Spanning decades, the film tells the story of László Toth (Adrian Brody), a Hungarian Jewish architect who escapes a concentration camp and flees to America. After reconnecting with family in Pennsylvania, and awaiting news of his wife’s relocation, he meets the wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), who employs him for a massive project. In just two films, The Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux, Brady Corbet established himself as a unique filmmaker. He’s also an auteur to a fault, and those movies, while certainly conveying a vision, left me underwhelmed. So I didn’t have high hopes for this movie, especially one of that length. Yet here I am, 4 hours later, as the elements of Corbet’s filmography have finally come together in a way that, for the most part, works.

The Brutalist has some of the best filmmaking of the year. The cinematography is stunning, which is fitting for a movie about art. It alternates between wide vistas and gorgeous landscapes, and more intimate closeup and handheld photography (which is notable for a film shot for such a grand format). The score is similarly incredible. Corbet’s last two movies were scored by Scott Walker, who has since unfortunately passed, but the composer for this movie, Daniel Blumberg, has proven himself more than up to the task of filling Walker’s shoes. Corbet supposedly made this movie on a small budget (reportedly under $10 million), and you wouldn’t know it from what you’re seeing onscreen.

Adrian Brody does a great job as Toth. Without giving too much away, he has a notable transformation as the film goes on, and it’s handled very well. He conveys both the resilience and the pain of being an outsider in America. (Brody said during the Q&A that he channeled his own parents’ experiences as both refugees and artists in the role.) The rest of the cast does a great job too. However, the real standout is Guy Pearce as Van Buren, easily one of the best supporting performances of this year. Playing a titan of industry, Pearce is charismatic yet intimidating, giving a grand portrayal that contains all of the worst impulses of those in power.

This is an epic, and what would a film like this be without some truly big ideas? I went into this expecting a sweeping look at the immigrant experience, and for the most part, that’s exactly what I got. Throughout the film, there’s a palpable sense of otherness for Brody’s Toth. Not just being a Hungarian in America, but a Jew in a predominately Christian country. The film’s portrayal of identity is powerful. Toth and his ideas aren’t just foreign to the elite he engages with, but objects of fascination that they, especially Van Buren, seek to exploit. The movie is also a portrait of industry in Pennsylvania and America at the time, supplemented by era-appropriate footage of educational films. It’s a very long film, but I did think the runtime was used well.

However, I did have some issues near the end of the film. The central themes and metaphors come to a head with a brutal moment that, without spoiling anything felt a bit too on the nose, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. I also thought that they could’ve done a better job sticking the landing. I plan on seeing this movie again when it comes out, and maybe I’ll have a different opinion of it. There’s a lot here, after all. A towering and deeply personal achievement, The Brutalist deserves to be seen on the big screen in a huge theater. While I didn’t think this was the best movie of the year, it is absolutely the biggest surprise of the year for me, and I’m definitely excited to see what Corbet does next. The movie comes out in theaters on December 20th.

AnimeNYC History

The origins of AnimeNYC can be traced back to New York Anime Festival by the aforementioned ReedPop, who also run NYCC. NYAF’s first three years (2007 until 2009) were kept as a separate event from NYCC, and was decided (likely to capitalize on the latter’s growth) that both could be combined for 2010 as well as 2011 which would be it’s last year, ultimately being folded into NYCC and rebranded as “The Block,” which itself would be phased out after a few years. While the convention itself maintains an Anime aspect, it was certainly not the same as had been during the NYAF years.

By 2015, Tatara had parted ways with ReedPop, helping to embrace and celebrate Japanese culture and entertainment, which would ultimately lead him to partner with LeftField to create and launch the first AnimeNYC in 2017. The event itself, would go on to eclipse the original NYAFs, gathering upwards of 50,000+ attendees by 2023! It was at that point that Tatara would move on from his role at AnimeNYC and become the Director of Film at the Japan Society, maintaining his passion to celebrate and educate the Western world of the Eastern cultures in entertainment. Speaking of, AnimeNYC hosted the first-ever American Manga Awards in conjunction with Japan Society.

