A Fond Farewell to Our Critic Monica Castillo

"“She grew up with movies from around the world in Cuba,” Castillo said. “Since most citizens were never allowed to leave the island, sometimes movies were their only way to see France, Italy, Japan, or Russia. [...] She introduced me to Turner Classic Movies because she loves the opulence of the Golden Era of Hollywood. Elvis movies and Christmas albums were never in short supply as he was her first American crush. Occasionally, bootleg Cuban movies or taped stand-up specials of Cuban comedians would make their way up from Miami. More than any one critic or textbook, she taught me how to watch and try to appreciate everything and how to talk about movies after watching them.”"

"For over a decade, Monica Castillo has been a treasured contributor to our site. We are thrilled that she has been named the new film critic for The AV Club, and would like to honor all she has published at RogerEbert.com with a fitting retrospective. Her career as a critic and programmer has spanned 15 years, with her work featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Vulture, and many others."

"In addition to Castillo's extraordinary writing sampled below, she has penned festival coverage for our site from Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto, True/False, New York, Key West, Miami, Restored and Rediscovered, and the Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano festivals. The excerpts that follow are split into three categories: film reviews, interviews, and features. Click on each article title, and you will be directed to the full piece."

"“Crazy Rich Asians” The camera gets close enough to the steaming pots and flamelicked meats to make a mouth water. Those scenes also serve a deeper purpose: they tie together the importance of food, culture and relationships around a dinner table. One"

Monica Castillo has contributed to RogerEbert.com for more than a decade and has been named film critic for The AV Club. Her career as a critic and programmer spans 15 years, with work appearing in major outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and Vulture. In a Meet the Writers interview, she credits her mother for sparking her love of cinema in Cuba, where movies from around the world were often the only way to experience other countries. Her mother introduced her to Turner Classic Movies and shared a love of Golden Era Hollywood, along with Elvis and Christmas music. Castillo has also provided festival coverage across many prominent festivals and has written film reviews, interviews, and features.

Read at Roger Ebert