Robert Daniels, Author at The Playlist

‘Medicine for Melancholy’: Barry Jenkins Reflects On His Lo-Fi Debut & Why He Didn’t Think It Was Criterion Collection Worthy At First [Interview]

June 21, 2023 12:11 pm

Before “The Underground Railroad.” Before “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Before his Best Picture-winning “Moonlight,” there was “Medicine for Melancholy.” The debut feature from writer/director Barry Jenkins, “...

‘The Idol’ Review: Sam Levinson’s Crude Provocation With The Weeknd & Lily-Rose Depp Is Gross & Sexist [Cannes]

Robert Daniels

May 23, 2023 7:38 am

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

Lord, give me strength. From the first minute of “The Idol,” the already controversial music-based television series from HBO Max (sorry, Max), it’s clear that creators Abel Tesfaye (formerly known as The Week...

‘Robot Dreams’ Review: Pablo Berger Animates A Vivid Love Story [Cannes]

Robert Daniels

May 22, 2023 11:28 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

There is no dialogue. There are no humans. The story takes place in colorful New York City, specifically the East Village, and features animals living anthropomorphic lives. The lead character is a dog, simply...

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Review: Lily Gladstone Is Devastating In Martin Scorsese’s Indigenous Epic [Cannes]

Robert Daniels

May 20, 2023 4:34 pm

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

I am still searching for my words; my thoughts first ran dry in the opening minutes of the shattering and evocative “Killers of the Flower Moon.” It begins with the Osage tribal elders mourning the loss of the...

‘Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny’ Review: Harrison Ford Rises Above This Dusty Franchise [Cannes]

Robert Daniels

May 19, 2023 7:48 am

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

In “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the sturdy lark, positioned precariously in the liminal space between commerce and taste, there are the familiar callbacks, the big set pieces, the cracking bullwhip...

‘Bruiser’: A Searing Coming of Age Story About Black Masculinity [Review]

Robert Daniels

February 24, 2023 1:34 pm

News, Reviews

There’s a moment in “Bruiser,” a somber, lyrical coming-of-age tale set during a difficult Alabama summer, which speaks to the corrosive battle at the heart of the film. “You got a disease in your heart. It’s ...

‘A Thousand And One’ Review: Black Motherhood And Harlem Take Centerstage In A.V. Rockwell’s Handsome Debut [Sundance]

Robert Daniels

January 25, 2023 3:40 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

In writer/director A.V. Rockwell’s feature directorial debut, “A Thousand and One,” Inez (a deeply felt Teyana Talyor) has returned to Harlem after spending a year in Rikers Prison. The year is 1994, and Harle...

‘Rye Lane’ Review: Raine Allen-Miller’s Rom-Com Is Already Infinitely Rewatchable [Sundance]

Robert Daniels

January 24, 2023 2:34 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

Raine Allen-Miller’s “Rye Lane,” her directorial feature debut, is a wonder. Not since Spike Lee introduced the world to Bed-Stuy, has a Black director so seamlessly embedded viewers into the verve and flavor ...

‘Young. Wild. Free.’ Review: A Stylish, Young Black Love Story Loses The Plot [Sundance]

Robert Daniels

January 23, 2023 4:02 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

Brendon (Algee Smith) isn’t a bad kid. An aspiring artist living in Los Angeles, in his last month of high school, the pressures of his daily life, however, are beginning to overwhelm him. His mother, Janice (...

‘All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt’ Review: Raven Jackson Delivers A Potent Tribute To Black Life [Sundance]

Robert Daniels

January 22, 2023 3:40 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

A memory, tinged with aching rawness, emerges in “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” the feature debut by writer/director Raven Jackson. This memory briefly foretells the knotting stream of remembrances ...

Author Robert Daniels