Review: Josephine Decker’s ‘The Sky Is Everywhere’
“Decker is committed to immersiveness and immediacy. Her bold and passionate choices value and validate the subjective experiences of female artists/creators toiling to figure it all out.”
Greg Carlson
Kate Dolan Debuts with Effective ‘You Are Not My Mother’
“‘You Are Not My Mother’ lives at the fringes of folk horror, but the underlying family melodrama drives a story more interested in generational trauma than a supernatural fairytale.”
Alexandre O. Philippe Follows the Yellow Brick Road in Fascinating ‘Lynch/Oz’
“Come for Lynch and stay for the feverish celluloid love lessons that reach far beyond DKL’s oeuvre. ‘Lynch/Oz’ weaves together dozens of movies in an intertextual kaleidoscope.”
Talia Osteen’s Feature Debut ‘Sex Appeal’ Sends Positive Message
“‘Sex Appeal’ may lack the kind of nuance that powers ‘Booksmart,’ but the film deserves credit for sticking the landing.”
A Sharp Scalpel: David Cronenberg Cuts ‘Crimes of the Future’
“‘Crimes of the Future’ doesn’t offer the same opportunities of mid-2000s highlights like ‘A History of Violence’ and ‘Eastern Promises,’ but Mortensen balances the ridiculous and the sublime like few others.”
Review: Chloe Okuno’s ‘Watcher’
“Okuno makes excellent use of text and subtext to explore a range of ideas that unmistakably double as commentary on the commonplace experiences of women everywhere.”
Review: Alex Garland’s ‘Men’
“‘Men,’ Garland’s latest, will draw the filmmaker’s faithful, but the modest environs, esoteric posture and open text most likely won’t translate to massive financial success.”
Mariama Diallo’s ‘Master’ Calls Out the Horrors of Racism
“‘Master’ certainly won’t be collecting an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, let alone a nomination. Even so, the film is worth a look.”
Amy Poehler’s ‘Lucy and Desi’ Looks at the Love and Work of Hollywood Icons
“Poehler makes certain to strike a steady and careful balance between Ball and Arnaz in ‘Lucy and Desi,’ allowing them to share the spotlight in a meaningful way far more satisfying than any loose-with-the-facts biopic fictionalization.”
Rory Kennedy’s Lacerating ‘Downfall: The Case Against Boeing’ Speaks Truth to Power and Profit
“‘Downfall’ accomplishes Kennedy’s principal goal: it shines a bright light into a dark place.”
‘Hatching’: Hanna Bergholm’s Fledgling Feature Takes Flight
“Hanna Bergholm’s feature debut ‘Hatching’ is a satisfying creature-feature delight.”
Robert Eggers Goes Berserk with Viking Tale ‘The Northman’
“The Northman’s carefully choreographed, single-shot takes and startlingly lit close-ups blow the spatially disorienting and over-edited style of so many contemporary action films completely out of the fjord.”
Pinky Push-ups and Weaponized Lapdogs: The Daniels Take a Spin Through the Multiverse in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
“‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ nearly wears out its welcome, but as far as hot dog-fingered audacity goes, the Daniels will make plenty of new eyeballs go googly.”
The Milk of Kindness: Andrea Arnold’s ‘Cow’
“‘Cow’ strikes just the right balance between the filmmaker’s self-awareness, which punctuates the movie’s soundtrack selections, and Arnold’s long-game feminist commentary.”
Review: Pedro González Bermúdez’s ‘A Forbidden Orange’
“The side trips in ‘A Forbidden Orange’ are more tantalizing than the sights on the main highway.”
Review: Krystin Ver Linden’s ‘Alice’
“Alice’s imaginative genre-mashup works in fits and starts, but there is no question about the quality of lead Keke Palmer’s smooth Pam Grier-inspired performance, even if she inhabits a universe that never fully comes together for viewers.”
Collecting Movies with Mylissa Fitzsimmons
Mylissa Fitzsimmons Interview: Greg Carlson and the filmmaker discuss movie collecting and ‘Everything in the End.’
Review: Christopher Boone and Kevin Smokler’s ‘Vinyl Nation’
“‘Vinyl Nation’ accentuates the positive, but the documentary can also be commended for at least raising questions about industry downsides to the record boom.”
Horror Fans Will Devour Mimi Cave’s ‘Fresh’
“Throughout ‘Fresh,’ Cave shows a sophisticated command of the screw-turning suspense in the material and the milieu.”
Review: W. Kamau Bell’s ‘We Need to Talk About Cosby’
“Bell is as masterful a listener as he is an interviewer, fully honoring the presence of those whose lives were changed after crossing paths with Cosby.”