Tiny, Texas 

The Gates, John Burr’s new thriller film, is a disturbingly realistic portrayal of three Black twenty-somethings - Derek (Mason Gooding), Kevin (Algee Smith), and Tyon (Keith Powers), as they accidentally take a wrong turn into a gated community that’s more like a modern-day sundown town. The three friends witness a variety of crimes in their new surroundings, including an attempted homicide and an attempted rape. As they attempt to alert the authorities and do the right thing, they are thwarted at every turn by the worst horror stories of American conservatism - racist white suburbanites, reckless gun violence, corrupt police, religious mania, and a megalomaniacal pastor. 

Despite this genre not being a new one, The Novice offers a fresh perspective with its study of performance anxiety

The relationship between Will and Sean is the best part of the movie. It’s always a delight to see Robin Williams on screen

“Reboot” can be crass and has much room to improve, but with investments of time and care, could flower out of the seed of a vision. 

This film was filled with great plot points. Unfortunately, they all contradicted each other and clashed. Had the premise of Awake been more consistent and accurately portrayed the real world aspect, I think this could have been an extreme success.

It’s 2021 and what few LGBTQ+ films that are produced by major film studios continue to star cisgender heterosexual actors, rather than actual LGBTQ+ people.