'Entanglement' (2017) Movie Review

Ben (Silicon Valley and Verizon commercial star Thomas Middleditch) is depressed. In fact, Jason James’ dark comedy Entanglement begins with montage of failed suicide attempts. Fortunately, Ben’s too inept to die—he tries to gas himself with an exhaust pipe, but a kid steals his car; he takes a bath with a toaster, but forgets to plug it in; when he succeeds in slitting his wrists, he gets up to answer the front door.

'Infinity Baby' (2017) Movie Review

It’s easy to look at director Bob Byington’s Infinity Baby as a prototypical “film festival” movie. Shot in black and white, featuring a who’s who of indie movie staples, at times it’s unbearably twee, rides a quirky concept to the point of distraction, and is far more in love with its own wit than it should be—Onur Tukel’s script isn’t nearly as clever as it thinks it is. That’s not to say there aren’t merits, because there are, but much of the first half borders on insufferable.

'Dirtbag: The Legend Of Fred Beckey' (2017) Movie Review

Fred Beckey is something of a myth, a celebrated “dirtbag”—think a vagabond ski bum for the mountaineering set—who sacrifices everything to climbing. Normal people don’t know his name, but the hardcore speak of him with reverence and awe. It’s difficult to live up to such hype, but when we meet the man himself in Dave O’Leske’s documentary, Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey, he more than lives up to the billing.

'Wind River' (2017) Movie Review

Taylor Sheridan won acclaim for writing recent crime dramas Sicario and Hell or High Water, which afforded him the chance to direct his own script, Wind River. Beginning with the murder of a young woman on an isolated Wyoming Indian reservation, the story follows Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a tracker grieving his own loss, as he helps Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), a newbie FBI agent, stalk the killer. As he says early on, he “hunts predators.”

'Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World' (2017) Movie Review

Catherine Bainbridge’s documentary, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, uncovers the oft-ignored and overlooked contributions of Native Americans to the history of popular music. (Hint: It goes way deeper than the dude in the headdress from the Village People.)

'Landline' (2017) Movie Review

Director Gillian Robespierre rvteams with Jenny Slate, star of her debut feature Obvious Child, for her follow up, Landline. Likeable and fun, though less inclined to stick to the ribs, the story follows two mid-1990s sisters, Dana and Ali (Slate and Abby Quinn), who discover their father (John Turturro) is cheating on their mother (Edie Falco).

'A Ghost Story' (2017) Movie Review

It’s like Casey Affleck won an Oscar for Manchester by the Sea and decided, “You know what? Acting is hard. For my next movie I’m just going to wear a motherfucking sheet, stand there, and call it good.” And then he did, and that movie is David Lowery’s A Ghost Story.

'City Of Ghosts' (2017) Movie Review

Timely, pressing, important. Oscar-nominated director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land) returns with City of Ghosts, one of the tautest, most gripping documentaries in years. The film barely lets you breathe as it delves into the reality, tragedy, and cost of those fighting ISIS in Syria.

SIFF 2017: 'The Feels' (2017) Movie Review

Jenee LaMarque’s The Feels starts out looking like it’s going to be a lesbian version of Bridesmaids or The Hangover. Like those films, it’s bursting with raunchy humor, heavily improvised, and set during a bachelorette weekend. There’s booze and drugs and all manner of pre-getting-hitched shenanigans. But it’s also sweet and earnest and I got misty at places I legit didn’t expect. And all of this from one of the few (maybe only?) movies primarily about the female orgasm.

Top 10 Films Of SIFF 2017

Another Seattle International Film Festival has come and gone. That means I spent the bulk of the last six weeks (preview screenings start well before the 25-day festival gets rolling proper) working full time at my day job then spending every available free moment in a movie theater, waiting in line outside a movie theater, or at a computer writing about what I watched inside a movie theater (or, to be honest, sitting on my couch as there are more and more screeners every year).