The Experience

History of the con itself out of the way, as I eluded to I’d heard from friends exactly what AnimeNYC has become in the last few years… not only as an alternative to NYCC, but something different. Friends had mentioned beforehand that the show utilizes Jacob Javits Center’s floor a bit more liberally than NYCC does, and it shows. Recent iterations of NYCC have used the newer floors in the upper sections of the complex – which make for even more of a trek to locate panels, etc. While not to the capacity of the former (yet!), AnimeNYC continues to use the main section for the exhibit hall and merchandise as well as artist alley, food, and other amenities, also maintaining the lower floor for access to panel rooms (including the main hall), rooms for Professionals, Cosplayers, etc. and also PlayNYC (a formerly separate event celebrating its first year as part of AnimeNYC) touted as “NYC’s premier gaming convention” showcasing indie gaming as well as arcade, console, and tabletop gaming.

AnimeNYC as a whole definitely had a classic NYCC feel. Crowds (especially Saturday) felt large, but not terribly overwhelming – not sure if that was due to volume (a record setting 101,000!) or me having better control over my anxiety. Exhibitors weren’t too over the top either, ranging from the standard anime (and main sponsors of the event) – Crunchyroll, Aniplex and Viz Media adorned both the main floor and panel rooms, plus an amazing setup by long-time entertainment company Bandai-Namco (which we’ll have a write up specifically about sooner than later this week). Hulu showcased a bit of anime as well as the big deal of the weekend, Netflix revealing the first two episodes of their upcoming Terminator Zero anime produced in a joint US-Japan venture, by Skydance and Production I.G. (will also have some articles soon). I didn’t even get to mention the awesome cosplays/section dedicated to cosplays on the top floor (which NYCC has emulated in recent years, or vice-versa).

In Conclusion

As a first-timer to the convention, I felt it was nothing short of excellent! Suffice to say, it brought me back to my college days watching Toonami (and later Adult Swim Action) and embracing Anime. If you’re looking for an event chock-full of Japanese animation, culture, gaming, merchandise, and all-around entertainment while not having to deal with too much hassle… this convention is for you. Here’s hoping AnimeNYC 2025 is an even bigger success… I hope to be there and experience even more!

Look for more AnimeNYC coverage this week and check out our pictorial of all kinds of cosplay and more!

-= Check out more of our AnimeNYC 2024 Coverage =-

Sing Sing is the kind of movie one expects to be brutal going in. I did at times, and to an extent, it is. It’s also a film that aims to upend expectations. There’s no violence and the roughest thing about it is the language. Yet it is brutal, in the most raw and personal ways possible. It is also a beautiful and often hilarious film that might even leave you looking at the world in a different way. Sing Sing is a movie set in a maximum security prison, but it is not a prison drama. There are inmates, but it is not a movie about criminals. Sing Sing is a movie about art, its power, and its joy.

The film is based on the true story of John “Divine G” Whitfield (Colman Domingo), an inmate at Sing Sing who started a theater program to help other inmates process their emotions. After the group accepts their latest member, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, he suggests they do a comedy instead of another drama (as prison life has enough drama as it is). The actual play they end up writing is so hilariously insane that I honestly don’t want to reveal it here. Even as the troupe prepares to make the audience laugh and spirits are high, Divine G is hoping to get out. He’s trying to prove his innocence, and may have actually found a way to do so.

Shot on grainy, dusty 16mm film with often handheld cameras, and with incredibly naturalistic performances, the movie often comes across as an uncovered documentary on the theater program itself. This also extends to the casting. Despite the presence of professional actors in the cast, such as Domingo and Paul Raci, the bulk of the inmates in the film are actually playing themselves from when they were incarcerated. This includes Divine Eye, who stands out with a revelatory performance that I feel a more established actor just couldn’t give. Not only does he convey an authentic sense of pain about prison life, but he’s also extremely funny. That said, one of the best things about this movie is Colman Domingo, who gives a performance that is both endearing and heartwrenching, though mainly for reasons I’d rather not spoil and leave you to discover on your own.

As mentioned, this film subverts a lot of expectations, from gut-punch moments to seemingly easy drama that, in a more conventional prison movie would be obvious, but doesn’t end up happening. It shouldn’t happen, either, because that’s not the point. Rather than enforce the cinematic status quo or even be regressive with its subject matter, it aims to present a way forward. It’s a point made clear early in the film itself, when Divine G confronts Divine Eye about the fact he has a knife hidden on him. To Divine G, this program is all these inmates have and it doesn’t take much to tear it all down. It’s a film that reminds us that, despite where they are, these are still people. In fact, most of them are real people, and real people can change for the better.

I thought I would enjoy Sing Sing, but this actually exceeded my expectations. It’s an incredible work of filmmaking and one of the best movies I’ve seen in recent memory. It’s both incredibly funny and incredibly sad, while touching upon a topic that I feel should get more attention. It’s a testament to the healing power of art that also confronts how we view those who society has seemingly thrown away. I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a sleeper awards contender, and if it does, it absolutely deserves it.

