A Queer Review of the Austin Film Festival (2023)
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.

In 1998 Marco Pantani, the most flamboyant and popular cyclist of his era, won both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, a titanic feat of physical and mental endurance that no rider has repeated since. He was a hero to millions, the saviour of cycling following the doping scandals which threatened to destroy the sport. However, less than six years later, aged just 34, he died alone, in a cheap hotel room, from acute cocaine poisoning. He had been an addict for five years. This is the story of the tragic battles fought by the most important Italian cyclist of his generation; man verses mountain, athlete verses addiction, Marco Pantani verses himself.
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.
But what many do not know is that in 2019, a Wonder Woman film was released that had all of the positive qualities of WW84, and remedied many of the negative ones. Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, a direct-to-video animated movie in the DC Animated Movie Universe, perfectly balances the campiness and seriousness of the character.
"The Old Guard" doesn't break ground, but it sure does bust boredom and fictional heads as an entertaining action romp on Netflix.
The multifaceted musical represents America in the 1960s and the battle against bigotry as an ensemble cast portrays how to fight for the limelight.
If you were to watch it on streaming when you have nothing to do, it’s still probably a giant waste of time, but you could do far worse. Paying $18 for a movie ticket and who knows how much for concessions turns this from an exercise in boredom to an exercise in frustration.
YouTube surpasses Netflix but there is more to the story.