Fandom creates communities. Whether it’s for a sports team, a movie franchise, or a pop star, people form lifetime bonds over their shared love for a source of entertainment. It can rear its ugly head just as quickly when fans assume the role of protector. We’ve seen online bullying and doxing when writers criticize Taylor Swift, or fights and verbal abuse break out at Raiders games. Tribalism has a strong hold on anyone who feels the need to belong and…

Lady Terror is a film about Jake Large, a 40-something-year-old Australian lawyer whose practice consists of accident victims seeking to recoup money for their injuries. Despite this being a major part of his practice, even Jake, played by writer/director Nathan Hill, wonders about the legitimacy of some of the claims, especially those that seem unfathomable from the jump. This skepticism is evident when a woman enters his office insisting that she was injured by a cat that scratched her while…

When watching a story unfold, we often adopt the perspective of the character most central to it. Generally, they have basic decency or some relatable quality, while the antagonistic force is motivated by greed or a general desire to harm. However, sometimes we can be in the thick of a story and say, “Wait a minute, who is actually the jerk here?” Anti-heroes are a mainstay in cinema and a good way to shake up the routine. Rusty Rehl’s debut…

Stories of romance can have all sorts of complications: rich girl/poor guy, love triangle, wartime draft. Generally, we see a couple pulled apart by circumstances beyond their control such as meddling families or political strife. Thus, Carmen Emmi’s Sundance darling Plainclothes provides an original angle, offering both an examination of an oppressive culture, a predatory law enforcement practice and the bounds of societal expectations.

Set in 1997, Plainclothes revolves around Lucas (Tom Blyth, Robin Hood), a plainclothes police officer that…