Review: Bertrand Mandico’s ‘She Is Conann’
“The main issue with a film as defiantly arthouse as ‘She Is Conann’ is that if the story isn’t engaging in its own right, everything else that’s wrong becomes increasingly more obvious.”
Berlin International Film Festival Review: Roman Bondarchuk’s ‘The Editorial Office’
“I hope the future of Ukrainian cinema looks like ‘The Editorial Office.'”
Review: Matteo Garrone’s ‘Io Capitano’
“‘Io Capitano’ feels carefully researched in its subject matter, while the narrative itself is constructed with an intensity far more characteristic of Garrone’s genre work.”
Review: James Bamford’s ‘Air Force One Down’
“‘Air Force One Down’ stalls during the middle act but ultimately finds it groove, choppy as the writing may be overall.”
That Building Had It Coming: Distance and Disgust in the Anti-Comedy Playground
“In Alverson’s hands, anti-comedy becomes a new kind of gothic — it is the world viewed through a warped, sinister lens; a fresh excavation of the unspeakable through outsized comedic strategies.”
Review: Michael Lukk Litwak’s ‘Molli and Max in the Future’
“Despite the hollow philosophizing, ‘Molli and Max in the Future’ offers a surrealistic blend of popcorn entertainment and classic Hollywood appeal.”
Review: Keir O’Donnell’s ‘Marmalade’
“‘Marmalade’ isn’t a great film, and many high-brow critics will presumably dismiss it as ‘rotten’ nonsense, but there’s something special within the overall approach that suggests a bright filmmaking future for O’Donnell.”
Review: Amjad Al Rasheed’s ‘Inshallah a Boy’
“Al Rasheed’s feature directorial debut succeeds through its cultural specificities, enlightening cinematography and authentic performances.”
Crime Scene #12: ‘Amores Perros’ and Gringo Cinema
“‘Amores Perros’ is almost entirely disinterested in its central location. It feels like a film made not to speak truth to Mexican audiences, but to present a hyperreal version of Mexico for international audiences.”
Sundance Film Festival Review: Aaron Schimberg’s ‘A Different Man’
“‘A Different Man’ is a bold, unsettling psychological drama, showing Sebastian Stan at his most chaotically unhinged…”
Sundance Film Festival Review: Megan Park’s ‘My Old Ass’
“Bittersweet and deeply poignant, ‘My Old Ass’ is one of the most emotionally affecting dramedies in quite some time.”
An Interview with ‘Rapture’ Filmmaker Dominic Sangma
‘Rapture’ Interview: Dipankar Sarkar discusses the 2023 movie with filmmaker Dominic Sangma.
Review: Hong Sang-Soo’s ‘In Our Day’
“‘In Our Day’ shows that even a smaller Hong Sang-soo film, like the smaller moments of life that it portrays, can be just as rich with drama, sadness and beauty as any other, and that every fragment contains so much of the whole.”
Apocalypse Through the Ages: Reimagining in ‘The End We Start From’
“‘The End We Start From’ is a contained version of the violent, end-of-world tales we have grown accustomed to. In its quiet examination of a woman’s journey to motherhood, the questions that surround the subject are writ large on the story.”
Review: Roman Polanski’s ‘The Palace’
“With all the surfaces of style, wit and entertainment stripped away, ‘The Palace’ lays the director’s ideology bare in all its unflinching bleakness and petty emptiness.”
Review: ‘Monsieur Spade’ (Season 1, Episode 1)
“One of first signs of trouble in Monsieur Spade’s first episode is the overall lack of antagonists – the slow burn feels ill-suited for the title character and the genre at large.”
Review: Cassius Michael Kim’s ‘Man on the Run’
“Kim mostly hits the mark with ‘Man on the Run,’ even if some of the Adam McKay-style filmmaking choices don’t land particularly well.”
Review: Kimani Ray Smith’s ‘The Painter’
“‘The Painter’ seems destined for Tubi, where it may indeed earn a fanbase. The film clearly sets up a sequel, so a second franchise installment might be more creatively ambitious, even if its existence on paper doesn’t feel earned.”
Review: Ilker Çatak’s ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’
“With dashes of dark humor, unnerving tension and a striking lead performance centering it all, ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ uncomfortably builds to claustrophobia in a real domino effect.”
Crime Scene #11: ‘Case of the Naves Brothers’ and a Sertão Mentality
“‘Case of the Naves Brothers’ is hardly in the annals of great Brazilian cinema, like the works of Rocha, but it absolutely deserves to be seen in the same breath.”