“For a filmmaker who made his name with two hyper-violent thrillers that triggered some queasy walkouts on the festival circuit, the character-driven moments in ‘Rebel Ridge’ feel like an evolution for Saulnier.”
“With ‘Between the Temples,’ Silver shows an awareness of dramedy cliches and takes great pleasure in making the audience’s skin crawl each time the narrative takes a sharp left turn from expectations.”
“‘The Outrun’ feels lacking in the specificity that makes for rewarding character drama.”
“If ‘Kneecap’ was merely the first ‘edgy’ comedy in years with gags as shocking as they are laugh-out-loud hysterical, that would be enough to recommend it.”
“In just her second film, Kapadia has become one of the most exciting directors working today. I doubt Cannes will be as quick to write off the cinema of India in her wake.”
“‘Coma’ conjures up the spirit of 2020 like no other movie thus far. Through its unwieldy structure and genre delineation, Bonello’s film often feels every bit as disorienting as it was to scroll through social media timelines during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“‘Civil War’ is a lot smarter than meets the eye, and the film is far more incisive in its cultural critique than its director’s simplistic interview comments may make it seem.”
“What ‘The First Omen’ lacks in innovation it makes up for in boldness, pushing familiar supernatural genre tropes about the secret relationship between the Church and the Devil to ideological extremes.”
“‘Io Capitano’ feels carefully researched in its subject matter, while the narrative itself is constructed with an intensity far more characteristic of Garrone’s genre work.”
“By only fleetingly bringing attention to the economic hardships at play, ‘The Boys in the Boat’ frustratingly remains a niche proposition, of fascination only to fans of the film’s focal sport.”
“‘All of Us Strangers’ is a film that becomes all the more haunting the further from it you get.”
“I much prefer DiCaprio’s more comedic performances to his dramatic ones, but ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ feels like career-best dramatic work from the actor…”
“‘May December’ has the initial feel of a heightened, vaguely trashy soap opera, revealing new layers to its central figures the more they question their perceived roles.”
“As carefully controlled as every shot typically is for one of Anderson’s films, this is the most alive behind the wheel he has felt as a purely comic filmmaker in quite some time.”
“An old-fashioned tale given a wonderfully disgusting makeover, ‘Hatching’ is a promising feature debut from Bergholm.”
“‘Living’ translates wonderfully to post-war Britain, but it never gives the audience time to explore the full depths of sadness like Kurosawa’s source material.”
“‘Red Rocket’ is Baker’s strongest work to date, a film much smarter (and far funnier) than its provocative synopsis would suggest.”
“There is a general sense of otherworldliness that feels enrapturing in ‘Spencer,’ even if Larraín stumbles while addressing the heavier themes.”
“‘Sundown’ is in the curious position of being a step backwards, while at least not plumbing to the ideological depths of ‘New Order’ to quite the same extent.”
“‘The Mad Women’s Ball’ is a squandered opportunity when considering the richness of both the source material and the many stories encapsulated within the asylum walls.”