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Carla Hay
Tomatometer-approved critic
Carla Hay is editor-in-chief of Culture Mix. She has also been a writer or editor for Paramount Media Networks, Women's Media Center, AXS.com, Examiner.com, Lifetime, People, and Billboard. Hay is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Southern California.
New York, NY, USA
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Sorry/Not Sorry (2023) |
Sorry/Not Sorry needed more information about people who helped Louis C.K. make a comeback after his #MeToo scandal. The documentary still capably explores difficult questions about the difference between forgiving and enabling admitted sexual harassers. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 22, 2024
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Latency (2024) |
Latency takes a potentially solid idea for a thriller (a virtual reality gamer begins to lose her sanity) and makes it an incoherent, boring mess. It's hard to take this psychological movie seriously when it's so stupid. The acting is also horrendous. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 21, 2024
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Jim Henson Idea Man (2024) |
Jim Henson Idea Man could've easily been just a nostalgia trip of Jim Henson's successes. However, this candid documentary gives an illuminating look at the ups and downs of his life without glossing over how his flaws affected his personal relationships. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 21, 2024
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The Grab (2022) |
The Grab is a riveting documentary that chronicles a searing investigation of geopolitics. It's a vital look at how international competition to control food and water should be taken as seriously as the competition to control weapons of mass destruction. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 20, 2024
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Lumina (2024) |
The sci-fi horror flop Lumina is a pathetic mess of sloppy filmmaking and cringeworthy acting. This incoherent story, which is about a woman's disappearance that is linked to outer space, gets worse as the movie sinks into a void of irredeemable idiocy. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 19, 2024
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Twisters (2024) |
Twisters is not as suspenseful as 1996's Twister, but Twisters still has plenty of action thrills in this franchise story about tornado chasers. The character relationships in Twisters are predictable but elevated by believable chemistry and good acting. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 18, 2024
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Indian 2 (2024) |
This idiotic and unnecessary sequel has tiresome clichés about a vigilante and his minions, who want corrupt people to be punished. The real punishment is watching this entire three-hour cinematic abomination. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 16, 2024
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Hijack 1971 (2024) |
Hijack 1971 delivers everything that viewers can expect from a high-octane, well-acted thriller about a plane being hijacked in the air. The fact that this movie is based on a true story makes it more interesting. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 15, 2024
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Touch (2024) |
Touch has beautifully moving performances in this memorable drama about a man searching for a long-lost love, 51 years after he last saw her. It's a bittersweet romantic story that also has poignant observations of the traumatic damages caused by war. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 14, 2024
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Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (2024) |
This informative documentary is not only a richly rewarding journey exploring the movies of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, it's also a tribute to cinema history. Martin Scorsese's narration makes this retrospective film feel academic yet personal. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 13, 2024
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Sing Sing (2023) |
Sing Sing is a wonderfully acted story about a group of people finding joy, vulnerability, and personal challenges in being stage actors. They happen to be residents of a prison, which affects them but doesn't define who they are and their abilities. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 12, 2024
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Reverse the Curse (2023) |
Reverse the Curse awkwardly fumbles its attempts to balance sarcasm and sappiness. This comedy/drama has too much phony-sounding and lackluster dialogue in portraying a volatile father-son relationship affected by the 1978 World Series. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 11, 2024
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The Devil's Bath (2024) |
The Devil's Bath is not easy to watch for people who expect horror movies to have quick pacing and obvious jump scares. This 'slow burn' film, set in 1750 Austria, shows the terror of untreated mental illness in a strict religious community. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 10, 2024
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Longlegs (2024) |
The horror mystery film Longlegs sometimes drags with slow pacing and repetitive scenarios, but the movie has a mostly gripping buildup that leads to a knockout ending. Nicolas Cage gives one of the creepiest and weirdest performances of his career. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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TikTok Star Murders (2024) |
TikTok Star Murders has a tabloid-like focus on the most sensationalistic aspects of this notorious case and leaves out many important facts. This documentary mostly ignores Rayburn Barron, the other victim in this double homicide. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 08, 2024
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Thelma (2024) |
The vigilante comedy Thelma achieves a rare balance of being hilarious, harrowing, and heartwarming, even with some plot holes. June Squibb is a delight in this unique movie about a 93-year-old grandmother seeking revenge on con artists who scammed her. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 08, 2024
