandemic is going to play a key role in a heaping helping of documentaries, plays, TV shows, movies, and, yes, shorts.  In Jamieson Baker’s Almost a Year, we watch the lives of three New Yorkers over time and witness how they can change with little notice.  This one is produced by Katie Holmes, which is a key reason I have this on my list.  Famous names also attracted me to David, directed and written by Zach Woods and starring Will Ferrell.  The plot doesn’t say much but with a comedian creating the short and Ferrell as the star, it’s not one you can easily skip.  Rounding a sharp turn of tone is Last Meal, from writer/director Daniel Principe, a documentary about the final meals of death row inmates.  Likely one that will be hard to watch, it’s another subject that feels like it could be of some importance later in the year and I’m interested to see how Principe captures this important event. It took 10 years for Caleb Slain’s surreal musical Enough, to make it to the screen and after all that time I’m intrigued to see how it all comes together. There’s a good chance that Agazi Desta’s Waves, could be a sleeper hit if my gut is leading me in the right direction.  A Black, deaf teen heads to the barber shop before prom night but gets paired with the wrong barber – sounds excellent.

Digging deeper into the at-home offerings, viewers have a wide range of selections at their fingertips.  From biopics to road-trip comedies to horror to documentaries – even if you wanted to try out just one film, I know you’ll be able to find one title that will spike your curiosity.

For instance, I’m not all that familiar with the Britpop sounds of the 90’s so Nick Moran’s Creation Stories might not be first on my list, but the appealing cast and nostalgia for the era have absolutely moved this one into a high position on my “to see” list.  As someone that toured through the Midwest with one other person doing a children’s show, Nicole Rodenburg’s Glob Lessons which follows pretty much the same plot is an absolute must in my book.  I also felt an instant attraction to a film like Peace by Chocolate, with its idyllic (or maybe is it familiar) sounding story of a son of Syrian immigrants being torn between honoring his family and following his own dreams. The pandemic theme rears up again in the road trip dramedy No Plan A, directed by Linda G. Mills, and Venus as a Boy, written and directed by Ty Hodges could be a refreshing take on the California/New York mismatched lovers storyline we’ve seen a million times over.

It’s a good thing these next five titles are available in your home because I’m not sure I’d want to be watching them in a dark theater and then have to drive home to a dark house.  Featuring a blind former Olympic hopeful trapped in a secluded house with a trio of criminals and only a third-party app to help her “see” the danger, Randall Okita’s See For Me, looks freaky as all get-out and if this doesn’t land at IFC Midnight I’ll be shocked.  Speaking of IFCMidnight, they’re already represented here with Settlers, directed and written by Wyatt Rockefeller, and set on Mars.  Like every film set on Mars…something terrible happens.  Horror loves a good scary nun film so now we have Agnes to keep us up at night. Directed by Mickey Reece, it concerns two priests who arrive at a convent to determine if one of the nuns is indeed possessed by a cruel demon and finding that it’s another nun they need to worry about instead. If you’re going to take a chance on something, I’d suggest thinking about Delmar Washington’s No Running, which has the makings of a paranoid thriller with supernatural elements to it.  There’s a little bit of a Get Out vibe with a M. Night Shyamalan essence to it. I’m also curious about Asking For It, written and directed by Eamon O’Rourke. Featuring names like Kiersey Clemons, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, Ezra Miller, Radha Mitchell, Gabourey Sidibe, and Luke Hemsworth and with a plot centered on revenge and frat boy comeuppance, it could be a sly winner.

Right now, I’m only tracking two documentaries in this at-home space but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do your own investigation to see if there are others that fit into your tastes better.  As an out and proud MN, I know my RuPaul’s Drag Race stars and of course had a “I remember her when” moment when Bebe Zahara Benet won the first season of the show in 2009.  Now, Emily Branham’s Being BeBe, charts the drag queen’s journey from being the first winner when the show was still finding its feet to now when life has forced certain concessions to be made.  I’m also looking forward to learning more about Will Vinton, the “Father of Claymation” in ClayDream, directed and written by Marq Evans. 

So many movies – never enough time to see them all but hopefully over the last three posts you’ve gotten a good taste of what Tribeca has to offer.  Look these titles up, buy your tickets, support this programming because this is a well balanced and diverse line-up.  Keep checking back here for my reviews – I’ll be posting them shortly after the films have premiered officially in person or virtually.