ABOUT ME
Background
Freelance Reporter/Writer for The Stranger and The Portland Mercury, September 2020-Present
Reviewed films such as Memoria, Master, Fresh, Studio 666, Drive My Car, The 355, Antlers, Lamb, Dear Evan Hansen, Prisoners of the Ghostland, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Candyman, Demonic, Homeroom, The Suicide Squad, Old, The Green Knight, Pig, Godzilla vs. Kong, The Nest, Possessor, Collective, Feels Good Man, Minari, Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares), One Night in Miami, Wonder Woman 1984, Sound of Metal, Mank, Stray, The Vigil, The Reason I Jump, Mayor, Spiral, Alone, City Hall, The Donut King, Rent-A-Pal, and I Care a Lot.
Assisted in The Stranger's comprehensive coverage of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival which consisted of interviewing the head of the partner to the festival the Northwest Film Forum, previewing the release lineup, writing a feature about how many of the films tackled environmentalism, as well as reviewing the best films from the festival such as Censor and the soon to be released Wild Indian.
Came back for the second year of coverage in 2022. This consisted of writing a comprehensive preview and reviews of The Worst Person in the World, La Guerra Civil, Emergency.
Assisted in coverage of the Seattle International Film Festival by interviewing director Megan Griffiths about her new film and production in Washington state, talking with Navalny director Daniel Roher, and writing a feature about the locally shot film Midday Black Midnight Blue.
Interviewed Smoke Signals Director Chris Eyre about his new television show Dark Winds.
Contributed the piece An Oral History of How Pig, the Sublime Film Shot and Set in Portland, Found Its Heart to the Portland Mercury's 2021 Fall Arts Guide: Art Is Political.
Interviewed the star of the Showtime series Yellowjackets Jasmin Savoy Brown.
Talked with The Room's Greg Sestero about his new directorial debut and the legacy of the most iconic cult film of all time.
Interviewed the improv comedy trio Broke Gravy about their craft and getting back on the stage.
Did a deep dive on the origins of the science fiction epic Dune and how it was born out of author Frank Herbert's concerns about the environment in his home state of Washington.
Wrote a preview of the 26th Annual Seattle Queer Film Festival by picking some of the best films being shown.
Reported on the concerns film/tv workers of IATSE Local 488, the chapter covering Oregon, Washington, Northern Idaho, and Montana, have about their working conditions as well as their thoughts on the future following a narrow contract ratification vote.
Interviewed comedian Niles Abston before his series of shows in the Pacific Northwest then reviewed his show in Seattle.
Wrote features about local artists and creators. This included the locally made film All Sorts that showed in the Seattle International Film Festival, the film East of the Mountains starring local icon Tom Skerritt, the Robert Rodriguez-produced documentary Hood River, the documentary about Dr. Anthony Fauci simply entitled Fauci, a documentary-fiction hybrid Hunting Bigfoot, and a new documentary about Tina Turner.
Conducted interviews with directors of exciting and interesting new films. This included Test Pattern, Sophie Jones, Lupe, The People vs. Agent Orange, MLK/FBI, and Little Fish.
Film Critic and Culture Reporter for The News Tribune, September 2016-August 2021
Reviewed a litany of releases over the years such as Kajillionaire, The Lie, The Wolf of Snow Hollow, 12 Hour Shift, The Glorias, Misbehaviour, Enola Holmes, Antebellum, The Devil All the Time, Cuties, I Am Woman, Mulan, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Get Duked!, Chemical Hearts, Tesla, Project Power, Boys State, She Dies Tomorrow, The Fight, Radioactive, The Rental, The Painted Bird, Flannery, Palm Springs, The Old Guard, The Truth, John Lewis: Good Trouble, Irresistible, 7500, Miss Juneteenth, Da 5 Bloods, The King of Staten Island, Becky, Shirley, The High Note, The Vast of Night, The Lovebirds, Capone, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Clementine, Driveways, Bull, Dangerous Lies, A Secret Love, Extraction, Fantastic Fungi, Selah and The Spades, Extra Ordinary, Trolls World Tour, Corpus Christi, Zombi Child, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, And Then We Danced, Balloon, The Platform, Bacurau, The Banker, The Hunt, Blow the Man Down, First Cow, Wendy, Greed, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Recorder, Emma, Downhill, The Photograph, The Assistant, Clemency, The Rhythm Section, Little Women, A Hidden Life, The Two Popes, and A White, White Day.
