Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. Welcome to Earth. Spoilers? I feel like a spoiler warning is necessary, even as I try to dodge the twists and turns, but it is nearly impossible to discuss what does and doesn’t work without grazing it at least. If you want a cut to the chase on this, for a low budget horror movie with only four cast members, it does a mostly fine job.Could it have been better? sure. Getting more into it, the film opens on a couple being hunted in the woods by someone. It doesn’t work out well for … Continue reading Bone Lake

It’s time to attend the tale of three friends, faced with the prospect of fame, battling against the artistic preservation of their craft, and the idea that through all of this, they will have each other. Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along has been brought to the big screen, taken from the live staged Broadway revival. It is such an interesting year to get Merrily we Roll Along just a month after Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, which took us all the way back to the beginning of the golden age of Rodger’s and Hammerstein, and the end of Lorenz Hart. … Continue reading Merrily we Roll Along

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. I generally watch with audio description, but I’m unaware of this film having a track, nor was one given to me. I’m still typing on a broken keyboard. Life is great. The Chronology Of Water is Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut. There’s the extra level of anticipation that comes along with watching an actor turn director. Some have certainly made classics, like Ben Affleck’s Argo or The Town, Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, Clint Eastwood with Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, and lets not forget Greta Gerwig with Barbie, Jodie Foster with Little Man Tate, and the … Continue reading Going In Blind: The Chronology Of Water

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. This film was made available to me in advance, but it lacked the audio description track it will have in theaters. One seems to exist. On top of that, I seem to have lost the I button on my keyboard, so typing is super fun since we never use that letter ever. I had this casually recommended to me by some fellow critics who had already seen it, and they were impressed with the lead performance by Sophia Sloan. She does a wonderful job, and as a youth performer, she really is worth noting. … Continue reading Going In Blind: Dust Bunny

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. They knew. If I could give advice to all indies looking for coverage, get your requests in before November. Once the final two months of the year hit, giving these little indies that can some coverage gets increasingly harder as studios want you to consider everything they’ve ever done. I did commit to seance, but for every Seance, there are five other films I just don’t have time for.I’m actually rather happy with my choice, since seance was pretty great. we throw the word Hitchcockian around a bit much, but there’s certainly a feeling … Continue reading Going In Blind: Seance

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. To infinity and beyond! Mubi was kind enough to hit me up with an accessible screener, after their FYC rep just gave me the one-size-supposedly-fits-all screener. So, I appreciate that I’ve now seen a film i didn’t really love, twice. it isn’t so much that this is a bad film, because it is far from that, but I might be the only one who doesn’t get Kelly Reichardt. I know Kelly has fans, and I’ve seen their work before, but I have yet to feel the spark from any of them. Their last feature … Continue reading The Mastermind

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. Thus, “going in blind”, as a reminder that I am, and this film has no available audio description. Premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Lurker attracted buzz. You could say it has its fans. I guess, Stan’s are now a thing? it probably has those too. People who ‘ship the film, follow it and its stars on social media, and hope to one day have the chance to interact with one of the films stars or its director. Of course, it is all innocent, right? Lurker dives into the question of when is … Continue reading Going In Blind: Lurker

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. May the force be with me. I have to admit that the simple announcement of a sequel to The Bad guys felt more like an exploration of intellectual property prowess than one of actual creative strength. Not everything needs to be a franchise, and the Bad Guys 2, which takes the road most obvious is undoubtedly proof that the second time around is often just one more lap around a block you’ve already seen. The film brings the original crew back from the first film, and tries to throw conflict in as the Bad … Continue reading The Bad Guys 2

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. thus the term “Going In Blind”, which I use when a film does not have audio description. Oliver Hermanus’s masterpiece The History Of Sound is my Brokeback Mountain. I wish it had audio description, just to solidify how much I adored this, but that is really the only negative thing working against it. Granted, simple access is a big thing, and the reason I’m here, but the story is right up my alley. I had a harder time relating to gay ranchers, but gay musicians? Yeah, I see myself more in this. The History … Continue reading Going In Blind: the History of Sound

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. Welcome. Tick. Tick. Tick. The beginning of Luca Guadagnino’s After The Hunt begins with the persistence of time. It presumably is Guadagnino’s literal way of translating a ticking time bomb, but it can be taken exactly as is.there’s a countdown, but to what? Somewhere … at Yale… we will find out. I was initially excited at the prospect of Guadagnino’s next film having this stellar cast of Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, and Michael Stuhlbarg, so this was on my anticipated list. Guadagnino certainly isn’t perfect, but he has the necessary parts to … Continue reading After The Hunt

Yes, this is part of my Going In Blind series, because IFC Films and the concept of accessible screeners is a mystery so great only Jessica Fletcher could possibly hope to solve it. But,I was submitted for my approval an advance copy of 100 Nights of Hero, which of course didn’t have audio description. In the time since, i watched it a second time just for refreshing and clarification. That’s probably the best debate for screeners versus theatrical, is that most come with the ability to view a few times, so if you’ve got questions, a second pass is much … Continue reading Going In Blind: 100 Nights of hero

Editor’s Note: In what was a rather quick turnaround, I noticed a comment about the quality of my review. the irony of critiquing a critic, or the critic then not being able to accept said criticism is not lost on me. Someone came here expecting excellence, and I didn’t deliver. the only thing I can do is to take that feedback, and do better. I could list all the excuses and reasons that may have led to this, but they are all just excuses and reasons, which make my day or life harder, but the reader doesn’t care. I will … Continue reading Anenome

I suppose the joke is that trying to get an audience to sympathize with a character who seemingly has everything is not the unique experience of Jay Kelly, but something we are often asked to do. somehow, it feels more pronounced in Noah Baumbach’s latest offering, because it isn’t just watching fancy people in big mansions in a bygone era, but a contemporary look at stardom that needs you to understand there is some level of sacrifice, and not all that glitters is gold. Baumbach has tapped George Clooney for a role that feels right up his alley. He’s an … Continue reading Jay Kelly

I generally don’t venture too much into the true crime genre, as it seems like every week someone has made a new documentary, docuseries, or episode of a newsmagazine that focuses on someone being murdered, or going missing, somewhere. I know people love this entire sub genre of television, just like they prefer procedural dramas over non-procedural shows with more linear storytelling. Crime doesn’t pay, but it sure does sell. Night In west Texas made the long list of documentary features that have qualified for the Oscars this year, so perhaps the branch will also embrace their inner true crime … Continue reading Going In Blind: Night in West Texas

I’ve now seen this twice. the benefit of having screeners, is when I have a film like Plain Clothes, where I certainly had questions, I can give it a second go before doing my review. There are so many little things I do all the time to figure out if I interpreted a film as intended, when the audio description doesn’t exist, and sometimes a second viewing is warranted. Not only am I a blind film critic, advocating for accessibility, but I’m also gay, and find that queer cinema is still stuck mostly in niche territory. Every once in a … Continue reading Going In Blind: Plain Clothes