SIFF 2017: 'Jungle Trap' (2016) Movie Review

So some of you, like me, are way into long-lost, shot-on-video oddities that spring forth from the minds of lunatics. You know who you are and you know what I’m talking about and if you don’t, you probably don’t need to read any further, because the movie we’re about to discuss, Jungle Trap, isn’t for you.

SIFF 2017: 'The Landing' (2017) Movie Review

For a space mission that never happened, Apollo 18 has a unique place in pop culture. It’s been the name of a record, a videogame, an indie rock band, and less-than-stellar found footage horror movie. Now it’s the subject of faux-documentary, The Landing, which screens at the Seattle International Film Festival.

SIFF 2017: 'At The End Of The Tunnel' (2016) Movie Review

Like Hitchcock with a nasty streak, Argentinian director Rodrigo Grande crafts a tight, vicious crime thriller with At the End of the Tunnel. With a twisting, turning, rigidly constructed plot that shifts and evolves over the course of the movie, this is a dark, tension-heavy throwback of the kind we see woefully few of in modern times.

SIFF 2017: 'Landline' (2017) Capsule Review

Gillian Robespierre reteams with Jenny Slate, star of her debut feature Obvious Child, for her follow up, Landline. Likeable and fun, though less inclined to stick to the ribs, the story follows two mid-1990s sisters (Slate and Abby Quinn) who discover their father (John Turturro) is cheating on their mother (Edie Falco as good as she’s ever been).

SIFF 2017: 'Wind River' (2017) Capsule Review

Taylor Sheridan won acclaim for writing recent crime dramas Sicario and Hell or High Water, which afforded him the chance to direct his own script, Wind River. Beginning with a murder of a young woman on an isolated Indian reservation, the story follows a tracker (Jeremy Renner), grieving his own loss, as he helps a newbie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen), stalk the killer. As he says, he “hunts predators.”

SIFF 2017: 'Dirtbag: The Legend Of Fred Beckey' (2017) Movie Review

Fred Beckey is something of a myth, a legendary “dirtbag”—think a vagabond ski bum for the mountaineering set—who sacrifices everything to climbing. Normal people don’t know his name, but the hardcore speak of him with reverence and awe. It’s difficult to live up to such hype, but when we meet the man himself in Dave O’Leske’s documentary, Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey, he more than lives up to the billing.

SIFF 2017: 'Infinity Baby' (2017) Movie Review

It’s easy to look at director Bob Byington’s Infinity Baby as a prototypical “film festival” movie. Shot in black and white, featuring a who’s who of indie movie staples, it’s at times unbearably twee, rides a quirky concept to the point of distraction, and is far more in love with its own wit than it should be—Onur Tukel’s script isn’t nearly as clever as it thinks it is. That’s not to say there aren’t merits, because there are, but much of the first half borders on insufferable.

SIFF 2017: 'Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World' (2017) Capsule Review

Catherine Bainbridge’s documentary, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, examines the oft-ignored and overlooked contributions of Native Americans to the history of popular music. (Hint: It goes way deeper than the dude in the headdress from the Village People.) 

SIFF 2017: 'Endless Poetry' (2016) Movie Review

At 88-years-old, Alejandro Jodorowsky remains the reigning godfather of Avant Garde, surrealist cinema. So it’s no surprise that the Chilean director’s latest, the highly autobiographical Endless Poetry, is gorgeous, challenging, and weird as all hell.

SIFF 2017: 'Small Town Killers' (2017) Movie Review

You ever get drunk, order a bunch of shit online, and be totally surprised when it arrives? What do you do when the unwanted package shows up on your doorstep? That’s what happens to sex-obsessed blue-collar BFFs Edward (Ulrich Thomsen) and Ib (the perfectly named Nicolas Bro) in Danish director Ole Bornedal’s black comedy Small Town Killers. Only instead of a box of movies or a questionable clothing item like a man-romper, they order a Russian hitman to kill their wives.