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Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) |
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F relies heavily on nostalgia and a transparently predictable plot. However, this lively sequel overcomes its weaknesses with some funny moments, well-cast new characters, and plenty of expected action spectacles. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 07, 2024
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MaXXXine (2024) |
As a sequel, MaXXXine doesn't quite live up to expectations and has a very clumsily staged showdown ending. But the movie has a mostly skillful blend of horror and suspense, with Mia Goth giving another memorable performance. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 06, 2024
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Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot (2024) |
This faith-based drama oversimplifies what it takes to adopt and successfully raise kids who were abused and neglected in their previous homes. However, the movie's call to action and effective storytelling outweigh the movie's flaws. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 06, 2024
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Fly Me to the Moon (2024) |
It's a breezy and charming comedy/drama that tells an alternate and often-satirical version of planning media coverage of NASA's historic Apollo 11 spaceflight. Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum carry this movie over some of its bumpier parts. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 06, 2024
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Sight (2023) |
Instead of being a collection of medical success stories from eye surgeon Dr. Ming Wang, Sight is a sprawling, faith-based biopic of Wang. There are good performances, but about half of the movie consists of too many flashbacks to his youth. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 05, 2024
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Ullozhukku (2024) |
Bolstered by credible performances by Parvathy Thiruvothu and Urvashi, the absorbing drama Ullozhukku offers an intriguing look at a family disrupted by secrets. The story examines the dilemmas of following traditions versus following one's heart. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 04, 2024
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Daddio (2023) |
Daddio is a bit predictable, but viewers can enjoy the good acting and the snappy banter between an emotionally guarded taxi passenger and her jaded driver. The HBO docuseries Taxicab Confessions is more entertaining than this scripted dramatic movie. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 03, 2024
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Janet Planet (2023) |
Thoughtful and with nuanced performances, Janet Planet can be recommended to people who don't mind watching slow-paced 'slice of life' movies. This realistic drama shows the gradual shift in a mother-daughter relationship. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Searching for Amani (2024) |
Searching for Amani is an emotionally impactful documentary about a teenage journalist's quest for the truth about his father's unsolved murder in Kenya. The movie also examines conflicts between native Kenyans and wealthy white land owners. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jul 01, 2024
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Chandu Champion (2024) |
Chandu Champion has a familiar formula of sports underdog movies, but in this case, the formula works marvelously. It's a well-acted and artfully filmed biopic about Paralympic champion Murlikant Petkar. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 30, 2024
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Tuesday (2023) |
The morbid drama Tuesday is best appreciated by viewers who can tolerate surrealistic movies about death. It's a unique story about a mother and daughter interacting with death, which is embodied as a talking macaw. The concept is creative but alienating. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 29, 2024
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Kalki 2898 AD (2024) |
Bloated and incoherent, Kalki 2898 A.D. is weighed down by bad acting, a rambling story, uneven pacing, and erratic visual effects. This fantasy action film, based on Indian mythology, rips off well-known franchises Star Wars, Mad Max, and Pacific Rim. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 28, 2024
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A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) |
Despite some flaws in the movie's screenplay and film editing, A Quiet Place: Day One is an admirable prequel that will grip viewers with suspense and heartfelt humanity. Lupita Nyong'o is superb. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 27, 2024
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Despicable Me 4 (2024) |
Despicable Me 4 falls into a sequel trap of trying to cram too many things in a story. The results are an unfocused and occasionally amusing animated film that has several subplots that go nowhere. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 26, 2024
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The Wasp (2024) |
The Wasp is an apt title for this psychological thriller because it leaves such a stinging impression. Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer give intense performances filled with suspenseful twists and turns in a murder-for-hire scheme. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 25, 2024
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Griffin in Summer (2024) |
Griffin in Summer capably handles the nuances of telling the story of a teenage boy's sexuality awakening without veering into lurid exploitation. The performances in this comedy/drama are memorable, even when the plot occasionally gets one-note. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 24, 2024
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How I Faked My Life with AI (2024) |
How I Faked My Life With AI blurs the line between being a vanity project and an informative chronicle about elaborate fakery using artificial intelligence. Kyle Vorbach is the director and star of this provocative but repetitive documentary. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 23, 2024
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Following Harry (2024) |
