Mandel Maven's Nest Reel Life: Flick Pix
Nora Lee Mandel is a member of New York Film Critics Online and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Her reviews are counted in the Rotten Tomatoes TomatoMeter:
Complete Index to Nora Lee Mandel's Movie Reviews
Since August 2006, edited versions of most of my reviews of documentaries/indie/foreign films are at Film-Forward; since 2012, festival overviews at FilmFestivalTraveler; and, since 2016, coverage of women-made films at FF2 Media. Shorter versions of my older reviews are at IMDb's comments, where non-English-language films are listed by their native titles.
TV Recommendations
As of mid-2014, I am marking my own stricter application than others to fiction features of the Bechdel-Wallace Test
Originally suggested by Allison Bechdel, as inspired by her friend Liz Wallace (so her name was added to the symbol as of 2016), in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985 to note a film that features (1) at least two named female characters; (2) who talk to each other; (3) about something besides a man. Symbol first designed by the Swedish chapter of Women in Film and Television; thanks to The Hot Pink Pen for the updated image. But my own criteria consider a substantive interaction about substance.
My Best Films of 2018
My Best Films of 2017
My Best Films of 2016
My Best Films of 2015
My Best Films of 2014
My Best Films of 2013
My Best Films of 2012
My Best Films of 2011
My Best Films of 2010
My Best Films of 2009
My Best Films of 2008
My Best Films of 2007
My Best Films of 2006
My Best Films of 2005
My Best Films of 2004
My Best Films of 2003
My Best Films of 2002
My Best Films of 2001
Reviews by Nora Lee Mandel in my idiosyncratic categories of how I think of of flicks:
CHICK FLICKS
IMPACT OF 9/11 ON NYC THROUGH MOVIES
IMAGES OF DENTISTS AND PREVENTIVE TOOTH CARE IN MOVIES (carrying on the work of Dr. Irwin D. Mandel z”l)
JEWISH WOMEN IN (and missing from) THE FLICKS
MASTERPIECE THEATER: MOVIES AS MEDICINE
For the MIDDLE-AGED AT HEART: HURRAH FOR GROWN-UPS!
For the MUSIC (and/or the dancing)
NEW YORK NEW YORK: IT'S A HELLUVA TOWN
NOIR NIGHT OUT
OGLING TEENS AND '20SOMETHINGS
POPCORN EATERS
ROMEO AND JULIET (and friends) ACROSS THE ETHNIC DIVIDE
SCI-FI and FANTASY from A DISTAFF POV
And then there's RUSSELL CROWE (with commentary on the actor)
Friends don't let friends watch bad movies! -- John Ridley
It is not enough to like a film. You must like it for the right reasons. -- Pierre Rissient
Mothers of America/let your kids go to the movies! -- Frank O’Hara, Ave Maria
Most Complete and Updated Preview List of All Women-Directed and Women-Crewed Films and Talks at the 2018 New York Film Festival
MY BEST FILMS of 2018 (In the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
The Insult (Qadiat raqm 23)
Vazante (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image) (Kudos to director/co-writer Daniela Thomas, cinematographer Inti Briones and sound designer Vasco Pimentel)
Princess (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Scrap Dolls (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
See You Up There (Au revoir là-haut) (Kudos to cinematography by Vincent Mathias, music by Christophe Julien, masks by Hélène Defline, and costumes by Mimi Lempicka) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
The Final Journey (Leanders letzte Reise) (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
To Dust (Kudos to Géza Röhrig) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Death of Stalin
The Seagull (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Dead Women Walking (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Gauguin - Voyage To Tahiti (Kudos to Vincent Cassel)
BlacKKKlansman (My additional notes.)
