4 Reels
David’s Reel Reviews
4 Reels
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Throughout his illustrious career, Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro has been known as an innovator and one of the most beloved filmmakers working today. From his debut film in 1993, Cronos, del Toro has never shied […]
3.5 Reels
Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron is one of this generation’s most innovative filmmakers. Cameron has revolutionized the industry throughout his career with technological advances in both practical and visual effects. Going back to the T-800 in 1984’s The Terminator to […]
3.5 Reels
The Fabelmans
To borrow a term from “The Rewatchables,” Steven Spielberg’s “Apex Mountain” can be seen spread throughout multiple decades. From the creation of the “Summer Blockbuster” with Jaws in the ’70s to one of the most influential sci-fi […]
3.5 Reels
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has divided fans like never before. As a result, what was once the most beloved film franchise property today has become one of the most dissected and divisive […]
3.5 Reels
NYFF60: She Said
Over the past few years, the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal has been a talking point in the film industry. The gathered evidence against the Hollywood titan assisted in kick-starting the #MeToo movement. One that […]
3.5 Reels
MFF22: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Rian Johnson has garnered quite a reputation as one of the best-working directors today. From his breakout film in 2012, Looper, to his entry into a galaxy, far, far away, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the director’s projects have […]
3.5 Reels
MFF22: The Whale
Going into 2022, one of the year’s most anticipated films was one that I was hesitant to embrace fully. The subject matter in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale hits home in multiple facets; however, as a fan of […]
3.5 Reels
NYFF60: EO
I’m guilty of not being a massive fan of films from an animal perspective or those dealing with animals. It’s a crude statement that stems from very simplistic reasoning. Animal cruelty and deaths on screen […]
4 Reels
NYFF60: TÁR
Over the past 16 years, cinephiles have wondered when Todd Field would direct his next film. With his first two films, In The Bedroom and Little Children, Field established himself as one of the finest directors working today. However, […]
3.5 Reels
NYFF60: Bones and All
Luca Guadagnino has had quite an exciting run since 2017. Call Me By Your Name is viewed by many as the best film of 2017 and one I consider pretty good. Unfortunately, after the film’s critical […]
3 Reels
NYFF60: Decision to Leave
South Korean director Park Chan-wook has been recognized as one of the best directors. It’s hard to deny with films such as Thirst, The Handmaiden, and his masterpiece Oldboy. With such an impressive trifecta that solidifies Chan-wook as one […]
3.5 Reels
NYFF60: Aftersun
Since the Cannes Film Festival concluded, one of the most talked about films has been Aftersun, the directorial debut of Charlotte Wells. After its premiere and winning the French Touch Jury Prize at the festival, the film […]
3 Reels
3 Reels
Terrifier 2
2022 has been quite the year for the horror genre. With films like X, Pearl, The Black Phone, Barbarian, Nope, and Hatching entering our cinematic stratosphere, the genre has never felt richer with great movies. Finally, the spooky season […]
3.5 Reels
Clerks III
Following his debut release, Clerks, Kevin Smith became an indy darling and the talk of the industry as a filmmaker to look out for. Since, Smith has crafted a filmography that is either hit or […]
2.5 Reels
Don’t Worry Darling
I’ve always been drawn to a film when an actor steps behind the camera and takes a crack at directing. In 2019, Olivia Wilde became the latest of many to transition to directing with her […]
3.5 Reels
3 Reels
Thor: Love & Thunder
Since the commencement of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’m confident in saying that the bloom is off the rose. The last year and a half of MCU projects have been great as […]
3.5 Reels
Tribeca 2022: The Black Phone
As we enter the mid-point of 2022, the horror genre continues to cement itself as one of the essential genres in cinema. With films such as X, Scream, Hatching, Fresh, and The Sadness, it’s safe to say the genre […]
3 Reels
3 Reels
Tribeca 2022: It Ain’t Over
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival offered an array of documentaries, and one, in particular, blended my passion for both film and sports. As an avid New York Yankees fan for more than 25 years, it’s […]
3 Reels
Father of the Bride
Over the past 72 years, cinephiles have been privy to a few iterations of Father of the Bride. Starting in 1950, Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor starred in the critically and commercially successful film that sparked not […]
3 Reels
Tribeca 2022: Lynch/Oz
Over the past two years, I’ve become incredibly intrigued by the works of Academy Award-nominated director David Lynch. During the COVID-19 pandemic, after years of accepting it as a blind spot in my palette, I […]
3 Reels
Tribeca 2022: Official Competition
There is no medium more significant than the one of cinema. Cinema can move us in fashions; very few mediums can. From hateful rage towards a film we despise to overwhelming praise for a movie […]