Following Harry is a compelling chronicle of the last decade of the life of Harry Belafonte and his dedication to mentoring younger generations of activists. This documentary is occasionally unfocused, but Belafonte’s goals and legacy remain very clear. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 22, 2024
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The Speedway Murders (2023) |
The true crime documentary The Speedway Murders has a good mix of interviews about the 1978 Burger Chef murders in Speedway, Indiana. But the movie is ruined by tacky drama scenes of the murder victims as ghosts trying to solve their own murders. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 21, 2024
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Kinds of Kindness (2024) |
It's weird and not always wonderful, but Kinds of Kindness has committed performances from the cast members in this unpredictable anthology film. This acerbic comedy/drama cuttingly explores the dark sides of power, control, and manipulation. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 20, 2024
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Hacking Hate (2024) |
Considering the vast number of media reports and documentaries about how hate groups can entice people online, Hacking Hate offers nothing new or surprising. However, it's an interesting but slow-paced chronicle of one investigative journalist's work. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 19, 2024
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The Bikeriders (2023) |
This gritty drama has a lot of predictability, but it avoids some clichés by having a female narrator for an otherwise very masculine film about a violent gang. Jodie Comer gives a standout performance. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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All That We Love (2024) |
All That We Love is a smart and mature comedy/drama about the changes that adults go through in personal relationships, from the perspective of a neurotic, divorced mother. Margaret Cho gives a credible and impressive performance. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 17, 2024
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Satisfied (2024) |
Satisfied is a beautiful and inspirational documentary about how family love can be found in many places with various people. Renée Elise Goldsberry generously opens up about how her pregnancy issues affected her life. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 16, 2024
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Vulcanizadora (2024) |
Vulcanizadora is a mind-bending drama that sneaks up on viewers and goes to unpredictable places. This sequel to Buzzard requires patience during the meandering first third of Vulcanizadora. The rest of the film will keep viewers on edge. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 15, 2024
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Inside Out 2 (2024) |
Inside Out 2 is a worthy sequel in its amusing and touching story of emotions that often conflict with each other inside a 13-year-old girl. The voice cast performances and visuals are stellar, even if the overall plot has no real surprises. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 14, 2024
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Sacramento (2024) |
The comedy/drama Sacramento has an over-used formula of two people with opposite personalities who go on a trip together. However, the cast members' believable performances capably balance the movie's shifting tones of whimsical and weighty. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 13, 2024
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Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme (2024) |
This compelling documentary doesn't reveal any new information about the case of convicted fraudster Zachary Horwitz, also known as actor Zach Avery. The film's surprise ending is gimmicky but proves a point about false perception versus factual reality. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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The A-Frame (2024) |
The A-Frame is a sci-fi horror film about a 'mad scientist' who claims he has an invention that can cure cancer. This sluggish movie has flimsy world-building and too many unanswered questions. A few blood-soaked, gory scenes don't make the movie scary. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 11, 2024
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The Knife (2024) |
The Knife is a cautionary tale of what not to do at a crime scene and during witness interviews. This uneven but well-acted and suspenseful drama raises challenging questions about legal rights and police procedures. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 10, 2024
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Brats (2024) |
As a documentary, Brats offers an appealing blend of 1980s nostalgia, psychotherapy analysis, and pop culture commentary in this forthright look at how members of the so-called Brat Pack were affected by this label that they did not want. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 08, 2024
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Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge (2024) |
A definitive visual biography about the trailblazing fashion designer/mogul Diane von Furstenberg, who is candid about her personal life and career. Her charisma and unconventionality make this very conventionally formatted documentary shine. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 07, 2024
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The Watchers (2024) |
The Watchers succeeds in creating a foreboding atmosphere and some creature feature scares. However, this horror movie's story (about people trapped and being watched in a forest portal) becomes a nonsensical mess with shoddy film editing. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 06, 2024
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Bhaje Vaayu Vegam (2024) |
Bhaje Vaayu Vegam is just another long-winded and bombastic action film with the same over-used story themes of family revenge and violent murders. It's a mostly forgettable tale of two pairs of brothers who are on a collision course of conflicts. - Culture Mix
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| Posted Jun 05, 2024
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