The Rolling Tape

Kinds of Kindness is Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos’s follow-up to the Academy Awards hit film Poor Things and is a contemporary set anthology following many of the same performers as unique characters within three separate stories. A man seeks to break free from his predetermined path, a cop questions his wife's demeanor after her return from a supposed drowning, and a woman searches for an e...

The Bikeriders is written and directed by Jeff Nichols telling a fictionalized story of the rise and fall of the Chicago Vandals in the 1960s. After a chance encounter, headstrong Kathy is drawn to Benny, member of Midwestern motorcycle club the Vandals. As the club transforms into a dangerous underworld of violence, Benny must choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club. The films stars Aust...

Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos is known for the absurd worlds his characters inhabit laying forth unsettling questions of social norms. Coming off his most successful awards and box office project with Poor Things, he is back again with Kinds of Kindness going into limited theatrical release this upcoming weekend after its world premiere earlier this year at Cannes. Before we review the film, we’re...

After Inside Out captured global audiences to the tune of $850 million global box office success, Pixar is returning with a sequel to it’s 2015 emotional hit. The movie continues to follow Riley now in her teenage years as encounters new emotions in her mind headquarters. Anxiety and others make a appearance and set Riley on a new course as she continues to grow up. The film stars Amy Poehler, May...

After delivering Saint Frances in 2019, creative duo Alex Thompson and Kelly O'Sullivan are back with Ghostlight in partnership with IFC Films. Written by O'Sullivan and co-directed by each, the story follows a construction worker who unexpectedly joins a local theater's production of Romeo and Juliet, and the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life. The film first premiered at...

Pixar is one of the most prominent animation studios working today with 27 feature films, 23 Academy Awards, and since the award’s inauguration in 2001, 11 Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. The studio’s history goes back to the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm in 1979, with a spin-off as an independent corporation in 1986, before being acquired by Disney in 2006. Known for pushing t...

After premiering on the festival circuit in 2023 at Venice, TIFF, and NYFF, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man has made its way to a limited theatrical release and Netflix drop as of June 7. Directed by Richard Linklater and written by Linklater and Glen Powell, the film follows a professor moonlighting as a hit man of sorts for his city police department, who descends into dangerous, dubious territory w...

Richard Linklater’s next film, ‘Hit Man,’ is currently out in limited theatrical release before dropping on Netflix on June 7. Before we review the Texas-based auteur’s latest action crime comedy, we’re going to take a step back through his career and offer a retrospective on the characteristics and themes present in the director’s work. Linklater’s notable features have included Dazed and Confuse...

I Saw The TV Glow directed by Jane Schoenbrun follows two teenagers as they bond over their love of a supernatural TV show, but it is mysteriously cancelled. The film is Schoenbrun’s follow up to the 2021 film We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. Both films premiered at their respective Sundance Film Festivals. I Saw the TV Glow stars Justice Smith and ​​Brigette Lundy-Paine and is distributed by...

With the 77th Cannes International Film Festival now complete and the Palme d’Or handed out, we recap the season’s first major festival to kick off the summer looking at the reactions from those in attendance and the awards given out by the jury. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , and Linktree Paul Rai on Letterboxd , Instagram , and Twitter...

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the fifth entry into the Mad Max universe from director George Miller following most recently Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. This prequel is the origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and teamup with Mad Max. The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Tom Burke. Chapter Timestamps: 0:00:00 Introduction 0:13:59 Initial Thoughts 0:31:47 Spoile...

The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the 4th entry to the trilogy that set forth in 2011 and 10th overall within the Apes franchise going back to 1968. This iteration directed by Wes Ball is set 300 years after War for the Planet of the Apes and stars Freya Allen and Kevin Durand. Chapter Timestamps: 0:00:00 Introduction 0:7:50 Initial Thoughts 0:16:58 Spoiler Review 1:24:58 Oscars Assessment...

