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By Sean Boelman  June is Pride Month, and that means all sorts of film events celebrating LGBTQIA+ cinema. Few of these events are as exciting as NewFest Pride, a showcase of some of the greatest queer movies of the year so far that have played at a variety of festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, and TIFF. Although the main NewFest event doesn’t happen till later in the year, NewFest Pride is always a grand time to hold you over till NYC’s biggest queer film festival. Here are a few of the films (and one show) playing at NewFest Pride that we at disappointment media have gotten a chance to see and think you should check out to celebrate an early start to Pride Month 2024. Am I OK?One of the more eagerly anticipated movies playing at this year’s edition of NewFest Pride — both in-person and virtually — is Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allyn’s Am I OK? Starring Dakota Johnson, this romantic comedy premiered at the Sundance Film Festival all the way back in 2022 and was quickly acquired by Warner Bros. and Max (then still HBO Max, if you can imagine how long ago that was), but has not been seen since. Over two years later, the streamer will be premiering the film, and there couldn’t be a better place for its relaunch. A House Is Not a DiscoPerhaps the most “New York” of the movies playing at NewFest Pride is Brian J. Smith’s documentary A House Is Not a Disco, which explores the phenomenon that is the “queer mecca” of Fire Island Pines. Although this queer hideaway vacation spot has already entered the cinematic mainstream thanks to the Hulu romantic comedy Fire Island from a few years ago, this documentary offers a refreshingly honest look at the community that gathers every summer in an oasis 50 miles away from New York City. SebastianAfter its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the sex worker drama Sebastian is making its New York premiere as part of NewFest Pride. The film follows a 25-year-old aspiring writer who decides to begin a second life as a sex worker to research his debut novel. Mikko Makela’s movie feels very similar in nature to films like Mysterious Skin, albeit with less of a lingering focus on misery. Makela approaches these complex themes with nuance and empathy, allowing him to ask some incredibly provocative questions. FantasmasFormer Saturday Night Live writer Julio Torres’s feature directorial debut, Problemista, played as one of the main screenings at last year’s edition of Newfest Pride, and he returns this year with an advance screening of the first two episodes of his follow-up project — the anthology series Fantasmas. Fantasmas reunites Torres with his Los Espookys network, HBO, and it feels like they gave him carte blanche with budget and creative freedom. It’s a wacky, endlessly creative comedy series with lots of hilarious sketches, blending his comedic style from his SNL days with the quirky sensibilities of his more recent work, establishing him as one of the most distinctive and idiosyncratic voices working today. NewFest Pride runs in NYC and online from May 30 to June 3.
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The Criterion Voyages (Spine #58): PEEPING TOM -- A Horror Classic Restored in Glorious 4K5/27/2024
By Sean Boelman
Armageddon and Deep Impact; Volcano and Dante’s Peak; No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits; Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down. History has seen numerous times that Hollywood will release two similar movies in the same year. However, few cases are as interesting as Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom from 1960, recently released in 4K for the first time by the Criterion Collection.
The main reason why Peeping Tom is such an interesting specimen in this regard is that it’s held in nearly as high of a regard as its peer, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Of course, Psycho is considered almost across the board to be the better film, and rightfully so, but in many ways, Powell’s movie has left just as indelible of a mark on horror cinema as Hitchcock’s masterpiece. Peeping Tom follows a young man who is a photographer by day and a serial killer by night, using his camera as his weapon to murder unsuspecting women and capture it on film to make a “documentary” about fear. It’s an early manifestation of slasher tropes, albeit in the restraints of the Hays Code era, making it an essential piece of horror cinema history. One of the biggest merits of Peeping Tom is Carl Boehm’s performance in the lead role, which is as menacing as they come. It’s almost scarier to have a character like this who thinks he’s acting with reason, unlike some of the later horror villains that would come along and are purely maniacal and evil. 
The other aspect of Peeping Tom that has earned it praise over the years is its visual style. The sequences shot from the POV of the protagonist’s camera’s viewfinder have been done over and over again, and seeing the source of the reference is fantastic. However, the many ways Powell creates suspense despite the limitations of what he can show are certainly a sight to see.
Several of today’s most iconic filmmakers have been influenced by Peeping Tom, from the obvious, like Brian De Palma, to some for whom the influence is more subtle, like Edgar Wright. For further proof of just how many artists Peeping Tom has influenced, look no further than the bonus features on this disc, which include an introduction by Martin Scorsese, an interview with Thelma Schoonmaker, and a making-of documentary featuring the duo along with Boehm. Even beyond that, this Criterion Collection edition of Peeping Tom is a veritable wealth of riches for cinephiles. In addition to the aforementioned bonus features, the release includes two audio commentary tracks from film scholars, a documentary about screenwriter Leo Marks, and a featurette on the film’s restoration, which, mind you, looks absolutely stunning. Peeping Tom is an influential work of classic horror cinema, and this Criterion Collection edition is certainly worth picking up. Although this isn’t one of the more obscure or difficult-to-find titles to enter the fray, the gorgeous restoration and wealth of bonus features make it more than worth adding to your shelf. The Criterion Collection edition of Peeping Tom is now available. |