The Orange Child – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
The evolution of self-image is explored as a Black child growing up in France finds a way to be empowered by his Blackness.
Films that either received a limited release or are released digitally, but not as part of a major streaming distributor.
Indie
Films that either received a limited release or are released digitally, but not as part of a major streaming distributor.
Queen Bees (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Queen Bees is a reminder that no matter how old you get, you can still find love, new friends, and can’t escape cliques.
Cherry Lemonade (2021 Tribeca Film Festival) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
After a certain point, you get tired of having to ask someone to take you to the store, so a young girl decides it is time to go on her own.
Waves (2021 – Tribeca Film Festival) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
With the opportunity to go to prom, a young man wants to look nice, but with an afro and a desire for waves, he can’t just go anywhere, so to an unfamiliar barbershop he goes.
Carnaval (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Despite seeming like a generic party film/ girls trip, there is more to Carnaval than meets the eye.
Port Authortiy (2021) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
In the heart of New York, a Pittsburgh transplant hopes to start a new life living with his half-sister, but when that doesn’t come to pass, he develops a chosen family.
Two Distant Strangers – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
In this 30-minute horror story, a young man is caught in the loop of a cop killing him in a multitude of ways.
The Vault (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
The Vault may not be competitive in the heist genre, but It does work as something to watch when nothing else is new or on.
Come True (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Come True is one of those polarizing art house films that have this special something about it, but it can easily be lost if you get distracted.
Little Fish (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Little Fish will leave you wondering why all the best romances are constricted by tragedy.
Bambirak – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Who of us didn’t want to spend more time with our parents, specifically see what they did when we weren’t around? That’s what Kati gets to do in Bambirak.
White Wedding (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
An absent father finds himself working the wedding of the daughter he never got to know.
Bruiser (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
When your father is the epitome of masculinity, what does it say about you if you aren’t a spitting image of that?
Judas And The Black Messiah (2021) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
Like nearly every well-crafted film about Black oppression in America, Judas and the Messiah will enrage you, tire you out, and make you hope J. Edgar Hoover and his enablers, rot in hell.
BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop (2021) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
The 16 minutes of Jason Park’s BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop will leave you demanding a full-length feature film, featuring Johnnyboy Tellem before 2021 is over.
Ava From My Class (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Ava From My Class pushes you to wonder where the line between admiration and a crush is for its young lead.
First Date (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
If you thought McG’s The Babysitter series was over the top and crazy, Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp respond with “Challenge accepted” with First Date.
Mayday (2021) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
Mayday touches on the personal war one has within themselves and every single voice or person we see as holding us back – including our own.
Marvelous and the Black Hole – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
Marvelous and the Black Hole, while it can come off as an angsty teenage film, it doesn’t push its lead to move on or get over it but harness that anger into something good.
Passing (2021) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
While the sometimes volatile intimacy between Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson makes Passing interesting, you may not feel it confronts the subject matter as you want.
R#J – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
We’ve all seen some version of Romeo and Juliet, but none of them compare to Carey Williams’ R#J.
Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street is filled with nostalgia and fleshes out your childhood memories with what it took to make you smile and learn.
How It Ends (2021) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
How It Ends combines a drama about reconciliation before the end of the world and all the eccentric people you’d expect to see getting high before everyone dies.
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It somehow feels like a thorough exploration of a nearly 70-year career, yet because it is Rita Moreno, you still want more!
The Criminals – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Many young adults worldwide take advantage of privacy, which isn’t legally available to our two leads. But will they risk getting arrested to get it?
Doublespeak – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
In Doublespeak, you are sorely reminded how Human Resources is more focused on protecting the company’s assets than your dignity or sense of safety.
You Wouldn’t Understand – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Living up to its title a bit, You Wouldn’t Understand presents a story that leaves you wanting to rewatch for you swear you might have missed something.
No Strings – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Perhaps saving the best for last, No Strings delivers a sense of longing that reminds you how much we’re willing to compromise or settle for the sake of company.
If Only You Were Mine – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
The seduction of someone older and more mature meets realizing their maturity doesn’t mean they are ready for you.
Stanley – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
Stanley buries the lead with sex and ends before you feel it gets to the good part.
The Den – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
A man with a secret finds himself in the company of the other person who knows what he lusts for.
White Lie – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
In White Lie, you watch as a con artist desperately tries to maintain their story of having cancer, seemingly by any means necessary.
Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Dr. Bird’s Advice For Sad Poets is draining, beautiful, yet a reminder that there is no instant cure or end to the struggle of making progress. Sometimes just an occasional reprieve.
Gossamer Folds (2020) – Review/Summary (with Spoilers)
Despite its subject matter, there is something surprisingly tame about “Gossamer Folds,” which shows how tolerance and acceptance develops over hate.
Ellie and Abbie (And Ellie’s Dead Aunt) (2020) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
Despite a few painfully awkward moments, “Ellie and Abbie (And Ellie’s Dead Aunt” does ultimately give you what you need from it.
Tahara (2020) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
In what may feel like a prequel to “Shiva Baby,” Rachel Sennott is joined by Madeline Grey DeFreece for another awkward funeral situation.
Dating Amber (2020) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
“Dating Amber,” set in 1995, reminds you how much has changed in 25 years as we follow two Irish teens dealing with being ostracized for their sexuality.
Shiva Baby – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
Dancing on the tightrope between cringe and funny, “Shiva Baby” presents Rachel Sennott as someone on the cusp of mainstream fame.
Fish Head (2020) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
In this quiet drama, a young girl, on the brink of puberty, wonders what the end result might be.