About chrisreedfilm
Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator. He is the lead film critic at hammertonail.com, an online magazine devoted to independent cinema; a regular film critic at filmfestivaltoday.com; the host of Dragon Digital Media’s award-winning "Reel Talk with Christopher Llewellyn Reed"; a regular film commentator for the "Roughly Speaking” podcast with Dan Rodricks at "The Baltimore Sun"; an occasional writer for the magazine bmoreart.com; and the author of "Film Editing: Theory and Practice." In addition, starting in January, 2018, he is one of three co-creators, along with Summre Garber of Slamdance and Bart Weiss of Dallas VideoFest, of "The Fog of Truth" (fogoftruth.com) – available on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher – a podcast devoted to documentary cinema.
Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu, 2018) 2½ out of 4 stars. Let’s start with the good: Crazy Rich Asians, from director Jon M. Chu (Jem and the Holograms), features an appealing, almost exclusively Asian cast, in a diverting rom-com confection produced … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged Awkwafina, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Constance Wu, Crazy Rich Asians, Henry Golding, Jon M. Chu, Ken Jeong, Kevin Kwan, Michelle Yeoh, rom-com, romantic comedy, Sinagpore
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BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee, 2018) 3 out of 4 stars. Spike Lee has almost always been a director worth watching, even when his work has fallen short of the brilliant promise of such early narratives like She’s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman, Charlottesville, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, David Duke, Donald Trump, John David Washington, KKK, Ku Klux Klan, race, racism, Ron Stallworth, Spike Lee, Stokely Carmichael, Topher Grace, Unite the Right
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The Meg (Jon Turteltaub, 2018) 2½ out of 4 stars. Have no fear, O Bruce the Shark (of Jaws fame): though you be but a (mechanical) great white, no (CGI) megalodon – the largest shark that ever lived! – can take you, whatever images … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Cliff Curtis, great white shark, Jason Statham, Jon Turteltaub, Li Bingbing, Mariana Trench, megalodon, Page Kennedy, Rainn Wilson, shark, Shuya Sophia Cai, Steve Alten, The Meg, Winston Chao
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Christopher Robin (Marc Forster, 2018) 2 out of 4 stars. Just last October (2017), we saw the release of director Simon Curtis’ Goodbye Christopher Robin, an affecting – if largely fabricated – biopic about the real-life boy at the center of author A.A. … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged A.A. Milne, Alex Ross Perry, Allison Schroeder, Brad Garrett, Bronte Carmichael, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Christopher Robin, disney, ewan mcgregor, Eyore, Greg Brooker, Hayley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Marc Forster, Mark Steven Johnson, Piglet, Pooh, Tigger, Tom McCarthy, Winnie the Pooh
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Alone in the Game (David McFarland/Natalie Metzger/Michael Rohrbaugh, 2018) 3½ out of 4 stars. A moving and well-told profile of the challenges faced by LGBTQ athletes, Audience Network’s Alone in the Game – from first-time writer/producer David McFarland and directors Natalie Metzger (Special … Continue reading →
Posted in Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Specialty Releases
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Tagged Adam Silver, Alone in the Game, AT&T, Audience Network, Chris Mosier, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, David McFarland, Gus Kenworthy, Haley Videckis, Layana White, LGBTQ, LZ Granderson, Michael Rohrbaugh, Natalie Metzger, NBA, Pepperdine, Riley Tindol, Robbie Rogers, Ryan O'Callaghan, sports, trans, Vanderbilt
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Skyscraper (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2018) 1 out of 4 stars. Professional wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Baywatch) is always a charismatic screen presence, no matter the quality of the film in which he stars. A mighty giant of a man … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged Chin Han, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, dwayne johnson, Hannah Quinlivan, Neve Campbell, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Roland Møller, Skyscraper, The Rock
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Posted on July 4, 2018
Written by: Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Ant-Man and the Wasp (Peyton Reed, 2018) 3 out of 4 stars. For anyone who liked the original Ant-Man, back in 2015, and was worried that its sequel might not deliver its predecessor’s comedic goods, have no fear: Ant-Man and … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Barry Levinson, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Hannah John-Kamen, Laurence Fishburne, Marvel, Michael Douglas, Michael Peña, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Peyton Reed, Randall Park
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Recovery Boys (Elaine McMillion Sheldon, 2018) 3½ out of 4 stars. From Elaine McMillion Sheldon, who just last year gave us the Oscar-nominated Netflix-released short documentary Heroin(e), about the opioid epidemic ravaging West Virginia (and much of the rest of … Continue reading →
Posted in Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Specialty Releases
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Tagged 12-step program, AA, addiction, Alcoholic's Anonymous, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, documentary, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Heroin(e), Jacob's Ladder, Kevin Blankenship, NA, Narcotics Anonymous, Netflix, opioid, opioid crisis, opioid epidemic, recovery, Recovery Boys, West Virginia
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Hereditary (Ari Aster, 2018) 2 out of 4 stars. A beautifully shot, acted and designed film that nevertheless falls far short of early promise, Hereditary, the debut feature from writer/director Ari Aster, offers a plethora of impressive visuals that ultimately … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd, Ari Aster, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Gabriel Byrne, ghost, Hereditary, horror, Milly Shapiro, Toni Colette
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As I did last year, for the 2017 AFI DOCS festival, I here present my overview coverage* of AFI DOCS 2018, which ran June 13-17 in our nation’s capital. Once again, the American Film Institute (AFI) presented a massive showcase … Continue reading →
Posted in Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Featured, FFT Festival Coverage, Film Reviews
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Tagged 209 rue Saint-Maur, afi, AFI DOCS, AFI DOCS 2018, América, american film institute, Bart Weiss, Bing Liu, Bob Gazzale, Chase Whiteside, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Denali Tiller, Dinner Party, Distant Barking of Dogs, documentaries, documentary, Erick Stoll, film festivals, Fog of Truth, For the Birds, George Stevens Jr., Irene Lusztig, Ken Jacobson, Laura Wexler, Michael Lumpkin, Minding the Gap, Personal Statement, Richard Miron, Ruth Zylberman, Simon Lereng Wilmont, Summre Garber, Tre Maison Dasan, virtual reality, vr, Yours in Sisterhood
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