About chrisreedfilm
Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator. A member of the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, he is lead film critic at hammertonail.com, an online magazine devoted to independent cinema; a regular film critic here at filmfestivaltoday.com; the host of Dragon Digital Media’s award-winning "Reel Talk with Christopher Llewellyn Reed"; a film commentator for the "Roughly Speaking” podcast with Dan Rodricks at "The Baltimore Sun"; and the author of "Film Editing: Theory and Practice." In addition, 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.
Dumplin’ (Anne Fletcher, 2018) 3 out of 4 stars. A mostly sweet, if sometimes saccharine, coming-of-age tale of self-actualization that takes a firm stand against monolithic views of body image, Dumplin’, out on Netflix starting December 7, goes down easy, its … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged Anne Fletcher, beauty pageant, Bex Taylor-Klaus, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Danielle Macdonald, Dolly Parton, drag queens, Dumb Blonde, Dumplin', Jennifer Aniston, Julie Murphy, Maddie Baillio, Netflix, plus-size
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The American Meme (Bert Marcus, 2018) 3 out of 4 stars. We can’t #hashtag our way out of this: #fame is the name of the game. But when everyone strives for celebrity status, however brief its duration, then what does stardom … Continue reading →
Posted in Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Specialty Releases
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Tagged American Meme, Bert Marcus, Brittany Furlan, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, DJ Khaled, fame, instagram, Josh Ostrovsky, Kirill Bichutsky, Paris Hilton, slutwhisperer, thefatjewish, Vine
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Never Look Away (“Werk ohne Autor”) (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2018) 2 out of 4 stars. Never Look Away – or “Werk ohne Autor” (“work without an author”) in the original German – begins in a Dresden museum in 1937, where a … Continue reading →
Posted in Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Specialty Releases
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Tagged chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Dresden, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Germany, Never Look Away, Paula Beer, Sebastian Koch, socialist realism, Tom Schilling
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Ralph Breaks the Internet (Phil Johnston/Rich Moore, 2018) 3 out of 4 stars. Back in 2012, Walt Disney Studios gave us Wreck-It Ralph, a pleasant diversion of a nostalgia trip to the world of 1980s arcade games. Its main character, the … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, disney, Gal Gadot, John C. Reilly, Phil Johnston, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Rich Moore, Sarah Silverman, Taraji P. Henson, Walt Disney, Wreck-It Ralph
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Creed II (Steven Caple Jr., 2018) 2½ out of 4 stars. I am no connoisseur of boxing films (nor of the sport), and have only ever seen the first Rocky movie (though I own the full 6-disc set of that entire series, … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged boxing, Brigitte Nielsen, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Creed, Creed II, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Ivan Drago, Michael B. Jordan, Phylicia Rashad, Rocky, Rocky Balboa, Rocky IV, Russell Hornsby, Ryan Coogler, Sly, Steven Caple Jr., Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson
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The Front Runner (Jason Reitman, 2018) 1 out of 4 stars. As the 1988 United States presidential election loomed, former Colorado senator Gary Hart, following a close second-place finish to Walter Mondale for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, looked like … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Gary Hart, Hugh Jackman, jason reitman, Jay Carson, Matt Bai, The Front Runner, Vera Farmiga
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DOC NYC just completed its ninth iteration, running from November 8-15. The largest documentary festival in the United States, DOC NYC this year offered over 300 films, including 42 world premieres and 17 U.S. premieres (mostly features, but with some shorts). … Continue reading →
Posted in Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Featured, FFT Festival Coverage, Film Reviews
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Tagged Abyss Creations, Alyssa Bolsey, Arwen Curry, Bert Williams, Beyond the Bolex, Bolex, bronx, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Cinépolis Chelsea, Davecat, Decade of Fire, DOC NYC, DOC NYC 2018, DOC NYC PRO, documentaries, documentary, Earthrise, Earthsea, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, Free Solo, Gretchen Hildebran, Hale County This Morning This Evening, IFC Center, Lady Parts Justice in the New World Order, Lady Parts Justice League, Left Hand of Darkness, Lizz Winstead, Melody Gilbert, new york, Neyda Martinez, Omelas, RaMell Ross, Ruth Leitman, sex dolls, silicone dolls, Silicone Soul, Stacey Leigh, SVA Theatre, The 5 Browns: Digging Through the Darkness, The Cat Rescuers, Ursula K. Le Guin, Vivian Vázquez, Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, yance ford
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Green Book (Peter Farrelly, 2018) 2½ out of 4 stars. In 1962, noted African American pianist Don Shirley decided to take a tour through the Jim Crow south, leaving behind the comfort of his spacious apartment above Carnegie Hall and the … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Civil Rights Act, Don Shirley, Green Book, Jim Crow south, Linda Cardellini, Mahershala Ali, Negro Motorist Green Book, Peter Farrelly, racism, Tony Lip, Viggo Mortensen
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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Ethan and Joel Coen, 2018) 2 out of 4 stars. A collection of 6 short Westerns from Ethan and Joel Coen, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is nothing if not uneven. Though infused throughout with the brothers’ … Continue reading →
Posted in Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Specialty Releases
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Tagged Brendan Gleeson, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Coen Brothers, Ethan Coen, Harry Melling, James Franco, Joel Coen, Jonjo O'Neill, liam neeson, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Tim Blake Nelson, Tom Waits, Westerns, Zoe Kazan
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Widows (Steve McQueen, 2018) 2 out of 4 stars. There’s nothing in Widows that a better script couldn’t fix. With solid performances all around and some excellent action sequences, the only thing missing is a remotely plausible story. Director/co-screenwriter McQueen (12 Years … Continue reading →
Posted in Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews
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Tagged Brian Tyree Henry, Carrie Coon, Chicago, chrisreedfilm, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Colin Farrell, Cynthia Erivo, Elizabeth Debicki, Gillian Flynn, heist movie, liam neeson, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert Duvall, Steve McQueen, viola davis, Widows
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