The Plumber 

An animated reboot based on the book of the same name, with differences from the live-action movie of the same name.

I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before. 

Films staring black transgender actresses/actors are few and far between, it’s refreshing to see a demographic represented in film that hardly gets any attention.  This is especially important as the Black trans community has been shown in studies to face the highest level of discrimination amongst general trans and non-binary groups. That is why it’s so crucial that we amplify their voices through any way we can, storytelling being a great medium to do so.

This horror movie combines elements of horror and babysitting with Black representation.

It’s hard to capture the emotions and thoughts of a character just from a few shots, but Oscar-nominee composer Micachu's haunting melodies prove otherwise in 'Jackie'.

Despite the film’s efforts to reframe its heroine with modern complexity, a certain emotional distance lingers.