Wrote features uncovering the true stories behind some of the year's biggest releases such as Disney's The One and Only Ivan, The Dark Divide, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and the secret covid documentary Totally Under Control.
Covered the fallout of the pandemic's impact on the movie industry. This included how studios shifted to offer digital releases closer to their release date and eventually the simultaneous digital release schedule.
Covered film festival programming through in-depth interviews with directors, creators, editors etc. about their work. This included interviewing the outstanding director of First Cow, Kelly Reichardt.
Worked on a rigorous investigative piece over several weeks about former members of NXIVM, the subject of multiple documentaries.
Senior Features Writer for Collider, March 2021-Present
Reviewed the coming of age drama On the Come Up, the evocative drama The Silent Twins, the humorous horror film Barbarian, the historical thriller Burial, the buddy comedy Me Time, the Javier Bardem-led The Good Boss, the immersive documentary about the crisis in the Amazon that is The Territory, the Princess Diana documentary The Princess, the Diane Keaton comedy Mack & Rita, the anime rock ballad Inu-Oh, the grim horror film What Josiah Saw, the sublime Charlotte Colbert debut She Will, the Spirit Award-Winning film 7 Days, the drama adaptation The Forgiven, the documentary Look at Me: XXXTentacion, the new Claire Denis film Both Sides of the Blade, and the horror film X.
Assisted in coverage of the 2022 Fantasia Film Festival by reviewing Glorious, We Might As Well Be Dead, The Killer, and The Harbinger.
Assisted in coverage of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival by reviewing Aftersun, Wendell & Wild, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, The Woman King, R.M.N., Butcher's Crossing, Dalíland, The Wonder, Broker, Sanctuary, My Policeman, and The Menu.
Reviewed a variety of shows such as the second season of Abbott Elementary, the second season of the comedy Los Espookys, the first season of The Serpent Queen, the first season of Tell Me Lies, the first season of Last Light, as the final season of See, the final season of Kevin Can F**k Himself, the first season of The Undeclared War, the final season of Ozark, the second season of Reservation Dogs, the first season of Tales of the Walking Dead, the second season of Primal, the second season of Rutherford Falls, the first season of The Old Man, the first season of Now & Then, the first season of The Lincoln Lawyer, the second season of The Wilds, the final season of Better Call Saul, the first season of Reacher, the first season of The Boys Presents: Diabolical, the first season of Pachinko, the first season of Outer Range, and the video game adaptation Halo.
Film Critic for The SunBreak, February 2021-Present
Wrote reviews for the online movie magazine including Thor: Love and Thunder, Brian and Charles, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Crimes of the Future, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Uncharted, I Want You Back, Death on the Nile, Moonfall, Something in the Dirt, Dual, A Love Song, The Lost Daughter, The Matrix Resurrections, Nightmare Alley, Wolf, Encounter, The Beta Test, Finch, Mass, Halloween Kills, The Last Duel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Cry Macho, Malignant, Small Engine Repair, Reminiscence , Free Guy, Joe Bell, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Forever Purge, The Tomorrow War, Zola, False Positive, Lansky, Werewolves Within, Les nôtres, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It, In The Heights, The Amusement Park, Dream Horse, Voyagers, Come True, Nomadland, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Raya and the Last Dragon, Nobody, Mortal Kombat, Spiral, & The Conjuring 3.
Film Critic for The Inlander, February 2021-Present
Wrote reviews of Athena, See How They Run, Three Thousand Years of Longing, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Bullet Train, Don't Make Me Go, The Sea Beast, The Princess, Elvis, Top Gun: Maverick, Men, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Lost City, The Adam Project, The King's Daughter, Scream, The Tender Bar, C'mon C'mon, Encanto, King Richard, Belfast, Last Night in Soho, The Rescue, The Night House, Nine Days, and feature pieces for The Inlander, an alternative weekly in Spokane.