North Carolina Film Critics Association

16 hours ago

Listen: Inside The Film Room with members Zach Goins and Johnny Sobczak.

It’s a double header this week as Johnny and Zach break down “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” and “Mulan.” ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

22 hours ago

Review: Antebellum from member Hunter Heilman.

It’s no secret that I absolutely adore Janelle Monáe. I have since her first album, "The Archandroid," all the way up the absolutely masterful "Dirty Computer" album of 2018. I genuinely believe that she is this generation’s Prince in her ability to both tap into the public mindset of what they want to hear and subvert expectations into something far more groundbreaking and avant garde than audiences expect from surface level; it’s truly thrilling. Given her incredibly theatrical musical style, it was only a matter of time before she came to the screen, and in 2016, she broke through in starring in not one, but two Best Picture nominees, "Hidden Figures" and "Moonlight" (which famously won the Oscar for Best Picture that year in the great "La La Land" mix-up of 2017). Since then, she has been floating in and around supporting roles in films like "Welcome to Marwen" and "Harriet," but the time has finally come for Monáe’s first starring role, in a horror film no less, produced by the team behind "Get Out" and "Us." I genuinely couldn’t fathom how perfect of a pairing this sounded like on paper, and the trailers for "Antebellum" never led me to believe anything other than Monáe’s genre breakthrough was coming around the bend.

So…what the heck happened here?

Available on VOD now. #Antebellum ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

1 day ago

Review: Critical Thinking Movie from member Douglas Davidson.

May 8th – 10th of 1998 marked the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Chess Federation’s National High School Championship. With 230 schools from 32 states, the Wyndham Hotel at Los Angeles Airport was filled with some of the brightest minds of the time. Each one a capable competitor, each one requiring intense focus in hopes that seeing 10 moves ahead would be enough, even as they know the person across from them is likely counting on the same. That tournament would see Cuban immigrant Marcel Martinez defeat the 1997 defending champion Harry Akopyan to win the individual competition and his team would win the tournament as a whole, a first for Miami Jackson Senior High. The story of triumph for Marcel, his couch Mario Martinez, and his teammates, Sedrick Roundtree, Ito Paniagua, Roedelay Medina, and Gil Luna, is the foundation for powerhouse drama “Critical Thinking,” the second directorial feature for actor John Leguizamo.

In virtual cinemas, on VOD, and digital September 4th, 2020. #CriticalThinkingmovie ...