R.J. LaForce

R.J. LaForce has worked in the programming and creative departments for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the Austin Film Society, SXSW, and Fantastic Fest. Currently based in Austin, TX, he works as the programming manager for Rooftop Cinema Club. He has also written for the now defunct Birth.Movies.Death. In his free time he enjoys playing and watching soccer and basketball, doing crosswords, and watching old game show episodes on Buzzr.
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Why Nomadland Would be a Worthy, Definitive Best Picture Winner for 2021

Chloe Zhao’s lyrical, masterful film about those forgotten on the fringes of American society has ratcheted up the momentum to be the favorite going into “Hollywood’s biggest night.” And it should be.

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The Real History Behind Our Flag Means Death

Our Flag Means Death is based (very loosely) on real historical figures, but the true story of Stede Bonnet and the legendary pirate Blackbeard is even wilder.

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Abbott Elementary

Abbott Elementary will catch you off guard and surprise you. It captures the balance between comedy and heart, much like its mockumentary predecessors—but with a new spin, because the work these characters are doing truly matters.

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The Adam Project

The Adam Project is one of those movies you go into imagining big explosions and kids hilariously making life-or-death decisions (like Zathura, for example). And, to be sure it throws everything it has at the wall and then some: time-travel jiu jitsu soldiers, a stacked all-star cast, and lots of heart. 

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The Wildest Documentaries Streaming on Netflix

Truth can be stranger than fiction, as you’ll discover in these Netflix documentaries filled with true crime, cults, and colorful characters.

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Our Flag Means Death

Our Flag Means Death is a fun escape into the absurd, and we could all use a reminder that even in the 1700s people had mid-life crises and needed to escape reality as much as we do today.

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Pam & Tommy

Riding the current trend of dramatized real-life events to the limits, Pam & Tommy does an excellent job of comparing what happened to everyone involved with our still-evolving attitudes surrounding sex, consent, and pornography today.

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Together Together

This film is heartwarming and heartbreaking in all the ways you want in a character-driven indie about a subject matter that we need to talk more about.

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Catching up on Outlander: The Story So Far

Outlander is finally back after two long years and we’ve got a handy refresher to catch you up on everything that’s happened since Season 1.

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Understanding Russia & Ukraine: What to Watch for Context

The best films and series to watch for a deeper understanding of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the historical events that led up to the current conflict.

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Robert Redford’s Impact: Four Films to Watch

He was “one of the lions,” as Meryl Streep put it, an American touchstone who changed filmmaking and opened the gates for new generations of storytellers, becoming a central force in independent cinema. To understand the impact his films have had – on previous generations, on our culture, on so many other films – we’ve

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The Back-to-College Binge Watch Playlist

Remember when you could sleep until noon, stumble to class in pajamas, and stay up until 2am watching weird art films? Fall is when many of us become wistful about that bumpy chapter of extended adolescence, when you start to discover who you truly are and make some truly regrettable choices.   In honor of all

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Eddington is a pandemic parable. But what is it trying to say?

Set in May 2020 in a fictional New Mexico town, Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix’s new film Eddington draws some parallels to two of the biggest breakout shows of the past decade: The Last of Us and The Walking Dead. It’s a story about a virus that’s less about death and more about exposing the living.

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A Watercooler Watch: Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything

Before social media and podcasts, there was one undeniable truth about news-making interviews: if a story mattered, Barbara Walters would be the one to tell it. Landing a one-on-one with her didn’t just mean publicity, it meant you had become part of a national conversation. But while the interview signified that you had made it,

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A Need-to-Know Guide to The Buccaneers

Was life in the Gilded Age all that gilded?  In the HBO Max series, penned by Downton Abbey’s creator Julian Fellowes, the focus is on the class divide between America’s old money aristocrats and new money industrialists, and the often exhausting rules of “society.”  Apple TV’s The Buccaneers, which just returned for its second season,

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A Watercooler Guide to The Phoenician Scheme: Wes Anderson’s Oil-Baron Fever Dream

Wes Anderson films are easy to spot, but not always easy to describe. Watching them feels like stepping inside a handcrafted diorama of history: symmetrical, stylized, and slightly sentimental. From the wry narration and sharp color palettes to his signature whip pans and deadpan dialogue, Anderson crafts cinematic worlds where emotions are bottled then uncorked

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A Need-to-Know Guide to And Just Like That…

It’s been a two year wait, but Carrie Bradshaw and her tribe of fabulous fifty-somethings are finally back with their third season. You’d be forgiven if you lost track of the Sex and the City sequel and its storylines. But with summer’s planes, trains, and automobiles and rained-in weekends, And Just Like That might be

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Bring Her Back

A psychological horror film with standout performances, Bring Her Back isn’t just about summoning the dead, it’s about confronting the parts of ourselves we lose in the process. The Philippou brothers have crafted a film that dares to ask whether the true horror lies in what we’re willing to do in the name of love.

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