“‘Dark Waters’ may have a downbeat climax, to the degree that may not be considered a climax at all, yet it’s a film made to inspire action, to underline the idea that this crisis is a modern one — it’s still happening, and it’s not resolved.”
“Like the Master of Suspense before him, Bong effortlessly blends the horrific and the comic en route to the icebox talk that has viewers questioning their own attitudes and beliefs through the unanswered mysteries of the story.”
“Kusama skillfully reinterprets the stylistics of classic film noir to explore the genre’s timeless and heady themes: obsession, loneliness, guilt and (most of all) identity…”
“Nicholas Brennan’s film makes a hugely convincing argument for following your dreams at all costs.”
“In retrospect, a film can seem so intentional, with every artistic choice so deliberate, that you can’t imagine it being any other way. But these movies that last for generations are often shaped by whims and circumstance.”
“By creating such a sympathetic, human subject, Lumet deepens the impact of his institutional critique of the justice system; its dehumanizing effect on American society seems all the more tragic when Sonny is its victim.”
“In a weird way, Flanagan might have inadvertently made the best X-Men movie to date.”
“At once riveting and entertaining, while inciting in the viewer visceral and arduous self-reflection, ‘Marriage Story’ is an uncompromising and deeply affectionate reflection on what pulls us apart and yet what keeps us bound together despite it all.”
“In dramatizing themes of absence and presence so thoroughly, ‘Klute’ embodies a central feature of neo-noir; as a self-conscious revision of a classic film cycle, noir is always both absent and present in neo-noir films.”
“Judy the Actress and Judy the Icon may have been one in the same after all.”
“‘The Witch’ may be the superior film, but ‘The Lighthouse’ shows Eggers growing by leaps and bounds as a storyteller and visual stylist.”
“From the moment Ramona first appears, ‘Hustlers’ announces itself as a new addition to the neo-noir cannon — a film about bright lights in dark places.”
“Widmark offers a succession of performances in ‘Kiss of Death, ‘The Street with No Name’ and ‘Road House’ that show a young actor building, then resisting, and then reconciling his own burgeoning screen persona.”
“One can’t help but wonder how Waddington might reinvigorate other sci-fi tales with her fairy tale stylings.”
“This is a world where faith, governments, businesses, families and the other institutions humans have built will all crumble, just like human bodies, which will inevitably succumb to their fragility and fall victim to total destruction.”
“Based on ‘Oui mais non’ and ‘S.D.R.,’ Dubé seems fully capable of tackling various genres, and taking the medium forward into the future.”
“‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ is utterly removed from anything of Italy, and yet echoes the most vulgar and despicable parts of film culture.”
“Watching Sleater-Kinney perform 25 years into their existence, it’s clear we need them now more than ever. Amid social upheaval and a resurgence of overt prejudice and bigotry, artists willing to carry the flag of resistance are essential.”
“As a love letter to a cinematic wave of films that were (and are) often dismissed as style devoid of substance, ‘Knife+Heart’ triumphs in both story and genre evolution.”
“Despite the warmed-up leftovers, ‘Zombieland: Double Tap’ manages to locate a few bright spots, and none are more appealing than Zoey Deutch.”