Allyson Johnson

Editor-in-Chief

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Allyson is a New England based writer, who has been a film critic since 2012. She is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, and the Online Film Critics Society, along with being a Tomatometer approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. Her writing can also be found at CambridgeDay.com, ThePlaylist.net, VagueVisages.com, RogerEbert.com, TheMarySue.com and elsewhere.

‘On the Rocks’ review : Sofia Coppola’s latest is beautifully made but unfortunately vacant

Sofia Coppola has made a career of finding the poignant in daily minutia and intricate beauties in the sublime. Hers is an eye that gravitates to pastel colors, touch-starved intimacies, ornate decadence, serpentine lines and quiet heartache. It’s always been…

AFI 2020 review: ‘Sound of Metal’ is an uncompromising character study anchored by Riz Ahmed’s tour de force performance

Bruising in its delivery and blistering in its fall out, Sound of Metal is an astonishing, fully visceral experience anchored entirely by a tremendous performance from Riz Ahmed. Sound of Metal tells the story of a heavy metal drummer, Ruben…

76 Days Review: Devastating and Necessary | TIFF 2020

The start of 76 Days, the latest from documentary filmmaker Hao Wu along with Weixi Chen and their anonymous co-director, is something out of a horror movie. First it’s the haunting sobs of a medical worker, obscured completely by a…

Beans Review: An Immensely Powerful Coming-of-Age Story Set Against Oka Crisis of 1990 | TIFF 2020

Working as both a necessary history lesson as well as standing alone as a startling work of storytelling, Beans, directed by Tracey Deer, is a film that will stick to you like glue. Immersive and painful to watch without ever…

Wolfwalkers Review: A Visually Stunning Tale | TIFF 2020

The latest from Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells director Tomm Moore, along with Ross Stewart sharing directing duties, is a visual feast. Wolfwalkers may not hit at the same level of emotional poignancy as Moore’s previous…

Nomadland Review: Chloé Zhao’s Latest Stuns by Finding Humanity in the Smallest of Moments | TIFF 2020

Chloé Zhao has an ability to capture the unseen America in a way that sets her apart from any of her contemporaries.  There’s no romance in her stories – they are simply facts of life and tell of the natural…

Shiva Baby Review: A Hilarious but Heartfelt Coming-of-Age Story | TIFF 2020

There’s an intense amount of anxiety that comes along with any type of large family function, from holidays to birthdays or even funerals – I myself tend to break out in hives. That heightened anxiety is caught with clarity and…