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1 month ago | 
timesofsandiego.com | Megan Bianco
In the grand, modern tradition of Noah Baumbach or Nicole Holofcener, Noah Pritzker’s Ex-Husbands is the latest small-budget character drama centered around contemporary, upper middle class, big city, neurotic, chain-smoking Americans. It’s one of the most niche subgenres in cinema and the one right up my alley. While I didn’t appreciate this as much as Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples (2024), it might still appeal to those who are fans of indie dramedy.
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1 month ago | 
timesofsandiego.com | Megan Bianco
Twenty-seven years after Fernanda Montenegro made Oscar history as the first Brazilian actress nominated for Best Actress with Walter Salles’ Central Station (1998), her own daughter, Fernanda Torres, is now only the second Brazilian actress to receive the same nomination, and for another Salles film, I’m Still Here (2024).
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1 month ago | 
timesofsandiego.com | Megan Bianco
Feminine artificial intelligence is a trope that’s not uncommon in fiction by now, especially in film and on television. Bryan Forbes’ classic sci-fi The Stepford Wives (1975) is a famous example; Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry, Darling (2022) is another recent attempt. Drew Hancock’s new film Companion calls back to these types of films, with shades of Alex Garland’s Ex Machina (2015) and Ari Aster’s Midsommar (2019).
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2 months ago | 
timesofsandiego.com | Megan Bianco
We all know that one person in our lives who can’t help themselves from being loud and rude for seemingly no reason. Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays this exact type in Mike Leigh’s latest film Hard Truths. Jean-Baptiste was sweeping awards season as critic groups’ choice for Best Actress of 2024 until Fernanda Torres took the fifth spot in the category at the Oscars.
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2 months ago | 
smokesignalsnews.com | Megan Bianco
In a post-“Dewey Cox” world where movie viewers recognize—and openly mock—tropes utilized in the average music biopic, how does James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown” exist?
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2 months ago | 
timesofsandiego.com | Megan Bianco
While Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic 3 continue to battle it out at the box office, some sophisticated counterprogramming is available in Robert Eggers’ latest gothic horror feast — an updated adaptation of Nosferatu. A production nearly a decade into making, this new period thriller is proof movies about adults and aimed at adults can indeed succeed in the modern era.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
smokesignalsnews.com | Megan Bianco
Ben Taylor’s new historical drama, “Joy”—not to be confused with David O. Russell’s own biopic with the same title from 2015—is a mildly frustrating watch. Its subject matter is fascinating, the invention of IVF, and it is well cast, yet feels like the film missed the mark. To be honest, I mostly chose this as my review for this week because I didn’t feel like going out to see Disney’s “Moana 2” on top of holiday plans.
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Jan 1, 2025 | 
timesofsandiego.com | Megan Bianco
After watching Christy Hall’s Daddio earlier this year and Halina Reijn’s Babygirl out this month, it’s clear that Hollywood has moved on from #metoo to conventional passion and eroticism in filmmaking. After all the controversy over sexism, sexuality and power imbalances, one would assume female writers and directors would fully embrace the female gaze and make use of the collective step forward in our cultural narrative.
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Dec 24, 2024 | 
timesofsandiego.com | Megan Bianco
Pablo Larraín’s Maria marks the end of the filmmaker’s trilogy focused on tragic historical women. The first two were Jackie (2016), in which First Lady Jackie Kennedy deals with the assassination of her powerful husband, and Spencer (2021) about Princess Diana Spencer-Windsor’s struggle with family and societal pressure. Maria is centered on the last few months of legendary opera singer Maria Callas while she’s isolated in Paris.
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Dec 8, 2024 | 
timesofsandiego.com | Megan Bianco
Considering how enjoyable Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples was a few months ago, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain should have been just as good. This promised to be another indie flick with cringe humor, neurotic characters and a swift runtime. But, surprisingly, it didn’t do anything for me. Maybe it was a case of misplaced expectations, and it was technically fine, but it was just a little irritating.
