MovieBabble Theater

Stuart, a disabled man who pushes away his caretakers, comes to understand the value of accepting help.   Nick Kush: On top of the refreshing representation it provides, Act of God creates a worthwhile dialogue about …

During an exceptionally hot summer in Sweden, a Thai migrant worker has to navigate the forest and his increasingly quarrelsome relationship with his older brother, in order to find the blueberries needed to afford passage …

Introducing a young cast of first-time actors, Lay Me by the Shore follows a week in the life of Noah, a high school senior in his final days of school as he comes to terms …

Two ex-lovers cross paths at a train station.   Nick Kush: In a manner that only animation could express, Soft Animals is a very honest, funny, and occasionally gross (thanks to some wonderfully squishy sound design) depiction …

Michael Thompson is the longest serving non-violent offender in Michigan history and this year he is finally up for clemency. In 1994, he was arrested for selling three pounds of cannabis to a close friend …

Nel packs up her late father’s home while simultaneously unpacking memories of their volatile relationship.   Nick Kush: I very much admire Left Over‘s preference for small-stakes character building instead of histrionics. There are no screaming …

One night, Reine, a young loner, sees within the urban chaos a mystical oneness that seems alive, like some sort of guide.   Nick Kush: Genius Loci was on my long list of my favorite movies …

Between 1976 and 1980, young Manhattan photographer David Godlis documented the nightly goings-on at the Bowery’s legendary CBGB, “the undisputed birthplace of punk rock,” with a vividly distinctive style of night photography. Lewie and Noah …

Night shift cleaners in Salt Lake City share their experiences and attitudes toward their essential work.   Nick Kush: While You Were Sleeping is a gentle reminder of the necessary, but mostly unappreciated work that so …

Barry Jenkins’ note on The Gaze: “In my years of doing interviews and roundtables and Q&A’s for the various films we’ve made, there is one question that recurs. No matter the length of the piece …

As the workday grinds to a halt, a gathering of street racers makes way for the backroads of Bakersfield to find catharsis.   Nick Kush: So little is said throughout How to Breathe in Kern County, …

Frank told a joke at work. Nobody laughed. Now at 3 am he’s unable to sleep as he obsesses over his social faux-pas, leading him to contemplate the nature of memory itself.   Nick Kush: …

After an astronaut returns from her lunar mission to find that the public lost all interest in the moon, the stories of the astronaut, a film director, and a bear intersect.   Nick Kush: Whether it’s …

Identical figures perform the hopeless task of preserving blocks of ice.   Nick Kush: I love little oddballs such as Freeze Frame, wherein it appears the creator set out to try something just to see what …

A teenage girl takes a step toward adulthood in contemporary Cairo.   Nick Kush: Farida Zahran shows plenty of restraint in telling this coming-of-age story; in the wrong hands, Youth could turn into a needlessly brutal …

As a new show is introduced at an erotic dance theater in Lahore, a sacrificial goat goes missing, a dreamy trans girl desperately tries to become a star, and a naive young boy falls in …

An elderly gay couple living off the grid in the Rocky Mountains finds a deeper love together when dementia threatens their independence. Nick Kush: I adore Bob & Dale’s sparing use of dialogue. The titular couple …

Mark Reiter stands in front of his love’s house as he practices what he will say to her mother.   Nick Kush: The grain of the film and the general rough-around-the-edges aesthetic to Is Your Daughter …

All Luke and his mom have are two garbage bags full of clothes, and two tickets out of town on the midnight Greyhound. Like he’s assembling a puzzle, Luke has to figure out the why …

Ode to Desolation shares the story of Jim Henterly, a naturalist, illustrator, and fire lookout as he contemplates the dwindling days of Fire Lookouts in North America. With the influence of technology and AI threatening …

Everyone knows the Spider-Man story: man gets bitten by spider, gets spider powers, becomes hero. But radioactive metamorphosis is a two-way street. So what about the spider who bit Peter Parker? Whatever became of him? …

Every day that passes in New York City, Jeff finds a way to get through it. Maybe he’s driven to find love. Maybe he’s driven to find a connection. Or maybe he’s just driven to …

A black boy learns contradicting lessons of manhood and masculinity on the day of his cousin’s funeral. Winner of 2020 Sundance Jury Award for U.S. Narrative Fiction.   Nick Kush: It’s the understatement of the year …

If You Ever Hurt My Daughter, I Swear to God I’ll Let Her Navigate Her Own Emotional Growth is a short film adapted from the hilarious and heartwarming humor essay written by Toronto-based comedian Sophie …

The Prisoner’s Song follows two days in the life of an American prisoner, one during his time incarcerated and one as a free man, providing an observational view of the issues within the American prison …

A high-powered female executive has an erotic rendezvous with a high-rise window-washer on opposite sides of her office window. Funny and poignant, Squeegee is an apt portrait of intimacy in the time of social distancing. …

Fire, given by a mysterious figure, creates a hole in the world through which something terrible enters and leaves the world burned and overrun by strange insect figures.   Nick Kush: David Lynch may never make …

An ASMR vlogger with a devoted fan base returns from an extended absence with a livestream that spirals out of control.   Nick Kush: I appreciate any film that strives to push cinema forward. What …

Jenny breaks free from a toxic friendship and learns to harness her magical, useless superpower.   Nick Kush: Crude Oil is such a delightfully silly and experimental short film that labeling it as “quirky” doesn’t do …

92nd Academy Award Nominee for Best Live Action Short, The Neighbors’ Window tells the story of Alli (Maria Dizzia), a mother of young children who has grown frustrated with her daily routine and husband (Greg …