Monica Castillo
@mcastimovies.bsky.social
11K followers 600 following 420 posts
Film critic, programmer, dancer, dog person.
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mcastimovies.bsky.social
As a fan of the original film, I was skeptical of Bill Condon’s adaptation of the musical, but he does such a great job, I cannot help but recommend the new KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN. 🕷️

Read my full review below. 🕸️
ebertvoices.bsky.social
“KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN arrives at a time when we could perhaps use a little more distraction, an excuse to stop doomscrolling and fall into the old school charms of sweeping musicals and a story about love in the face of oppression,” writes @mcastimovies.bsky.social.
Kiss of the Spider Woman movie review (2025) | Roger Ebert
It’s kitsch but a delightfully surprising throwback, and a welcome reminder that in times of need, we still have art for escape.
www.rogerebert.com
Reposted by Monica Castillo
britthates.bsky.social
Jason Blum's take on AI sucks. an AI takeover isn't inevitable, and treating it as such (while also referring to filmmaking as "content creation," smdh) helps AI companies promote the lie that their deeply unprofitable, destructive tech is more powerful and useful than it actually is.
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Loved Ira Sachs’ new film PETER HUJAR’S DAY, and I hope you will too. ❤️
ebertvoices.bsky.social
"With Ira Sachs’ painterly compositions and Ben Whishaw’s deceptively effortless performance, PETER HUJAR’S DAY is a surprisingly beautiful and subtle tribute to the balancing act it takes to be a working artist,” writes @mcastimovies.bsky.social in her 4/4 star review.
Peter Hujar’s Day movie review (2025) | Roger Ebert
A surprisingly beautiful and subtle tribute to the balancing act it takes to be a working artist.
www.rogerebert.com
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Excited to visit the Hamptons International Film Festival this weekend as part of their documentary jury! Say hello if you’re in town as well.

hamptonsfilmfest.org/hiff33-compe...
Reposted by Monica Castillo
jhoberman.bsky.social
Ken Jacobs (1933-2025)

A great artist, a wonderful teacher, & speaking personally, a close friend for over 50 years. Linking to a piece I wrote to mark his 80th birthday.

www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/m...
Reposted by Monica Castillo
willowcatelyn.bsky.social
I'm too fucking tired to debunk every stupid thing that Ryan Murphy said about Christine Jorgensen or how the public response to Ed Gein was catastrophic to the the perception of trans people so I'll just point to my book. We covered all of it.

bookshop.org/p/books/corp...
Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema
The History and Future of Transness in Cinema
bookshop.org
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Made my way out to BONE LAKE for a bit of horror movie fun. Tis the season. 🎃
ebertvoices.bsky.social
“BONE LAKE is a fun, messed-up horror thriller playing with both familiar tropes and modern-day anxieties of love, sex, and finding out that someone has booked the same rental home for the weekend,” writes @mcastimovies.bsky.social.
Bone Lake movie review & film summary (2025) | Roger Ebert
“Bone Lake” is still a fair bit of fun, rife with enough unexpected twists and weird tropes referencing other horror movies.
www.rogerebert.com
Reposted by Monica Castillo
agordon.me
The amazing thing about the hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on AI development is it doesn't even include all the externalized costs like higher electricity prices for hundreds of millions of people.
AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring
Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.
www.bloomberg.com
mcastimovies.bsky.social
I wish I found more things to like about it 😅
mcastimovies.bsky.social
My first bad time at the movies with Daniel Day-Lewis, or ANEMONE for thee but not for me. 😬
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Happy New York Film Festival to all celebrating!
Reposted by Monica Castillo
paulduane.bsky.social
Kaleb's advice in his last piece of published writing is flawless, and we should all do what he says, in his memory, if not for our own good.
I also have advice. Everybody loves reading advice on the computer, so I’ll share it: the best thing you can do right now is log off as hard as you can. Go outside, talk to people in real life where it’s actually kind of rude to talk about the news, try to actually see the friends you usually just text message. Go for a long drive and turn the phone off while you do it. Get back into your hobbies or pick one and learn it for a while. Watch one of those studio movies that reviews called “wildly miscalculated” and you haven’t seen since high school. Play an album you like but find embarrassing. Go to free community events even if they sound stupid. If you take the freeway, try the surface streets. Go to a bad diner and just order some bad coffee because even bad coffee is good coffee.
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Another TIFF review! Justice for June Squibb but ELEANOR THE GREAT is not it. 😬
ebertvoices.bsky.social
“While ELEANOR THE GREAT never quite recovers from the moral issue at its center, Squibb’s lively performance makes it memorable,” writes @mcastimovies.bsky.social about Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, which arrives in theaters now.
Eleanor the Great movie review (2025) | Roger Ebert
Scarlett Johansson’s feature debut “Eleanor the Great” is quite the surprise.
www.rogerebert.com
mcastimovies.bsky.social
They do marvelous work 👏👏👏
mcastimovies.bsky.social
I keep drawing the sex comedy reviews lately, and fortunately, I landed one that didn’t feel so sex shamey. Here’s to DOIN’ IT, a title my mother would never speak aloud.
Reposted by Monica Castillo
karenho.bsky.social
One thing at a time. Even if it's powered by spite.
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Aw lucky! I didn’t have the chance to see it in person. This is the next best thing.
mcastimovies.bsky.social
So glad this came together. ❤️
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Happy Bad Bunny live concert to all tuning in. 🐰
Bad Bunny close up
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Girl power girl boss girl go start your own company cashing in on people’s loneliness
ebertvoices.bsky.social
“It was the user experience of the film—where its simplistic narrative design leaves no surprises and plenty of shallow characters—that felt unsatisfying,” writes @mcastimovies.bsky.social about the biopic, SWIPED. www.rogerebert.com/reviews/swip...
Swiped movie review & film summary (2025) | Roger Ebert
A corporate girl-power biopic with a well-tread narrative.
www.rogerebert.com
mcastimovies.bsky.social
Nooooo 😭 I can’t watch them fast enough during festival season
willmckinley.bsky.social
"Oh, Mr. Grant!"

It looks like Hulu is celebrating THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW's 55th anniversary by dropping it Sept 30.

#ClassicTV #TVSky
A screen grab from Hulu's MARY TYLER MOORE page indicating the classic series "expires" in 12 days.
Reposted by Monica Castillo
nyfcc.bsky.social
We join our colleagues in @lafilmcritics.bsky.social and @nsfc.bsky.social in condemning the actions taken by Nexstar and Disney-ABC to pull "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" off the air.
Reposted by Monica Castillo
karenattiah.bsky.social
I gave my heart and soul to that place. Built entire sections for journalists pushed out of their home countries.

When the writer I hired, Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi Arabia, they paraded me around as a symbol for press freedom.

I put MY LIFE on the line to defend journalism and WaPo.
bmazing.bsky.social
weird that neither of these articles two main stories decrying censorship mention WaPo's firing of @karenattiah.bsky.social I guess democracy really does die in darkness