adult animation is something i usually struggle with. humor that often seems to depend too heavily on current pop culture, crass jokes, and strawman argument for those you disagree with to make fun of them. Lesbian Space Princess does all of these things. that said i was surprisingly enjoying this one quite a bit. a crowdpleaser that knows exactly what its crowd is (just the title alone helps finding the right crowd for this), the theater was roaring with laughter almost all the way through and definitely had me laughing out loud at several points too. very fast paced with a nice visual style and a simple but effective message. very gay (obviously), very gen z, very internet meme culture kinda humor if that sounds like your kinda thing this will be that.

8/10

this year's winner of the Golden Bear is a family drama about a 17-year-old girl writing down her feelings on her first unrequited love towards one of her female teachers. calmly rejecting the notion of this being a story of “queer awakening” this coming-of-age film is about what could have been. dreams of intimacy, of love, of tenderness, of feeling understood and seen, but also about the dreams of the past, of mothers and grandmothers reflecting on what could have been if they had followed through on them. a powerfully heartbreaking yet hopeful film that seems almost designed to win big in a jury with Todd Haynes as its president but nevertheless a worthy winner.

9/10

a deaf woman struggles connecting with her newborn hearing daughter. admittedly not much to say about this i'm sure there's some value in this especially to people who are deaf or have suffered hearing loss (i'd actually love to read that perspective if it's out there i couldn't find anything), the audio cutting to assume the mother's pov at the beginning and ending of the film is a really good detail, but overall this simply didn't do much for me due to its very conventional narrative and visual structure.

6/10

an anxiety attack and a half in the form of a two hour movie. a hole in the ceiling, a sick daughter, an absent father, work adding even more stress, unrequited fantasies, drinking and drugs as the stress levels become unbearable, the overwhelming feeling that one could snap at any moment, a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown and beyond. a film that makes you feel the panic of its lead character trying to balance all of this, played amazingly by Rose Bryne. a deeply discomforting watch that serves as a great comeback for Mary Bronstein and another potential upcoming hit in next year’s awards season for A24.

8/10