Cannes Film Festival Review: Robert Eggers’ ‘The Lighthouse’
“Eggers is persistent in never revealing his hand, but I’ve got a hunch he’s hiding a royal flush.”
An Interview with ‘Take Me Somewhere Nice’ Director Ena Sendijarević
‘Take Me Somewhere Nice’: Pablo Staricco Cadenazzi interviews filmmaker Ena Sendijarević.
Review: Praveen Morchhale’s ‘Widow of Silence’
“Widow of Silence’s characters communicate little because the core of human existence is on the verge of death. It’s the humanization of the unfamiliar that makes the characters feel so exceptionally real, and viewers will likely see parts of themselves on screen.”
Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ Is a 40-Year-Old Elevated Horror Masterpiece
“If ‘Alien’ came out today, it’d likely be hailed as some sort of genius elevated horror/prestige sci-fi movie. It’s an engrossing, pulse-pounding thriller with brains and a unique and stunning visual style. Forty years later, ‘Alien’ remains one of the best sci-fi AND horror films of all time.”
India’s 25-Year Absence from Cannes’ Official Selection and the Eurocentrism of Film Culture
“Imagine the largest film-producing nation in the world. Now imagine that nation, with more than one 100 years of film history and a global audience in the billions, being conspicuously absent from the single most prestigious and prominent film festival in the world.”
Review: FINT’s ‘Fonotune: An Electric Fairytale’
“‘Fonotune: An Electric Fairytale’ can’t escape feeling like a zany music video concept, lacking the energy or plot to sustain a feature.”
Review: Ry Russo-Young’s ‘The Sun Is Also a Star’
“Despite entertaining directorial flourishes often accompanied by striking stock footage cutaways — from Carl Sagan to a history lesson on Black hair care products — Russo-Young can’t set her hooks into much beyond the postcard images of the Big Apple.”
Review: Chad Stahelski’s ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’
“As a whole, ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ is a fun romp and continues the Greek/pulp mythology set up in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2.’ In future installments, Stahelski might want to tone down the campiness, otherwise the series will lunge into self-parody.”
Indulgent Food and Ephemeral Connections in ‘Chungking Express’
“Food, particularly junk food, plays a large role in ‘Chungking Express’ by signifying the type of sweet but ultimately fleeting connections (and self-doubt) that occur so frequently for the characters in the bustling Chungking Mansions.”
Once Upon a Time in Tarantinoland: ‘Jackie Brown’ Is a Subtle Outlier in Quentin Tarantino’s Oeuvre
“While ‘Jackie Brown’ does revel in nostalgia and feature its fair share of firearms, it’s a much more subdued, nuanced and mature film than any of Tarantino’s previous works, or any other production within his entire filmography.’
Stefon Bristol Makes Bright Debut with ‘See You Yesterday’
“One of the greatest pleasures of ‘See You Yesterday’ is that the challenges and complexities of the jumps get better as the story unfolds.”
‘What Would Springsteen Do?’ and Other Questions: Gurinder Chadha’s ‘Blinded by the Light’
“While Springsteen takes the American dream and helps everyone navigate through its dismantling, Chadha packs it all up with ‘Blinded by the Light” and makes it speak to an entirely different country and a whole new generation.”
‘Tolkien’ Is a Competent Yet Clichéd Biopic About ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Creator
“Those seeking some deep-dive exploration into Tolkien and his process will likely get more out of a standard biography or documentary. As it stands, ‘Tolkien’ is a merely adequate celebration of the author and the power of art.”
Review: Michael K. Feinstein’s ‘The Browsing Effect’
“Written and directed by Michael K. Feinstein, ‘The Browsing Effect’ highlights the beauty of lasting connections. Despite pressing too hard on social media tropes, the film includes numerous charming performances and genuine laugh-out-loud moments.”
Some Kind of Connection: Loss and Technology in the Films of Sophy Romvari
Mike Thorn Interviews Filmmaker Sophy Romvari
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia’s ‘Initials SG’
“Attieh and Garcia have ironically made a movie that metatextually gives Sergio the respect he doesn’t deserve. If he were real, he’d be absolutely thrilled to be the star of a movie that’s so unique, and so genuinely cool.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Tom Harper’s ‘Wild Rose’
“‘Wild Rose’ has the makings of a movie deathly afraid of validating a ‘bad mother,’ even if it comes at the expense of the protagonist’s internal consistency.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Mary Harron’s ‘Charlie Says’
“If ‘Charlie Says’ marks the official kickoff of Manson-50-years-later discourse, we’re lucky that it prioritizes the insidiousness of his ideology.”
Review: Jenny Gage’s ‘After’
“‘After’ plays it too safe start to finish. And aside from whatever discussions might emerge concerning the representation of toxicity, masculinity and toxic masculinity, the lack of originality is the film’s Achilles heel.”
There Is Another: Transgenerational Trauma and the Skywalker Legacy
“By viewing a family over three generations, the audience can see patterns that the characters themselves cannot, and then see patterns in their own lives as well, hopefully.”