Encounters Film Festival: ‘Betty’ and the Failed Romance Movie
“‘Betty,’ through the simplest of guises — bare-bones animation, a bit of music and a wry, haphazard director’s commentary — is an impressive feat of doing a lot with extremely little.”
Shudder Slashics: Joe Giannone’s ‘Madman’ Squanders Its Potential
“‘Madman’ frequently flirts with boundary-pushing concepts but ultimately settles for clichés or, worse, just weasels out completely and falls flat on its face.”
London Film Festival Review: Natalia Meta’s ‘The Intruder’
“‘The Intruder’ interpolates the parts of Giallo without the scares, keeping true to the genre’s more strictly crime-oriented titles like ‘The Cat o’ Nine Tails.'”
Don Hertzfeldt Expands the Universe Again in ‘World of Tomorrow’ Episode Three
“If Hertzfeldt’s ability to successfully expand on the emotional terrain and metaphysical considerations of previous chapters is a recipe, then he is an impeccable cinematic chef de cuisine.”
Interview With ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ Screenwriter Smita Singh
Dipankar Sarkar Interviews ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ Screenwriter Smita Singh
The Gothic Splendour of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’
“Rebecca’s greatness stems from its faithful approach to the Gothic roots of du Maurier’s novel, foregrounding all of the most important themes like repression of the past and marriages full of conflict.”
Encounters Film Festival: Science Fiction and Islam Meet in ‘So What If the Goats Die?’
“How much is our response conditioned by our willingness to see causality in correlation, regardless of the original artistic intention?”
In Praise of 90s Gwyneth Paltrow
“It’s easy to feel a sense of loss for the great actress and movie star that Paltrow could have become, had she not lost interest in the profession and shifted her attention to her questionable business empire.”
Review: Kirsten Johnson’s ‘Dick Johnson Is Dead’
“Johnson brilliantly arranges and organizes the vignettes that account for her unique ‘living obituary.'”
Shudder Slashics: Buddy Cooper’s ‘The Mutilator’ Still Boasts a Killer Hook
“Having the killer unmasked and identified is a fresh take on a well-worn trope, while the accidental matricide angle offers a unique, strong premise to kick-start the eventual mini-massacre.”
Encounters Film Festival: The Importance of Geopolitics, Poverty and Donkeys in ‘The Heavy Burden’
“Whether it is economic, ethnic or geopolitical, ‘The Heavy Burden’ keeps finding new ways to frame the marginal life of its protagonists.”
Encounters Film Festival: Troubled Pasts and Open Futures Collide in ‘Father’
“In just 23 minutes, ‘Vader’ presents a nuanced and complex picture of fatherhood, as shaped by both individual personalities and wider social events.”
Review: Chloé Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’
“Zhao’s style is evocative but accepting.”
Miranda July Mints ‘Kajillionaire’
“Never weird for the sake of weird, July’s movies are perfectly prismatic, refracting facets of recognizable life experiences through the singularity and peculiarity of her vision.”
Review: Luis Iga’s ‘Murder in the Woods’
“‘Murder in the Woods’ is a slight but entertaining offering, sold completely and committedly by a talented cast of fresh, new faces and with a bonus appearance by the always-welcome Danny Trejo to boot.”
How ‘Showgirls’ Takes Busby Berkeley to the City of Sin
“Where Berkeley uses excess as a contrast to the real world, Verhoeven uses it as a magnifying glass.”
Open Spaces, Solid Foundations: ‘The American Sector’ and ‘The Building’ at Open City Documentary Festival
“While ‘The American Sector’ outstays its welcome, I’m not sure if ‘The Building’ wants to be invited in to begin with.”
‘She Dies Tomorrow’: Amy Seimetz Contemplates the End
“Even though Seimetz’s ‘ideological contagion’ might have its roots in coping strategies for depression and a range of mental health issues, the director works wonders by imagining how one might react upon learning about their imminent death.”
Review: Sidharth Srinivasan’s ‘Kriya’
“Unfortunately, Kriya’s script is the weakest link. Much of the dialogue sounds like it was lifted straight from a soap opera, and the film occasionally veers into melodrama, which isn’t particularly becoming for a folk horror film set almost entirely in a single location.”
An Interview With ‘Tales from Our Childhood’ Director Mukul Haloi
Dipankar Sarkar Interviews ‘Tales from Our Childhood’ Director Mukul Haloi