Jonathan Christian, Author at The Playlist

‘Feast of the Epiphany’: Inventive Ambition Meets Poor Execution in This Narrative-Documentary Experiment [Review]

November 28, 2019 2:10 pm

Oftentimes, the worst part of celebrating the holidays with friends and family is dinnertime. After summarizing your past year for both sets of cousins, updating grandma on your dating life and listening to you...

‘Los Ultimos Frikis’ Documents The Slow Death Of Rock And Roll In Cuba [DOC NYC Review]

Jonathan Christian

November 10, 2019 3:33 pm

News, Reviews

For fans of metal, it’s about more than the music. From the infectious riffs of Metallica to the apocalyptic isolation of Leviathan, metal encompasses the human experience like no other genre, while simultaneou...

Alice Waddington’s ‘Paradise Hills’ Is Incredibly Stylish But Lacks Any Subtlety Or Substance [Review]

Jonathan Christian

November 1, 2019 12:54 pm

News, Reviews

Do you remember when Hollywood was obsessed with reimaging fairy tales? If you managed to blot out those dark years, you probably will not remember such classics like “Red Riding Hood,” “Beastly,” or “Hansel &a...

‘Greener Grass’: Surrealism And Social Satire Fuse To Form A Pastel-Colored Nightmare [Review]

Jonathan Christian

October 16, 2019 12:01 pm

News, Reviews

Envision an alternate reality where David Lynch decided to direct the “Barbie” movie and you’ll see a nightmarishly clear picture of what to expect from “Greener Grass,” an ultra-farcical deconstruction of the ...

‘Free Time’ Paints A Beautiful Portrait Of Youth, Decay, And Solitude In New York City [NYFF Review]

Jonathan Christian

October 1, 2019 2:29 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

If Manfred Kirchheimer’s latest documentary “Free Time” could summarize itself into a single statement, it would be that there is power in silence. Not a single word of dialogue is spoken in “Free Time,” and ye...

Chiara Malta’s ‘Simple Women’ is not lacking for confidence, but like many first films, it has too many ideas and too little depth.

‘Simple Women’: A Faulty Psychological Drama About Obsession, Manipulation & Hero Worship [TIFF Review]

Jonathan Christian

September 6, 2019 6:45 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

In 1956, sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl developed the concept of parasocial interactions (PSI), a term that refers to the connection that media consumers feel towards media figures (i.e., actors an...

‘Verdict’ Is A Remarkably Tense Drama About A Woman Fighting A Broken Justice System [Venice Review]

Jonathan Christian

August 29, 2019 12:23 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

By the five-minute mark, “Verdict” presents itself as an urban drama running with the ferocity of a high-octane action flick. Before the audience is given the chance to gain their bearings, the film has already...

‘This Is Not Berlin’: Countercultural Coming-Of-Age Tale Sadly Falls In Line With The Genre’s Status Quo [Review]

Jonathan Christian

August 9, 2019 12:55 pm

News, Reviews

Let’s be very clear—“This Is Not Berlin” is very much a coming-of-age movie. If you have somehow escaped the seemingly never-ending onslaught of films that explore interchangeable stories about self-discovery, ...

‘Tiny: The Life Of Erin Blackwell’: The ‘Streetwise’ Follow-Up Is A Sobering Look At The Fallout Of Poverty & Addiction [Review]

Jonathan Christian

July 19, 2019 2:48 pm

News, Reviews

In the oversaturated cinematic climate of 2019, sequels are semi-hated. The concept of second chapters continuing narratives and diving deeper into characters has vanished in favor of releasing uninspired, clic...

‘Streetwise’ Is A Landmark Documentary That Captures The Brutal Reality Of Homeless Youth And Broken Homes [Review]

Jonathan Christian

July 19, 2019 1:18 pm

News, Reviews

The introductory scene of Martin Bell’s documentary “Streetwise” depicts a child jumping off a bridge. The boy, who the audience will soon come to know as Rat, fearlessly falls through the air with no visible d...

‘Leto’: This Russian Rock And Roll Biopic Hits All The Wrong Notes [Review]

Jonathan Christian

June 13, 2019 4:48 pm

News, Reviews

Rock and rebellion share identical DNA. From adolescent angst to organized resistance, the music genre has sung backup vocals to more than a few social uprisings in its time. Accompanied by its promises of fame...

‘Black Mirror’ Season 5 Is A Collection Of Undercooked Ideas & Disappointing Episodes [Review]

Jonathan Christian

June 7, 2019 10:50 am

Features, Reviews, Television

Cerebral, innovative, thought-provoking—it seems like only yesterday that critics across the planet were freely tossing out compliments such as these at Netflix's "Black Mirror," in praise of what many consider...

‘Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project’ Examines The Fine Line Between Brilliance And Insanity [Tribeca Review]

Jonathan Christian

May 4, 2019 3:33 pm

News, Reviews

Do you still own any VHS tapes? In 2019, the video recording cassettes hold more in common with horror anthologies, overused internet aesthetics, and cheap iPhone filters than the actual analog format that shap...

‘Colewell’: Is Quietly Devastating & Karen Allen Is Tremendous [SFIFF Review]

Jonathan Christian

April 14, 2019 8:00 am

News, Reviews

Growing old is not for the young. By nature, no one happily anticipates the lethargic decay that life inflicts on the human body until it eventually cannot continue to function properly. But, at some point, thi...

Joaquin-Phoenix-Rooney-Mara-Mary-Magdalene

‘Mary Magdalene’: Not Even Jesus Can Save This Miserable Biblical Drama [Review]

Jonathan Christian

April 12, 2019 1:55 pm

News, Reviews

It is common knowledge within the film community that faith-based movies are almost always subpar. Unless your name is Martin Scorcese (“Silence”) or Mel Gibson (“The Passion of the Christ”), these religious fl...

Author Jonathan Christian