“A film designed as a long-form music video doesn’t need heavy exposition to reach its ultimate truth, as ‘Challengers’ communicates the most important facts through sound design, reaction shots and shared character moments.”
“Despite the contemporary references to ISIS and the ongoing refugee crisis, there’s nothing particularly timely about ‘The Veil,’ and any relevant social commentary is incidental.”
“‘La Chimera’ will hopefully inspire movie lovers of all ages to learn more about not only Italian cinema, but also the specificities of regional (and rural) Italian culture.”
“The spatial detail in ‘Five Deadly Venoms,’ aided by Chang’s sharp sense of timing, helped the film become a surprisingly labyrinthine vision of camaraderie in the face of corruption and power.”
“‘Civil War’ is a lot smarter than meets the eye, and the film is far more incisive in its cultural critique than its director’s simplistic interview comments may make it seem.”
“At six episodes, ‘Parish’ isn’t quite satisfying. It’s hard to say if it’s too long or not long enough. Maybe it’s the muggy American gothic New Orleans locations that made me err on the side of wishing it were longer.”
“What ‘The First Omen’ lacks in innovation it makes up for in boldness, pushing familiar supernatural genre tropes about the secret relationship between the Church and the Devil to ideological extremes.”
“Part of the film’s effectiveness lies in the iceberg-style storytelling, which respects the audience’s intelligence by showing and addressing crime scene evidence without detailing the grisly specifics.”
“Queerness that isn’t defined by its queerness is always a green flag, but what makes ‘Silver Haze’ an enriching addition to the lesbian canon of cinema is its rugged ties to the British working class.”
“‘Hundreds of Beavers’ stands on its own as one of the best rollercoaster-like films of the 2020s, but there’s also potential for a silent cinema-themed series starring Tews and Graves.”
“A unique sense of intimacy arguably makes ‘Lady Like’ the strongest of all the ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ documentaries produced so far, but that doesn’t mean it is flawless in the wider medium.”