Josh Hornbeck

There are still compelling visuals and some character beats that are moving, but it's all wrapped up in a package that's so chaotic that I found it less compelling than I had hoped. (Watched on the Sundance Festival Screening Portal) 5/5

And there are so many characters and so many plot threads that it becomes hard to invest after we're introduced to the third or fourth thread. 4/

It's a film that never fully commits to its concept, hovering between myth and reality, never fully embracing the magical realism that is baked into the premise. 3/

I really loved so much about the concept and the atmosphere, a queer exploration of mythology, all centered around one city (and one nightclub) as purgatory while characters seek happiness and fulfillment in the afterlife. 2/

2025 Film Viewing Diary: #29

I ended my third day at the Sundance Film Festival with Gala del Sol's RAINS OVER BABEL. This was another film that felt like it would be tailor-made for me, but instead left me more frustrated with the choices it ended up making. 1/

It's a really compelling short. (Watched on the Sundance Festival Screening Portal) 3/3

I really appreciated the repetition and the ever-escalating grotesquerie of the imagery. I also really loved the ending note - maybe there can be some hope to be found in the midst of a world of chaos and darkness. 2/

2025 Film Viewing Diary: #28

Next up in my Sundance shorts was Stephen Irwin's A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR DEATH. I can be hit-or-miss with some of these more abstract, macabre works of animation, but this one ultimately worked for me. 1/

The framing of the food and the family members throughout creates moments of grotesque horror, and the comedy is sharp and pointed. It all does get a bit overwrought and on the nose by the end, but I still found it incredibly poignant. (Watched on the Sundance Festival Screening Portal) 4/4

...the situations Noa encounters are familiar to anyone who has had to navigate a new disability with their loved ones. 3/

Whether it's the awkward gawking, the ignoring of her need for accommodations, the constant pushing of inappropriate (and frankly dangerous) food and treatments, or the pity from well-meaning relatives... 2/

2025 Film Viewing Diary: #27

My next short film at Sundance was Daisy Friedman's UNHOLY. This is such a gut-wrenching and hilarious look at the ways families treat and react and respond to members with newly acquired disabilities. 1/

Conflating the two takes away from both of their legacies. (Watched on the Sundance Festival Viewing Portal) 4/4

The other was a politician who, while I personally admire and appreciate many of the things he did while in office, was not Martin Luther King, Jr. And I think even he would agree with that. 3/

The animation is fun and vibrant. But the conflation of Obama and King is a little troubling - one man was a Civil Rights Leader, a flawed man certainly, but a man who sought specific changes in society. 2/

2025 Film Viewing Diary: #26

My second short at Sundance with Glenn Kaino's HOOPS, HOPES & DREAMS. There's some great history presented here, and I appreciate learning more about both King and Obama's use of basketball as a tool for outreach. 1/

The script is sloppy, even if the actors are wonderful in it. (Watched on the Sundance Festival Viewing Portal) 4/4

...the worldview on display is pretty skewed and shallow. I know it's a short, but we're never given any insight into why we should care whether the protagonist succeeds or fails or what pressures at home might give him insight into changing his position. 3/

But when the point of the film is that the folks making laws that affect people are out of touch with the people, and the illustration of your point is that your average person would be happier to have a job making less rather than to risk losing that job if the minimum wage gets raised... 2/

2025 Film Viewing Diary: #25

My first short film from Sundance this year was Alex Heller's DEBATERS. This is really well-made, wonderfully performed, and slickly directed. 1/

For this month's Patreon-only bonus episode of The Criterion Channel Surfing Podcast, Michael Hutchins and I discussed the upcoming April releases on the Criterion Channel and explored the channel's upcoming sixth anniversary. Enjoy!

www.patreon.com/posts/criter...

I don't doubt that this will remain near the top of my list of favorite films by the end of this year. (Watched on the Sundance Festival Screening Portal) 7/7

This is a film that understands the way that men in power prey on women, but this is also a film that understands the power of kindness from a stranger. 6/

All of the performers are wonderful, and even though this is ostensibly Agnes's story, the film allows for depth and character growth for most of the supporting cast. 5/

The nonlinear structure, with each new segment introduced by a title and chapter heading, replicates the nonlinear ways that our brains process trauma - and provides a cinematic grammar to transpose the film's literary setting onscreen. 4/

It's a film that could have easily dipped into the maudlin or the overwrought, but Victor finds so much warmth and bleak humor in even the most serious of subjects. 3/

It's such a beautifully nuanced and complicated portrait of trauma and its aftermath, of the struggle to move past and heal from "the bad thing," and the ways that small moments and interactions can bring everything back in a rush. 2/

2025 Film Viewing Diary: #24

Next up on my third day at Sundance was Eva Victor's stunning SORRY, BABY. This was such a phenomenal film - so beautifully written, directed, and performed. 1/

It's a film that I started out loving, but by the end, it left me endlessly frustrated by the film's obfuscation and emotional exploitations. (Watched on the Sundance Festival Viewing Portal) 8/8

And the film's final scenes and onscreen text that end the film push the narrative from quiet and understated into emotionally manipulative. 7/