The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival is not only my first as a Tribeca blogger, but my first TFF of any kind. I am wildly excited to experience so many movies, talks, and general cinematic revelry all in the span of a week and a half, and even more excited to share those experiences with the Tribeca audience.

Thursday's TFF activities started off slowly, but I managed to take in three really excellent films, each one offering something slightly different, depending on what you're looking for, so listen close.

Before Midnight was probably my most anticipated movie of the whole festival, so I was quite happy to have gotten it out of the way the earliest. Like many of you probably have been, I've been hooked on the trio of director Richard Linklater and actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy since their spellbinding 1995 film Before Sunrise. The sequel came in 2004, reuniting transient lovers Jesse and Celine and leaving things on quite the ambiguous note ...

Now, after another nine years have passed, we get to meet up with Jesse and Celine again, and the experience is both like reuniting with old friends and also very much like meeting them for the first time. Once again, Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy show they have a way with lived-in conversations and situations that tell lifetimes worth within conversations that meander around little cobblestoned Greek alleys. The audience I was with fell back into their old rhythms so easily, and for a movie that hits many poignant notes, it's also incredibly funny. Not one to be missed, obviously. 

(Screenings of Before Midnight are in rush, but read up on our rush line policy here.)

What To Look For In The Coming Days

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What Richard Did
This Irish story about teens just out of high school would probably sound quite typical if you just read the plot description -- our main character, Richard, does a Very Bad Thing and then grapples with how he's going to pay for it -- but there's a remarkably rich characterization to the story, the teens, and especially the main character of Richard. There's nothing like a film festival to give you the excited sense that you might end up discovering a huge new talent, and this movie definitely delivered on that front. Jack Reynor is a bright young talent who may well be poised for a breakthrough (he's got four other movies set to come out soon, including the next Transformers movie), and in the title role, he's the picture of fresh-faced tragedy next door.

Showtimes (BUY TICKETS):
MON 4/22 6:45 PM
TUE 4/23 4:00 PM
THU 4/25 6:30 PM
SAT 4/27 9:45 PM

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
From Taiwan comes this quirky little tale of sexuality and relationships that manages to blend heavy emotions with a lightness of spirit. Director Arvin Chen is quite the crowdpleaser -- there's one moment that comes so unexpectedly, so joyously, that I am willing to bet it's the biggest laugh any film gets all festival -- but he never lets the playful mood mask the honest emotions coming out of his characters. This is a true romantic comedy at heart, albeit quite the unexpected one.

Showtimes (BUY TICKETS):
FRI 4/19 5:30 PM
SAT 4/20 10:30 PM
SUN 4/21 9:00 PM
THU 4/25 10:30 PM