Janicza Bravo Takes ‘Zola’ on the Road
“‘Zola’ is a star-making opportunity that Paige owns with every raised eyebrow and skeptical look.”
Greg Carlson
Review: Questlove’s ‘Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)’
“Questlove assembles the wide range of elements with the skill of a seasoned scholar and practitioner, blending songs with memories in a master mix made especially challenging given the staggering amount of talent and the desire to tell the accompanying story.”
Review: Mariem Pérez Riera’s ‘Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It’
“With ‘Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It,’ Pérez Riera strikes the right balance of ‘then-and-now’ throughout the fast-moving, 90-minute running time.”
Review: Edgar Wright’s ‘The Sparks Brothers’
“Built to impress longtime listeners and new ears alike, Wright’s love letter to Ron and Russell Mael complements the sensibilities of the masterminds behind glories like ‘Kimono My House’ and ‘Angst in My Pants.'”
Prano Bailey-Bond Visits Britain’s Video Nasty Era in ‘Censor’
“Had ‘Censor’ managed both Enid’s personal nightmare and wrestled more deliberately with some of the moral questions posed by the title, more viewers might have been inclined to initiate conversations about the horror genre’s traditions of transgression.”
Theo Anthony’s ‘All Light, Everywhere’ Contemplates the Role of the Camera in Policing
“‘All Light, Everywhere’ succeeds on the basis of Anthony’s editorial choices; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which by themselves constitute several chapters or mini-documentaries capable of dropping one’s jaw.”
Collecting Movies with Author Melissa Maerz
Greg Carlson Interviews ‘Alright, Alright, Alright’ Author Melissa Maerz About Movie Collecting
Rose Glass Makes a Memorable Feature Debut with ‘Saint Maud’
“Sure, ‘Saint Maud’ can be called a horror film, but it is equally a psychological drama that gets a lot of mileage from a tried and true trope: the shifting power dynamics in a superior/subordinate relationship.”
Review: Rob Garver’s ‘What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael’
“Rob Garver’s ‘What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael’ is a worthwhile biography of a fascinating life led with purpose and conviction.”
Review: Marilyn Agrelo’s ‘Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street’
“Don’t be surprised if ‘Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street’ leaves you wanting more — that’s often the mark of something special.”
Fantasy and Reality in Ben Hozie’s ‘PVT Chat’
“Hozie nails the greener-grass metaphor in ‘PVT Chat’ with a clarity that reminded me of the last lines of James Joyce’s ‘Araby.'”
Review: Samantha Stark’s ‘Framing Britney Spears’
“The best aspects of ‘Framing Britney Spears’ are implicit while the least effective parts are explicit. And in the absence of a direct commentary from Spears, Stark surely could have used more evenhanded and considerate interview subjects.”
The Master’s Voice: Gregory Monro’s ‘Kubrick by Kubrick’
“‘Kubrick by Kubrick’ has the effect of placing the notoriously particular and media-shy subject in the room with the eager listener/viewer.”
North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival Review: Shannon Kring’s ‘End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock’
“End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock’ belongs to a tradition of activist filmmaking that draws from investigative journalism as well as from artistic principles and techniques.”
Collecting Movies with Toby Jones
Greg Carlson Interviews Filmmaker Toby Jones About Movie Collecting
Review: Taylor Morden’s ‘The Last Blockbuster’
“Too often, the tongue-in-cheek tone veers into the empty calorie territory of VH1’s cable television time-filler ‘I Love the ‘80s,’ as subjects like Doug Benson and Ron Funches can’t resist using their screen time to test what feels like standup material.”
Fargo Film Festival Review: Mario Furloni and Kate McLean’s ‘Freeland’
“‘Freeland’ is a tour de force showcase for Fairchild — an overnight sensation several decades in the making.”
Collecting Movies with Director Dava Whisenant
Greg Carlson Interviews Director Dava Whisenant About Movie Collecting
Fargo Film Festival Review: Sabrina Doyle’s ‘Lorelei’
“Good onscreen chemistry between Jena Malone and Pablo Schreiber lifts the filmmaker’s debut feature out of traps set by occasionally mundane dialogue and predictable complications.”
Review: Iara Lee’s ‘Stalking Chernobyl: Exploration After Apocalypse’
“Despite Stalking Chernobyl’s clear position on the dangers of expanding nuclear power, Lee does not shrink from the otherworldly allure that draws so many to Chernobyl and Pripyat.”