“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.’
“Some of Avildsen’s men turn to violence. Some of them turn to crime. Some of them turn inward. All of them know that somehow, some way, they must turn. They cannot survive, let alone win, without surrendering some part of themselves.”
“This is a moody, thoughtful and impressively weird debut feature from White.”
“A worthy tale of a pivotal figure, ‘Mr. Jones’ deserves consideration, even if it is to be met with confusion and scorn.”
“‘Monos’ is a powerhouse of mood and aesthetic, weaponising every element of the form in service of a nightmarish descent into hell in the vein of ‘Lord of the Flies’ or ‘Heart of Darkness.’”
“‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ is nicer to look at than a urinal signed ‘R. Mutt,’ but like Duchamp’s ‘Fountain,’ I won’t be rushing to see it again anytime soon.”
“For many, McQueen’s stylishness will help excuse the rubbery plot holes, lapses in logic and farfetched surprises that might lead some to wonder how ‘Widows’ might have unfolded as a leaner, tighter operation.”
“‘Halloween’ might be funny, but it’s also the nastiest, most violent entry in the series yet.”
“Fargeat is almost saying, ‘well, if you want to look at her, you must look at her no matter her condition.’ It is a grotesque way of calling out the male gaze, but it is an effective one.”
“When it comes to sheer quantity of triple-crosses, double agents, remote control gizmo toys, one-liners, stunts and rubber mask fake outs, ‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’ outdoes its predecessors. The big question now, however, is whether the longevity of this franchise is finally taking its toll on the overall quality.”
“‘Revenge’ is not quietly revolutionary. It makes its message quite clear. Loud, brash, neon-colored and shot like a music video, the flick is unabashedly cool.”
“One of the great characteristics of ‘Four Flies on Grey Velvet’ and numerous other giallo films is their willingness to destabilize traditional notions of subjectivity.”
“Just because ‘The Wages of Fear’ is dire and pessimistic, that doesn’t make it any less perceptive or accurate. Quite the contrary: the virulent truth only makes it that much more engrossing…”
“In ‘Crash,’ sex feels like a traffic accident. In ‘Videodrome,’ it becomes the subject of a warped, projected fantasy.”
“‘Get Out’ explores many notions: the duplicitous nature of liberal racism, the cumulative damage of microaggressions and appropriation, assimilation versus acculturation. But it’s the deer imagery that continue to elude audiences.”
“‘Fear and Desire’ is more than just a curio for the Kubrick completist. It is indeed a genuinely revealing work.”
“Carpenter doesn’t frame the film as being about an outlier male abuser, but a culture that has little respect for a woman’s personal space.”
“Of all Sam Peckinpah’s films, the violence in ‘The Getaway’ often strikes me as the most senseless.”
“A somewhat uneven protest of English nobility and a denouncement of nepotic privilege, The Riot Club’s message is a redundant one: unchecked, inherited wealth leads to problems.”
“‘Bug’ closes in on you in a curiously suffocating way. It’s disorienting in the best way possible.”