Ryan Coleman is a writer and critic from the San Gabriel Valley who writes about film, culture, and Los Angeles. His work can be found in Little White Lies, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Rue Morgue, and Ampersand LA.
Hot dog fingers, a talking raccoon, butt plug karate, Michelle Yeoh in dominatrix gear: Everything Everywhere All at Once has something for everyone. Past the absurdity is a deeply (and sometimes overly) sentimental tale about a family struggling to make it.
The master of psychosexual cinema, Paul Verhoeven, has produced another lurid romp, this time about lesbian nuns in the 17th century. Underlying Benedetta’s silliness, though, is a thoughtful reflection on faith and love for our deeply secular times.