Carmen Phillips
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
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Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) |
Hocus Pocus 2 really is cute (enough). If you’re in the right mood, it’s maybe even good. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Oct 04, 2022
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Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) |
There's a lot of fun in Thor: Love and Thunder. It's a worthy successor to Thor: Ragnarok (my favorite, and despite what Natalie Portman claimed, still the gayest Thor movie). - Autostraddle
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| Posted Jul 08, 2022
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Fire Island (2022) |
I’ve never seen a film take on a relatively common and flagrantly cruel catchphrase from gay men’s dating apps — “No fats, no fems, no Asians” — so squarely. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Jun 13, 2022
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Bruised (2020) |
It's rare that trauma narratives show the mess and muck of healing, but Bruised valiantly lets Jackie falter, get back up, and try again. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Nov 29, 2021
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Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) |
After a clunky slow start filled with exposition, director/co-writer Navot Papushado seems to throw everything against the wall, covers it in blood, and hopes that something will stick. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Jul 16, 2021
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My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021) |
My Name Is Pauli Murray absolutely shines brightest when it lets Murray take the reigns. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Feb 02, 2021
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A New York Christmas Wedding (2020) |
Unfortunately, Christmas love can do many things - but it can't always cover the cracks in storytelling, and A New York Christmas Wedding has some pretty egregious, if not outright offensive, ones. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Nov 20, 2020
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Set It Off (1996) |
F. Gary Gray does so nearly flawlessly because he understands that first and foremost the story belongs to the Black women upon whose shoulders this entangled mess has always fallen onto in the first place. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Sep 04, 2020
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Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) |
It's angry and incredibly violent and despite its bright color palette - perhaps expectedly dark; it's also cathartic and triumphant. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Feb 11, 2020
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Hustlers (2019) |
Hustlers is arguably the finest performance Jennifer Lopez has ever given, and there is no way for me to be unbiased about that fact. Her performance is as magnetic as it is layered, loving and warm as it is fearsome and dangerous. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Sep 17, 2019
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Men in Black: International (2019) |
Having Molly guide us back into the supernatural buddy-comedy universe really should've worked. To her credit, Tessa Thompson works very hard to make it work. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Aug 10, 2019
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Butter (2011) |
The entire plot for Butter is the kind of wackadoodle delight that one should really experience with fresh eyes and their feet up on a couch with a bowl junk food at their disposal. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Apr 11, 2019
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Widows (2018) |
It's knotty and tense to watch as all the pieces fall into place, but nonetheless electrifying. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Nov 20, 2018
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Boys on the Side (1995) |
Honestly one of the most beautiful tributes to adult friendships between women that I've seen. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Oct 08, 2018
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Hearts Beat Loud (2018) |
A merciful reprieve from the trend of films that, the few times they have lesbian protagonists at all, only serve to remind us of the hellscape that being queer in America can be. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Jun 06, 2018
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The Incredible Jessica James (2017) |
This movie is surprisingly sweet, bright, and optimistic in all the right places. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Apr 20, 2018
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Black Panther (2018) |
I want us to love on Black Panther, bravely and openly. But, we cannot forget the asterisk. We cannot forget that a significant achievement for black representation once again came on the back of forced black queer silence. - Autostraddle
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| Posted Apr 20, 2018
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