Thanks to a weird technical glitch with our site, I’m posting this way late. Amy and I will catch up in the coming weeks. Thanks for your patience…

Newly back from the Nashville film festival, I have a few films to recommend:

BOB TREVINO LIKES IT: Inspired by a true story, Tracie Lamon’s dramedy deservedly won the Grand Jury and Audience Award at the 2024 SXSW festival. The clever, funny, tragic and delightfully human story centers around a troubled young woman with world’s most toxic father (with the possible exception of Elon Musk) who learns to love herself after connecting with a stranger, with the same name as her dad, who likes her posts on Facebook. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and if you’re lucky it will indeed become a part of you. Can’t wait to see more by this impressive writer director.

LITTLE BITES: Touching on similar themes as THE BABADOOK, this soon-to-be-released (on Shudder, I believe) indie is unquestionably flawed but still wholly engaging with excellent performances (including a show-stealing performance by Chaz Bono.) Once again, we’re reminded of the sacrifices that comes with motherhood that in can threaten a woman’s life. It also poses the question of what it means to be a monster. Regrettably, the ending felt a bit counter-intuitive to what I personally thought the film was saying.

Currently streaming, I also recommend the following:

LEE (2024, Prime/Apple): An ardent admirer of war photographer, Lee Miller, I was both excited and nervous to see this film. Fortunately, I disagree with the many reviewers who dismiss this as a standard, ho-hum biopic. While there is a certain amount of contrivance in the framing of the story, it’s a minor part of the film and serves to introduce an important element of Miller’s life, the rest of the film bypasses to focus on Miller’s more significant contributions with her art. I cannot recommend highly enough that everybody read her son Anthony Penrod’s book, “The Lives of Lee Miller.” But whether you get to it or not, this film captures a remarkable woman in a compelling and hard-hitting way. I’m glad to see she’s finally getting a bit of the credit she’s due after a lifetime of being overshadowed by her mentor, Man Ray.

THE SUBSTANCE (2024 Prime, Apple): Go, Demi Moore!  Much like GET OUT, this is a horror film about something that doesn’t bother with subtext. It’s pure text – in your face, over the top, and fabulous. Not for the squeamish, but neither is living in an ass-backwards patriarchy.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Devi