3.5 Reels
2.5 Reels
Crimes of the Future
David Cronenberg has one of the most unique resumes of any director of the past six decades. Cronenberg has directed some of the most intriguing crime dramas, Eastern Promises and A History of Violence, but he’s also one of […]
3.5 Reels
4 Reels
Top Gun: Maverick
Legacy sequels have been around for quite some time. Going back to the ’80s, Academy Award winner Martin Scorcese’s The Color of Money brought Eddie “Fast Eddie” Felson (Paul Newman) out of retirement in a sequel […]
3 Reels
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has recently entered the crossroads between over-saturation and re-imagination. Despite its continued dominance over the box office for the better part of 14 years, there has been a growing feeling that […]
3.5 Reels
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage has had quite a career. Nephew to Academy Award winner Francis Ford Coppola, Cage began his career with hits such as Valley Girl, Raising Arizona, Moonstruck, Wild at Heart, culminating with his […]
3.5 Reels
The Northman
Since his debut film, The VVitch, in 2015, Robert Eggers has cemented himself as one of the most intriguing and unique directors working today. With its cerebral pacing and spine tingling finale, Eggers captured cinephiles’ attention and […]
4 Reels
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Every December, cinephiles across the globe prepare a list of their most anticipated films of the upcoming year. With these lists come films that mostly have an already established set of expectations based on the […]
3 Reels
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore
Over the past 20 years, the Wizarding World franchise has established itself as one of today’s most profitable franchises. Through ten films to date, the series has earned over $9 billion at the box office, […]
2 Reels
SXSW 2022: The Prank
Rita Moreno is one of Hollywood’s most beloved actresses. Throughout her career, the Academy Award winner has assembled quite the resume. 2021 was quite the year for the actress, with a documentary chronicling her life […]
3 Reels
SXSW 2022: The Lost City
As a 35-year-old, it’s hard to remember a time when action romantic comedy was not a part of my cinematic zeitgeist. Unfortunately, despite the popularity of this sub-genre, in 2022, it becomes pretty tricky for […]
4 Reels
SXSW 2022: X
I have unabashedly touted my love for horror and slashers over the years. Whether it be the brilliance of John Carpenter films to the B-level horror classics of the ’70s and ’80s to the most […]
3.5 Reels
Turning Red
When it comes to a Disney/Pixar collaboration, the question is never if the film will be good, but how good is it. With the studio’s release of Turning Red this week, Disney/Pixar lives up to that reputation […]
4 Reels
The Batman
Every so often, there comes an entity that transcends the pop-culture conversation and becomes an icon to all. Bill Finger and BoB Kane’s contribution to that sentiment was created in May 1939 as Detective Comics […]
2 Reels
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Despite the iconic reputation the character of Leatherface has garnered over the past six decades, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has remained an inconsistent and mishandled franchise in the horror genre. Since the Tobe Hooper horror masterpiece was […]
3 Reels
3 Reels
Sundance 2022: Emily the Criminal
Over the past few years, Aubrey Plaza has become one of the most unique actresses working today. Plaza has consistently challenged herself with interesting and against-type roles, including her previous film at the Sundance Film […]
3 Reels
Sundance 2022: jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy
Kanye West is considered by many as one of the greatest innovators in the rap game. The producer-rapper has produced some of the biggest hits of the past 30 years and released some of the […]
3 Reels
Pam & Tommy
Before the days of social media and the world wide web, Baywatch and Playboy icon Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee broke news circuits with the most popular VHS tape of the 1990s. That […]
3 Reels
Sundance 2022: Navalny
As the Sundance Film Festival neared its end, I was ready to put a check on top of my screening list. I just needed to watch a few more award winners before I did. One, […]
3.5 Reels
Sundance 2022: Cha Cha Real Smooth
Every year the Sundance Film Festival has that one film that stands out as the ultimate crowd-pleaser of the festival. Last year, it was Coda. I was pretty excited to see what film, or if there […]
3 Reels
Sundance 2022: 892
892 not only gives us a career-best performance by John Boyega but a film that examines the moral compass of right and wrong. […]
3 Reels
Sundance 2022: Dual
Despite its uneventful finale, Dual is a film that, once discovered, will undoubtedly create a discourse for fan theories and conversations about the true meaning of Stearns’ film. […]
3.5 Reels
Sundance 2022: Fresh
Full of earned twists and turns, Fresh may be one of the best narrative features at Sundance this year. […]
3.5 Reels
Sundance 2022: Resurrection
There is no denying that Rebecca Hall is on fire. Hall had her directorial debut at last year’s Sundance Film Festival with Passing and gave one of the most underrated performances of 2021 in The Night […]