Jonathan Christian, Author at The Playlist

Family Romance, LLC: Werner Herzog’s Rent-A-Family Drama Never Finds Its Way Home [Review]

July 3, 2020 11:49 am

The need for connection lingers in every human heart. Marriages and friendships both stem from the inherent desire to connect with another person, but no other relationship affects the human experience more th...

‘7500’: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Shines In A Tense, Claustrophobic Thriller That Proves Less Is More [Review]

Jonathan Christian

June 18, 2020 9:00 am

News, Reviews

The day begins like any other. Veteran pilot Tobias Ellis (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) sits down in the cockpit of a plane flying out of Berlin without a care in the world. He runs through the flight checklist, make...

‘Aviva’: An Entrancing, Dance-Driven Experiment That Struts Into Self-Indulgence [Review]

Jonathan Christian

June 15, 2020 4:00 pm

News, Reviews

Around 57 minutes into Boaz Yakin’s dance-driven romantic drama “Aviva,” the film’s protagonist looks straight into the camera and says, “Fuck consistency and tone.” The reason for his outburst? He’s addressin...

‘You Don’t Nomi’ Examines The Blurry Line Between The Genius & Tragedy Of ‘Showgirls’ [Review]

Jonathan Christian

June 8, 2020 3:45 pm

News, Reviews

By and large, “Is ‘Showgirls’ a good movie?” might be one of the most unanswerable questions posed to our current generation. Aside from “What is the purpose of mankind?” or “Where do we go after we die?” the ...

‘In Search of Kundun’: A Deep Dive into Martin Scorsese’s Unsung Masterpiece [Review]

Jonathan Christian

May 17, 2020 1:39 pm

News, Reviews

Most film buffs do not casually drop “Kundun” into everyday conversation. Even if cinephiles were assigned to rank the most overlooked films of Martin Scorsese’s career, “Bringing Out the Dead,” “After Hours,”...

‘Kokoloko’: Gerardo Naranjo’s Feverish Follow-Up To ‘Miss Bala’ Falls Flat [Tribeca Review]

Jonathan Christian

April 29, 2020 2:40 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

Everyone enjoys a director’s comeback movie because when they are good, they are typically great. After stumbling for a period, Paul Schrader bounced back with “First Reformed.” George Miller proved that seque...

‘Pray Away’: Kristine Stolakis’ Doc Is One Of The Most Important Films Of The Year [Tribeca Review]

Jonathan Christian

April 29, 2020 2:07 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

Confronting the topic of conversion therapy in a film requires a remarkable amount of delicacy. Within the fictional side of cinema, films like “Boy Erased” and “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” which both s...

Paul Mescal, Daisy Edgar Jones, Normal People

‘Normal People’: A Genuine But Seriously Problematic Romance [Review]

Jonathan Christian

April 25, 2020 3:15 pm

Features, News, Reviews, Television

Every once in a while, there arrives a piece of entertainment—be it a film or TV show—that makes you stop and think, “Something about this isn’t right.” On the surface, all the pieces seemed to be set in place...

‘How To Fix A Drug Scandal’: A Sterilized Tale Of Addiction & Corruption In America [Review]

Jonathan Christian

April 2, 2020 1:45 pm

News, Reviews, Television

No one grows up with the aspirations of becoming a drug addict. Yet, for countless individuals across the United States, that nightmare morphs into a reality, an eternal consequence arising from a moment of we...

‘Freeland’: Krisha Fairchild Shines in the Most Depressing Stoner Movie of All Time [Review]

Jonathan Christian

March 21, 2020 4:30 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

Please Note: “Freeland” was originally scheduled to premiere at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. With the express consent of the representatives of the filmmakers, we present the review of the film here. Mariju...

‘The Surrogate’ Explores the Moral Complexity of New Age Parenting [Review]

Jonathan Christian

March 21, 2020 12:45 pm

News, Reviews

Please Note: “The Surrogate” was originally scheduled to premiere at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. With the express consent of the representatives of the filmmakers, we present the review of the film here. N...

‘The Carnivores’ Spotlights A Toxic Relationship & The Dog At Its Center [Review]

Jonathan Christian

March 17, 2020 3:28 pm

News, Reviews

Please Note: “The Carnivores” was originally scheduled to premiere at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. With the express consent of the representatives of the filmmakers, we present the review of the film here. ...

‘The American Sector’ Speaks Volumes About Freedom With Eloquent Silence [Berlin Review]

Jonathan Christian

February 24, 2020 12:19 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

“And on the pedestal these words appear:/‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;/Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!’/Nothing beside remains. Round the decay/Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare.” ...

‘Minyan’: An Outsider Struggles To Find His Identity In A Tedious Coming-Of-Age Tale [Berlin Review]

Jonathan Christian

February 24, 2020 11:50 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

How many times can the same stories be retold? Comparable to the enduring adage that nothing new exists under the sun, countless coming-of-age films continually fail to gaze beyond their illusion of self-impor...

‘Vitalina Varela’: Pedro Costa Delivers A Beautiful Meditation On Legacy, Loss, And Love [Review]

Jonathan Christian

February 21, 2020 3:56 pm

News, Reviews

Surrounded by all sides by corroded concrete, encased in stifling darkness, stone-faced men shuffle down an alleyway carved into the lifeless fabric of a Cape Verdean slum. Crucifixes, entrenched in the surfac...

Author Jonathan Christian