Long Day’s Journey Into Night) (Kudos to writer/director Bi Gan, cinematographers Yao Hung, Dong Jinsong and David Chizallet, production and sound design) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center
Happy As Lazzaro (Lazzaro felice) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Shoplifters (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
La Flor (Parts 1, 2, and 3) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Transit (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
The Favourite (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Roma (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Colo (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image) (Kudos to cinematographer Acácio de Almeida)
Foxtrot (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Ava (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Cocote (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Nothing Factory (A Fábrica de Nada) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Outside In (Kudos to Laurie Metcalf) (preview courtesy of The Orchard)
Smuggling Hendrix (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Kuleana (seen courtesy of Hawaii Cinema)
Bye Bye Germany (Es war einmal in Deutschland...) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Nigerian Prince (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Yellow Birds (preview courtesy of Lionsgate)
The Catcher Was A Spy (So, nu: my commentary on the putative Jewish woman.)
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot
The Captain (Derr Hauptmann) (My additional notes.)
Burning (preview at New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
BEST FEMALE POV
Fiction Division
In Between (Bar Bahar) (seen in 2017 Film Movement 15th Anniversary Celebration at Museum of the Moving Image) (Kudos to writer/director Maysaloun Hamoud) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Marlina The Murderer In Four Acts (Marlina Si Pembunuh Dalam Empat Babak) (My additional notes.) (Western Division) (Kudos to director/co-writer Mouly Surya) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Game (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
The Guardians (Les Gardiennes) (Way Back Division) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Number One (Numéro une) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
The Sower (Le Semeur) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Custody (Jusqu'à la garde) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Closeness (Tesnota) (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
Scary Mother (Sashishi deda) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
Jellyfish (Kudos to Liv Hill) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Slut In A Good Way (Charlotte a du fun) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lemonade (Luna de Miere) (Depressing Romanian Division) (Kudos to Mălina Manovici) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Beauty and the Dogs (La Belle et la Meute) (Kudos to Mariam Al Ferjani and writer/director Kaouther Ben Hania) (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope)
Everything Else (Todo lo demás) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Daughter of Mine (Figlia mia) (Kusoa ro Valeria Golino, Alba Rohrwacher, and Sara Casu) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Garden (Sommerhäuser) (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
The Impossible Picture (Das Unmögliche Bild) (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
Woman Walks Ahead (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Mary Shelley (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Duck Butter (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (Lesbian Division)
Little Woods (Kudos to Writer/Director Nia Dacosta; Tessa Thompson and Lily James) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Diane (Kudos to Mary Kay Place) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Party's Just Beginning (Kudos to Writer/Director/Star Karen Gillan) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Dead Women Walking (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tully (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
When She Runs (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bao (animated short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Late Afternoon (animated short) (preview at 2018 Mirette (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Love Letter (Michtav Ahava Lam ‘em Sheli) (short) (My commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Paper Roof (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
So You Like The Neighborhood (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Miracle (Stebuklas) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Summer 1993 (Estiu/Verano 1993) (Coming of Ager) (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Adrift (Adventure Division)
Dark River (Kudos to Ruth Wilson)
The Wife (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.)