The animated shorts program returned to Tribeca this year, which as always was curated and hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. The shorts varied from the sweet to the devastating, from thought-provoking to utterly bizarre. The Mayfly was by Sue Perroto (an alum of several Cartoon Network shows) and featured a mayfly who, in her short day of life, breaks off from her family to pursue her own path in music. The animation is adorable and the film is sweet and sad, but I can’t say too much aside from that. Nate & John is about the long form friendship between a barber and his customer over decades. It’s a beautiful and touching story that ends on a note that will melt your heart. In LUKi and the Lights, LUKi is a robot whose joints are powered by lightbulbs. Don’t be fooled by the cute art style—this is easily the most devastating short of the set. One day, LUKi’s lights start shorting out, and a trip to the doctor reveals he has ALS. What brought me to tears more than the premise was the reveal that the creator of this short has ALS and made it so that his kids could understand what their father was going through. It was easily one of my favorite shorts of the set.

Another short that rose above the rest was In the Shadow of the Cypress. Made in Iran, it’s about a father with PTSD who is struggling to be a good parent to his daughter in their house by the sea. The use of animation in this film is utterly superb, with a lot of surrealist elements to complement the grounded storyline. I felt like it may have been a bit too abstract in execution, but it was still one of the better selections. It also won the award for Best Animated Short at the festival, which puts it on track for the Oscar race. Scrubby tried to evoke the feelings of a children’s book, and it accomplished that, but not much else. It’s about an adorable furry creature who wants to live in his mother’s fur forever, but it starts to fall out. There’s not much here, to be honest, and was one of the weakest shorts for me. In Budō, a widow finds a pair of shoes given to her by her husband, and while going for a walk, takes home a hungry stray cat. I thought this would be another sweet story, but I was wrong. This is actually the most bonkers short film of the bunch, and ended up being a total laugh riot by the end. I honestly don’t wanna say too much about this one, as it’s that good. Finally, Ruthless Blade is an action short about a white tiger fighting its archenemy…or is it? This one had the best animation of the bunch (it was created for a Chinese streaming series), and ends on an unexpectedly amusing plot twist.

Finally, here are some of the other things I saw at the festival this year. The restaurant renovation documentary gets a stranger-than-fiction twist in ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor! Casa Bonita is the Mexican restaurant famous in Denver, Colorado for its massive scale, wealth of attractions, and comparatively lackluster food, but when the pandemic closes its doors, the establishment ends up on the verge of bankruptcy. Enter some unlikely investors: Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, who famously featured the restaurant on the show. Purchasing Casa Bonita allows Trey and Matt to realize a childhood dream, but those dreams turn into nightmares fast when they discover the restaurant is in far, far, far more dire need of repair than originally thought. As the renovations costs balloon, and the community becomes more and more eager to return to Casa Bonita, Trey, Matt, and the team are determined to see things through and, yes, serve some food that’s actually good. The documentary is a must-see for South Park fans (Trey admitted that Casa Bonita is responsible for the lack of output for the show recently), and Trey and Matt’s sense of humor brings an edge to the proceedings. At the same time, the idea of a television celebrity going headfirst into the restaurant business creates tension that carries the project, especially as conflicts within the employees begin to rise. Funny and heartfelt, it should be a welcome watch for fans of the show. This movie also won the Audience Award for Best Documentary.

Sacramento is the feature debut of Michael Angarano, and it ended up being a pleasant surprise. Michael plays Ricky, who suddenly re-enters the life of his former friend and father-to-be Glenn (Michael Cera) for an impromptu road trip from LA to Sacramento. There’s a lot of laughs in this movie, mostly coming from Ricky’s often reprehensible behavior. It’s not a great movie, but it was better than I expected, and near the end takes a turn that I legitimately not anticipate. Sacramento also has theatrical distribution and should be hitting the big screen soon. I also attended a screening of an untitled docuseries about Tim Burton. Coming from the angle of Burton’s outsider nature, it delves deep into his rise to fame with plentiful examples of his art and even a few revelatory details (such as Tom Cruise being considered for the lead in Edward Scissorhands). With 3 more episodes yet to be seen, I hope this gets picked up by somebody. So far, as a Burton fan, this was a real treat. Well, I hope you enjoyed my coverage of this year’s Tribeca Festival. Here’s hoping you’ll get to see all that I talked about soon.

Show Notes:

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