The Ladies are back in the studio tackling ‘girl movies’ and the stereotypes we grew up with. The ladies breakdown various female character tropes still used in films today as well as the clichés that affected them the most as young girls. Follow our team online: Sara Ciplickas on Letterboxd , Instagram , and Twitter Katie Mann on Letterboxd , Instagram , and Twitter Anjani Chaha on Instagram , an...

After originally being set to open the Venice International Film Festival in 2023 and a long delay for its release, we have finally made it to the official arrival of Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. The tennis-centered sports relationship drama features Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach, who turned her husband into a champion. But to overcom...

Luca Guadagnino’s next film, ‘Challengers,’ comes out in theaters this upcoming weekend. Before watching and reviewing the film, we discuss the director’s career leading up to his breakout film ‘Call Me By Your Name’. Luca Guadagnino's career has been marked by a willingness to explore different genres and themes, from romance to horror to sports drama. His films often focus on desire, vulner...

From the makers of Ready or Not and Scream 6, Radio Silence Productions returns with another horror entry into their filmography. This time taking on vampires, Abigail follows a group of criminals who kidnap the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure. They then retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they're locked inside with no normal little girl. The film stars Melissa Bar...

As our spring festival series continues, we’re breaking down Philadelphia’s Springfest, a weekend festival curated through the Philadelphia Film Society. Joined by returning festival guest Larry Fried, we return to the festival scene and discuss each of the films we were able to catch over the past weekend. Follow our guest online: Larry Fried on Letterboxd , Twitter , Authory , Geek Vibes Nation...

'We Were Dangerous' follows Nellie, Daisy and Lou who attend an institution for delinquent girls on an isolated island in 1954. The trio rail against the system, finding strength in their friendship but this is challenged when the school's matron divides them. Gabe Lillianthal discusses the film with Director Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, Writer Maddie Dai, and Producer Morgan Waru. Fo...

In a special edition guest episode, we first catch back up with Win Marks, who previously joined us for an interview episode to discuss his upcoming film, Do You Say What You Mean? which is now making its festival run. Win also joins us for our weekly review, this week covering Civil War as we discussed during our Alex Garland retrospective . Civil War features a journey across a dystopian future...

Alex Garland’s next film, Civil War, comes out in theaters this upcoming weekend. But before we review his latest effort, we take a look back at the director’s career and discuss the films that have brought him to this point in his career. Most notably known as a writer, Garland has also directed some notable features including Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men. We break down some of his directori...

Dev Patel steps behind the camera for the first time with his directorial debut, Monkey Man, which he also writes and stars in. The story follows an anonymous young man who unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless. Chapter Timestamps: 0:00:00 Introduction 0:20:30 Initial Thoughts 0:37:11 Spoi...

With another week full of a variety of stories, announcements, and trailers, we unpack some of the biggest of the past few days including the recent announcement of the new official home for the Golden Globes, the new wave of first-look deals in the industry, and the release of a number of announcements and trailers for some of the biggest upcoming releases. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek o...

To kick off the new post-Oscars cycle of reviews, we have the ultimate heavyweight fight, the title card of creature features, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire directed by Adam Wingard and starring Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dan Stevens. Two ancient titans, Godzilla and Kong, clash in an epic battle as humans unravel their intertwined origins and connection to Skull Island's mysterie...

From the World Series of Board Games on the Vegas strip and dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, "The Hobby" is an affectionate, character-driven portrait of the massive and diverse subculture of board games. With a fascinating cast of charming subjects – including the “Roger Ebert of board games”, a rock-climbing board game philosopher, and a birdwatcher who created an unlikely smash hit...

Programmed at SXSW 2024, The Queen of My Dreams is set in 1999, when the sudden death of her father Hassan sends queer Muslim grad student Azra flying back to her ancestral home in Pakistan, where her stern mother Mariam demands she play the role of the perfect grieving daughter. But through flashbacks to Mariam's own life in Karachi 30 years before, we see the connections uniting mother and...