“Chestnut” (Utopia), possibly named for the street in Philadelphia’s ritzy Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, is the feature-length debut by writer/director Jac Cron. Like a queer version of mumblecore – call it mumblequeer – “Chestnut” is about the last days recent college grad Annie (Natalia Dyer of “Stranger Things” fame) spends in Philly before leaving for L.A. and her first post-grad job.
In the same way that Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson’s 2003 movie adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist novel “Let The Right One In,” wasn’t your average vampire movie, Thea Hvistendahl’s “Handling the Undead” (Neon), also based on a Lindqvist book, isn’t your run-of-the-mill zombie flick.
Corey Sherman’s feature-length directorial debut, “Big Boys” (Dark Star Pictures), is like Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow” in that it is a raw and visceral depiction of being a teenaged outsider. The difference is that there is no pretension here, and the subject matter is handled with a grace and sensitivity noticeably absent in Schoenbrun’s work.
If you are among the throngs chomping at the bit to see queer actor Ilana Glazer (of “Broad City” fame) in a movie lead role, the wait is over. In “Babes” (Neon), directed by Pamela Adlon, and co-written by Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, Glazer plays self-absorbed and misinformed Eden who unexpectedly finds herself pregnant after a one-night stand.
Lesbian visibility week (it really should be at least a month, don’t you think?) may be over, but there’s another unsung lesbian hero who deserves your attention – the late Chelly Wilson. If you loved Rachel Mason 2019 doc “Circus of Books,” then Valerie Kontakos’s “Queen of the Deuce” (Greenwich Entertainment) will be right up your alley.
Trans filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun hit it big in 2022 with their low-budget psychological horror movie debut, “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.” It was a movie that wore its demographic-specific exclusivity like a badge of honor. In other words, if you weren’t into role-playing games, you might find yourself shivering out in the cold.
Although it isn’t being promoted as such, “Queen of Knives” (Freestyle Digital Media/Pope 3), now available on VOD platforms and DVD, is a sequel to 2020’s “King of Knives.”
One way of looking at the new action/romance movie “The Fall Guy” (Universal) is that you don’t need to have seen a single episode of the 1980s TV series of the same name, starring Lee Majors, to enjoy this big screen adaptation. True, the movie’s main character does share the name Colt Seavers with the protagonist in the series, but that’s more of a reference point than anything.
Writer/director Minhal Baig’s third feature film “We Grown Now” (Sony Pictures Classics) officially announces her arrival as an important filmmaker. While it’s a much smaller film than say “Moonlight” or “American Fiction,” it nevertheless is sensitive, insightful, and even if you’re grown, you will probably cry at the end.
Horror comedy has come a long way since “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” In the 21st century, movies such as “What We Do In the Shadows,” “Get Out,” “Zombieland,” “Ready or Not,” “The Blackening,” and “Freaky” have elevated the genre to new heights.
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