The SXSW Film Festival has always welcomed genre films with open arms, and despite going virtual, SXSW 2021 is no different. As the festival continues, we…
Author: Brent Hankins
Brent Hankins
Brent Hankins has been blogging and writing film reviews online since 2011. He joined the Phoenix Film Critics Society in 2013, and was a founding member of the Phoenix Critics Circle the following year, where he currently serves as President. Brent also hosted the weekly Drinks and Discourse podcast for nearly 5 years, and is currently the editor-in-chief at The Lamplight Review. He resides in Tempe, AZ with his wife and son.
The 2021 SXSW Film Festival is officially underway! After the COVID-19 pandemic forced a last-minute cancellation of last year’s event, SXSW 2021 is a strictly online…
The 2021 SXSW Film Festival is officially underway! After the COVID-19 pandemic forced a last-minute cancellation of last year’s event, SXSW 2021 is a strictly online…
It’s impossible to discuss the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League without first examining the circumstances which brought us here. After reimagining Superman in 2013’s Man…
After a last-minute cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SXSW — Austin’s annual celebration of film, music, comedy and interactive media — is going…
The SXSW Film Festival has always welcomed genre films with open arms, and even though the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has turned the festival’s 2021 edition into…
Horror director and SXSW alumni Mickey Keating (Carnage Park) returns to the Austin-based festival in 2021 with his latest feature, the nightmarish thriller Offseason, starring Jocelin…
The 2020 edition of the SXSW Film Festival was sidelined as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold in the United States, just weeks before the…
The COVID-19 pandemic already saw one major Disney title forego the theatrical experience, when last year’s live-action Mulan was released (for an additional price) on the…
Billie Eilish was only 13 years old when “Ocean Eyes” — written and recorded with her brother, Finneas O’Connell — was uploaded to Soundcloud, racking up…
Arriving hot on the heels of Shaka King’s stellar Judas and the Black Messiah, which chronicles the FBI’s plot to take down Black Panther leader Fred…
“There’s no such thing as good people,” says Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) in the opening moments of J Blakeson’s wickedly funny black comedy, I Care a…
“I hope you will reveal your plan for me soon,” prays Maud (Morfydd Clark), a nurse whose involvement — and possible culpability — in a tragic…
Greg (Owen Wilson) works a bland job at a generic technical support company — aptly named “Technical Difficulties” — where he spends most of his days…
“With little pride and less hope, we begin the new year.” While those words could adequately characterize a more recent time period, in the case of…
As the 2021 Sundance Film Festival begins winding down, with several films getting picked up for distribution — including CODA, which set a new record for…
Premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Eight for Silver — the latest from director Sean Ellis (Anthropoid) — is an atmospheric thriller about a remote…
Jesus Christ, where do I even start? Prisoners of the Ghostland, Sion Sono’s first English-language feature (although there’s still a healthy amount of spoken Japanese) is…
Golden Globe winner Robin Wright is no stranger to stepping behind the camera, having directed multiple episodes of the critically acclaimed Netflix series House of Cards,…
The 2021 Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, with the (mostly) digital presentation already generating plenty of buzz for a number of titles. We’ll continue…
While mostly known for its dramatic selections, the Sundance Film Festival has played host to some stellar horror entries, particularly in recent years with standouts like…
The 2021 Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, with the (mostly) digital presentation already generating plenty of buzz for a number of titles. We’ll continue…
The coming of age drama is a tried-and-true indie staple, one whose cookie-cutter character archetypes and predictable story beats can often feel like the equivalent of…
The communal experience has always felt like one of the most vital ingredients of film festivals: sitting in a room full of strangers, waiting to embark…
Usually by this time of year, I’m making last-minute preparations for my annual trip to Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. But with the…
Ever since the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, the arrival of new entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a fairly regular…
After showing up for a supporting role in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gal Gadot teamed up with director Patty Jenkins for an exciting…
Prolific African-American playwright August Wilson is best remembered for The Century Cycle, a series of 10 plays that examined the black experience in America, with each…
That Tom Hanks, over the course of a career spanning four decades, has somehow never appeared in a Western feels almost like an oversight. Regrettably, his…
Published to much fanfare in 2016, J.D. Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy was pored over in the wake of Donald Trump’s election to the highest office in…
No stranger to shaking up the horror genre, Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon is back with another mashup, taking a tried and true Hollywood formula…
One can’t help but wonder if writer-director Thomas Bezucha was actively trying to evoke memories of Ma and Pa Kent in Man of Steel when he…
Nine Days Edson Oda’s poignant drama about what it truly means to be alive centers on Will (Winston Duke), who spends his days in a purgatory-like…
The 56th Chicago International Film Festival ran from October 14-25, featuring drive-in screenings complemented by virtual cinema offerings that brought the event to more people than…