Memoir of War (La douleur) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Support The Girls (Kudos to Regina Hall and writer/director Andrew Bujarski)
Skate Kitchen (preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
I Am Not A Witch
Colette (Kudos to Keira Knightly, the costumes and music)
Lizzie (Kudos to Chloë Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, and the sound design)
Wildlife (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center) (Kudos to production design and cinematographer Diego Garcia)
3 Faces (Se rokh) (Kudos to writer/director Jafar Panahi and actress Behnaz Jafari) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Private Life (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Documentary Division
Tongue Cutters (Tungeskjærerne) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Lives of Thérèse (Les vies de Thérèse) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Instructions on Parting (Of white, Christian, middle-class NH/UT POV) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Mama Colonel (Maman Colonelle) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Call Her Ganda (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Judge (at 2017 DOC NYC Festival/PBS Independent Lens 2018)
Blowin’ Up (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Bleeding Edge (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Time for Ilhan (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Girl and the Picture (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Birth Control Your Own Adventure (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
RBG (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women)
A Woman Captured (Egy nö fogságban) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Other Side of Everything (Druga strana suega) (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
A Thousand Girls Like Me (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Facing the Dragon (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction Division
Blame (Preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Boy Downstairs (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (Preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
My Art at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Half Magic (Satirical Comedy Division)
Montparnasse Bienvenüe (Jeune femme) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Milla (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
Nervous Translation (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
Sunday’s Illness (La Enfermedad del Domingo) (Depressing Division) (Kudos to Susi Sánchez) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Kill Giants (Girl/Animated Divisions)
Virgins (Vierges/Ein Betulot Bakrayot) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
All About Nina (Kudos to Mary Elizabeth Winstead) So, nu: My commentary on the Jewish women. (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Amateurs (Amatörer) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Blue Night (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Radium Girls (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Salam (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Puzzle (remake of Rompecabezas)
What Will People Say (Hva vil folk si) (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
A Family Tour (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Documentaries
Yellow Is Forbidden (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Netizens (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Women of the Venezuelan Chaos (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
On Her Shoulders (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Naila and the Uprising (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival) (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Generation Wealth
Kusama – Infinity (bio-doc preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures and Film Forum)
Reversing Roe (seen on Netflix)
BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
Zama (Re-Imagined Colonial Division) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
The Rider (at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Western (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
You Were Never Really Here (Very Violent Division)
Mapplethorpe (Gay Division) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
O.G. (Violent Division) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Back Roads (Female Writer) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Knuckles (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Last Romantic (El Último Romántico) (Romantic Comedy Division) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Before Summer Ends (Avant la fin de l'été) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
BEST COMING OF AGERS
A Ciambra
Ava (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Lean on Pete (Kudos to Charlie Plummer and the scenery)
Bag of Marbles (Un sac de billes) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women)
The Elephant and the Butterfly (Drôle de père) (previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
All These Small Moments (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Life of Esteban (Het Leven van Estaban) (short) (previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Breath (Kudos to Rick Rifici’s water cinematography)
Prickly Pear (Bajtra Tax-Xewk) (short) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Maltese Fighter (short) (Kudos to Malcolm Ellul) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Eve (Lejliet) (short) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
We The Animals (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Leave No Trace
Too Late to Die Young (Tarde para morir joven) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
BEST ROMANCES
Almost Paris (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Keep The Change (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (previewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Signature Move (Cross-Cultural Lesbian Division) (preview courtesy The Chicago Project)
Oh Lucy! (Dark Comedy Division) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
On Body and Soul (Testről és Lélekről) (seen on Netflix)
M (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Disobedience (previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Cakemaker (Der Kuchenmacher) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum) (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Asako I & II (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Cold War (Zimna wojna) (Kudos to the songs) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
If Beale Street Could Talk (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
The Female Brain (preview courtesy IFC Films)
The Leisure Seeker
Untogether (previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women)
BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS
Goldstone
The Guilty (Den skyldige) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
Stockholm (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS I enjoyed despite quibbles
Gringo
Unsane
A Violent Life (Une vie violente) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
This Is Our Land (Chez Nous) (Political Division) (preview courtesy of Film Forum)
First Man
BEST NEO-NOIRS
The Great Buddha+ (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
Sicilian Ghost Story (preview at 2018 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Boys Cry (La terra dell'abbastanza) (preview at 2018 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
The Third Murder (Sandome No Satsujin) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC
Cargo (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Night Eats The World (La Nuit A Dévoré Le Monde) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
High Life (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Zoe (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Dark (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Laboratory Conditions (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Sorry To Bother You (Social Satire Division)
Diamantino (Social Satire Division) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries):
Django (preview at 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
The Opera House (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Mama Africa (re-issue) (briefly reviewed in Final Roundup of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival)
American Folk (Commentary on 9/11 treatment.)
