Hammer to Nail

Blue Film is one of the most daring American debuts in recent memory. Written and directed by Elliot Tuttle, the film traps two men in a Los Angeles Airbnb for a single night and refuses to let either of them...

Now that the 79th Cannes Film Festival is over, it’s time to analyze the critical response to the competition lineup. We have been keeping track of what our fellow critics have been saying about these in-competition films, and possible 2026...

(Check out m.j. O’TOOLE’S School for Defectors MOVIE REVIEW. It premiered at True/False and will next play at DC/DOX on Saturday, June 13. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.) Documentarian and master movie-trailer editor Jeremy Workman...

(The Tribeca Festival is back and celebrates its 25th year! Taking place June 3 – 14 in various screening rooms around NYC, HtN has tons of coverage coming your way like this Time Warp movie review from Chris Reed! Seen it? Join the...

Having premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, Once Upon a Time in Harlem is a documentary you should not sleep on this year. The film consists entirely of footage shot in 1972 at a party that took...

(The Tribeca Film Festival is back and celebrates its 25th year! Taking place June 3 – 14 in various screening rooms around NYC, HtN has tons of coverage coming your way like this Kids Like Me movie review from Chris Reed!...

The 20th annual Berkshire International Film Festival took place from May 28 – 31, and I was fortunate enough to attend for the first time. Featuring 29 features and 29 shorts, the festival curates rising independent filmmakers from all over...

(We here at Hammer to Nail are all about true independent cinema. But we also have to tip our hat to the great films of yesteryear that continue to inspire filmmakers and cinephiles alike. This week, “The Curbside Criterion” continues...

Mainstream feature animation has become an airless thing. Every frame is locked down, every surface polished, every emotional beat pre-chewed for the audience. Sébastien Laudenbach works in the opposite direction. His characters seem to have just been drawn, his colors...

The Tribeca Festival is back and celebrates its 25th year! Taking place June 3 – 14, it will feature new titles from filmmakers such as Julian Schnabel, Katie Holmes, David Wain, Sophia Takal, Drake Doremus, and more. There’s also a...