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2 weeks ago | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
“Warfare” is a panoply of uncomfortable silences and deafening disruptions. The new combat film, set during the Iraq War, nails the disorienting fog one feels when a situation spirals beyond our control with unpredictable haste, and how, in the midst of escalating violence, those who find themselves in the same boat as you hold the key to finding your center.
Carnage, brotherhood, despair and the quest for order amid chaos.
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3 weeks ago | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
Day 1 of the 42nd Miami Film Festival is in the rearview mirror, and in many ways it was a stroll down memory lane. For the first time in many a moon, the annual Magic City showcase of the moving image held a gala screening at the iconic Olympia Theater on Flagler Street, where many of us experienced the event in full back in the festival's heyday.
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1 month ago | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
It's only March, but we've already had two movies by Steven Soderbergh released in theaters, two months apart.
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1 month ago | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
The dust has settled on a chaotic and tumultuous awards season, and not a moment too soon. Oscar night came and went with few surprises and no major shakeups. Me? Almost all of my 2024 favorites were shut out, so I didn't bother taking the night off work and opted to catch the pleasantly retro yet rather stale ceremony after the fact.
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Dec 12, 2024 | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
“The following is intended for mature audiences.” So goes the advisory before several TV shows you may have caught late at night on cable in the not-too-distant past. The words, not far removed from the more discreet rating explanations seen at the start of streaming series, filled up the screen and were typically uttered by a stern, male voiceover pro. They primed viewers for a generous helping of profanity, violent action, perhaps some gory mayhem.
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Oct 30, 2024 | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
Call it trickle-down cinematics. Highly anticipated awards season titles are finally coming our way after making the rounds at film festivals across the globe. The hype machine is running at full speed, and the most deafening buzz is currently revolving around two big winners at Cannes back in May.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
Ruben Rosario, Film CriticCall it the triangle of desire. Three films showing this weekend as part of OUTshine Film Festival's fall edition feature good-looking, predominantly younger men navigating dangerous paths that may or may not end up in romantic fulfillment. They may find the lines dividing labels like “friend,” “lover,” “employer,” “flatmate” or “boyfriend” beginning to blur before their eyes.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
An LGBT+ film festival would not be complete without the ubiquitous chestnut that is the coming-of-age/coming-out movie, and OUTshine, which kicked off its fall edition north of the county line on Thursday, is no exception.
Young people discovering they're queer, and coming to terms with it, appears to be a popular trend in this fall's lineup, which is unspooling in Broward County before wrapping up next weekend in Miami.
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Oct 9, 2024 | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
Playing it safe is so 2023. The past several weeks have seen the release of a handful of movies that refuse to play by the rules. This trio of works from well-known directors boast bold concepts, starry ensemble casts and enviable film festival slots. But as they make their way to your local multiplex, these polarizing pictures show that oversized ambition and retro appeal don't automatically translate into glowing word of mouth or profitable results at the box office.
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Oct 3, 2024 | 
miamiartzine.com | Ruben Rosario
Take the plunge already. You've run out of excuses, plus you've already heard how good it makes you feel, and not just from me. Okay, mostly from me.
This tough-love nudge could easily be applied to Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring, the appealing lovebirds at the center of the hit Netflix series “Heartstopper,” in response to the trepidation both characters feel about taking their relationship to the next level.
