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Frank J. Avella

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Frank J. Avella is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and film journalist. His plays include FROCI and VATICAN FALLS, screenplays include LURED and CONSENT. Short film: FIG JAM. He is a staff writer for The Contending and a contributor for Edge Media Network. Frank is a member of the New York Film Critics Online and the East Coast Rep for GALECA - The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. He's a proud queer Italian-American.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) 93% A- EDIT “This is a tremendously dark chapter in our history and Scorsese, and his team do not try and whitewash or sanitize it. Killers is a disturbing look at America, one that’s been left out of the history books but needs to be written in…with blood.” – The Contending May 7, 2026 Full Review Talk Radio (1988) 85% B+ EDIT “Stone and his amazing DP, Robert Richardson (JFK) moves the camera in dizzying fashion, keeping us anxiety-ridden and uncomfortable for most of the claustrophobic ride. It’s an intense and tantalizing work.” – The Contending May 7, 2026 Full Review A Bridge Too Far (1977) 61% A EDIT “A Bridge Too Far was way before it’s time in its daring to depict WW2 in a harsh and brutal manner and present a chapter in history where the outcome was mostly a bungled failure. ” – The Contending May 7, 2026 Full Review Death Ship (1980) 25% D EDIT “Death Ship is 91 minutes of gratuitous and gruesome violence, laughable dialogue and and senseless, painful misogyny...The only actor who fights to deliver a nuanced performance is Mancuso...” – The Contending May 4, 2026 Full Review The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) 79% B- EDIT “It’s fun, escapist nonsense.” – The Contending May 4, 2026 Full Review House Calls (1978) 50% C+ EDIT “Jackson brings her own touch of class to the underwritten role — speaking of, no less than four writers got credit for the underbaked script...” – The Contending May 4, 2026 Full Review Trouble in Paradise (1932) 90% B+ EDIT “Marshall and Hopkins (Oscar-nominated in 1935 for Becky Sharp) are fab but it’s Francis who walks away with the picture. She’s simply divine...” – The Contending Apr 21, 2026 Full Review Gilda (1946) 90% B+ EDIT “Words like ‘iconic’ and ‘legendary’ have lost all meaning because they’re so overused and misused today, but Gilda’s first seconds onscreen...is a true classic cinematic moment.” – The Contending Apr 21, 2026 Full Review Leviticus (2026) 97% A EDIT “Both Bird and Clausen do impressive work as the teens under fire. Mia Wasikowska excels as the single mother under the delusion that she’s doing what’s best of her child. And Jeremy Blewitt delivers a terrific turn as Hunter..” – The Contending Apr 20, 2026 Full Review The Best Friend (2025) B- EDIT “... It’s certainly a unique and curious movie. And Fuentes has a smoldering quality that will make gay men want to swoon...” – The Contending Apr 1, 2026 Full Review On a String (2025) 90% B- EDIT “Hagan writes quirky, often hilarious characters very well and her performance is stellar. I just wish she had gone a bit deeper and, also, given us an ending befitting the fascinating character she created.” – The Contending Apr 1, 2026 Full Review Streets of Gloria (2025) C+ EDIT “The film gets a wee too melodramatic—almost operatic —which the penultimate scene almost satirizes. But Macedo is such a captivating presence that we continue to care about Gabriel, even when he’s self-sabotaging.” – The Contending Apr 1, 2026 Full Review The Sea (2025) B EDIT “Shai Carmeli-Pollak’s The Sea is a simple yet keen film that packs a punch. ” – The Contending Apr 1, 2026 Full Review Rolling Papers (2024) B+ EDIT “Kuusk grounds the film is an authenticity with a subtle yet charismatic performance. And there’s a definite homoerotic vibe going on between Sebastian and Silo—even though they’re ostensibly straight.” – The Contending Apr 1, 2026 Full Review Dead Again (1991) 82% B+ EDIT “Branagh, as he’s shown in recent years with his Agatha Christie adaptations, has a keen sense of how to keep his audience is suspense and sucker-punch surprise them...Also, the chemistry between the two lead actors is palpable. ” – The Contending Mar 24, 2026 Full Review Somewhere in Time (1980) 54% B EDIT “...admitting it has its share of hokey and oddly edited moments, Somewhere in Time proved to be a rich and captivating film that I thoroughly enjoyed...” – The Contending Mar 24, 2026 Full Review A Man and a Woman (1966) 75% A- EDIT “What makes A Man and a Woman singular is the way Lelouch tells his story...Seeing the film in 2026, it’s a thrilling, mesmerizing, sensory experience. ” – The Contending Mar 24, 2026 Full Review On the Sea (2025) B EDIT “Ward delivers an exceptional, layered turn as Jack, whose repression had driven him deep inside himself, but who slowly awakens to a world he never imagined possible. Jack’s arc is quite moving and wholly believable...” – The Contending Mar 11, 2026 Full Review The Visitor (1979) 79% D EDIT “This mega mess seems to want to be The Exorcist, The Omen, The Bad Seed and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But it achieves something closer to Exorcist II: The Heretic. ” – The Contending Mar 9, 2026 Full Review Catch Me if You Can (2002) 96% A- EDIT “Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can remains one of his most amiable, enjoyable yet insightful comedies, with a star-studded cast and a wonderful central performance by Leonardo DiCaprio” – The Contending Mar 9, 2026 Full Review Minority Report (2002) 89% B+ EDIT “At its core, Minority Report boasts an excellent and underrated turn by Cruise as John Anderton, a man who works for a specialized police department that attempts to capture criminals before they actually commit crimes.” – The Contending Mar 9, 2026 Full Review Excalibur (1981) 73% A- EDIT “This is Boorman’s masterwork...There is lots of armor combat (a bit too much), magical sequences and some steamy sex between Lancelot and Guenevere. Boorman takes a lot of liberties with his adaptation, and most of it pays off. ” – The Contending Mar 9, 2026 Full Review The Stranger (2025) 90% C+ EDIT “In the end, it’s Voison’s alluring charisma that makes the elusive journey of The Stranger worth taking. ” – The Contending Mar 2, 2026 Full Review The Little Sister (2025) 88% B- EDIT “Hafsia Herzi’s sensitive, careful, queer coming-of-age film, chronicles her journey towards self-discovery...Herzi and Melliti show us young woman who on the cusp of figuring out who she is, despite the cultural and religious stigma attached to it.” – The Contending Mar 2, 2026 Full Review Love Me Tender (2025) 85% B EDIT “Vicky Krieps delivers another extraordinary performance in Anna Cazenave Cambet’s shattering drama, Love Me Tender, about a mother’s fight to see her 8-year-old son. ” – The Contending Mar 2, 2026 Full Review
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