Blonde Dynamite 

Coverage from the Austin Film Festival, highlighting some panels and films that emphasized the importance of diverse and inclusive storytelling.

Honey Don't! is a chaotic queer noir that's part detective story, part midnight movie madness. Margaret Qualley is fantastic as the wise-cracking private eye Honey, with Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans adding their own dry humor to the mix. The mystery itself is pretty loose, but the film makes up for it with crackling sexual tension, weird side characters, and razor-sharp dialogue. It's messy and uneven, but in the best possible way.

Street Fighter cannot be genuinely recommended, even if it is abundantly clear that much effort was expended.

Amid the ongoing debate surrounding Christa Pike’s death sentence, watching East of Eden, which shows that women can be monstrous too, is definitely refreshing.

For the entirety of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Marion remains in full control of both her body and her personality, a rarity for female characters at the time of the film’s release. She’s granted depth with personal demons from her past and emotional vulnerability when the situation deems it appropriate for her to grow alongside Indy. She avidly rejects the notion of being anything other than a sassy, humane rebel, and Indy’s equal in every way. This she does while still maintaining her femininity.

Love Hard is a Christmas romcom about two people who fall in love while pretending to date. It’s a romantic and fun watch. If you can forget the catfishing.