Becks (Kudos to “lesbian folk rock” songs by Alyssa Robbins & Steve Salett) (Recommendation is not because the spouse of my 2nd cousin twice removed has a tiny part) (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)
Sing Song (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
The Day I Beat The Sky (Le jour où j'ai battu le ciel) (short animation) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Souvenir (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Hybridos, the Spirits of Brazil (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Barbara (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Rock in the Red Zone (seen at 2018 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Azougue Nazare (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA
Howard (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bathtubs Over Broadway (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Satan & Adam (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
United Skates (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Homeless: The Soundtrack (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
The Velvet Underground Played At My High School (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Elvis Presley: The Searcher (seen on HBO)
The King (Music-related sections only)
Milford Graves Full Mantis (preview courtesy of Cinema Guild)
Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Saturday Church (for the musical numbers) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Act & Punishment:The Pussy Riot Trials
Flip The Record (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Habaneros (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Untitled (Pow Wow) (short – part of the North Dakota Museum of Art’s “Songs for Spirit Lake” project) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Nico, 1988 (Kudos to Trino Dyrholm) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Jeanette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc (Jeannette, l'enfance de Jeanne d'Arc) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Flock of Four (preview courtesy of Abramorama)
Blue Note Records: Beyond The Notes (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Hearts Beat Loud (preview courtesy Gunpowder & Sky)
Her Smell (Kudos to Elisabeth Moss) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center
BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
Journey’s End
The Young Karl Marx (Le Jeune Karl Marx)
The Forgiven (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Chappaquiddick
Blood & Glory (Modder en Bloed) (preview courtesy of Cleopatra Entertertainment)
In Times Of Fading Light (In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts) (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
Shock and Awe
BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
Mary and The Witch's Flower (preview courtesy of GKids)
Have A Nice Day (Chinese Noir Division) (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Black Barbie (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Next Door Spy (Nabospionen) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Cat Days (Neko No Hi) (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm (Museum of Jewish Heritage/HBO documentary short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Tehran Taboo (preview at Film Forum)
KCLOC (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Liyana (Kudos to directors Amanda & Aaron Kopps, storyteller Gcina Mhlophe, and animator Shofela Coker) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight/also shown at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Five Years After The War (Cinq ans après la guerre) (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Incredibles 2 (With Grandkid #1: First Movie in Theater – with big tub of popcorn)
Grand Bizarre (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center)
BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES better than their movies:
Sir Ben Kingsley in An Ordinary Man and Operation Enemy
BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
Did You Wonder Who Fired The Gun? (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Communion (Komunia) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Last Days In Shibati (Derniers Jours a Shibati) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
A Taste of Cement (Kudos to cinematographer Talal Khoury and his short Mediterranean) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Railway Sleepers (Mon Rot Fai) (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Playing Men (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
You Have No Idea How Much I Love You (Nawet Nie Wiesz, Jak Bardzo Cie Kocham) (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Polluting Paradise (Müll im Garten Eden) (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The King of Twirl (De Majorette Koning van het Noorden) (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
In The Intense Now (No Intenso Agora) (seen at Film Forum)
Ramen Heads (preview courtesy of Gunpowder & Sky)
Jesser and the Sugarcane (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Abbeville (short) (Kudos to Equal Justice Initiative) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Spirit Lake (short – part of the North Dakota Museum of Art’s “Songs for Spirit Lake” project) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Find Fix Finish (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
The Long Season (Kudos to Leonard Retel Helmrich and Ramia Suleiman) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
’63 Boycott (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Black Memorabilia (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Rio Verde: El tiempo de los Yakurunas (Green River: The Time of the Yakurunas) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Leaning Into The Wind – Andy Goldsworthy
The Ancestral Sin (Sallah, Po Ze Eretz Yisrael) (seen at 2018 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Makala (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film Society of Lincoln Center/MoMA)
House Two (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Roll Red Roll (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tanzania Transit (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Island of The Hungry Ghosts (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
When Lambs Become Lions (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Feeling of Being Watched (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Nana (preview courtesy of First Run Features)
After Auschwitz (preview courtesy)
Studio 54 (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Charm City (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Home + Away (preview at 2018 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival)
It’s A Hard Truth Ain’t It (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The River of the Kukamas (The El Rio de los Kukamas) (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Wendy’s Shabbat (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
5 October (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)