Review: Christopher Fox’s ‘Rub’
“A strong feature debut like ‘Rub’ suggests that the writer-director doesn’t need fancy equipment or multi-million dollar budgets to sustain a successful filmmaking career.”
A Refurbishment Project: ‘The Bear’ Season 2
“At its core, ‘The Bear’ season 2 is about different modes of refurbishment, for which the central effort to revamp the restaurant acts as a framing metaphor.”
Review: Brian Vincent’s ‘Make Me Famous’
“‘Make Me Famous’ is a perceptive film about Reagan-era business strategies that elevated one group of creative gamblers and led others to their graves.”
An Interview with ‘Nehemich’ Filmmaker Yudhajit Basu
‘Nehemich’ Interview: Dipankar Sarkar discusses the 2023 short film with director Yudhajit Basu.
Review: Ran Li’s ‘Till Love Do Us Part’
“Ran Li’s quietly devastating feature debut, ‘Till Love Do Us Part,’ channels the charm of Richard Linklater’s ‘Before’ trilogy while carrying the emotional baggage of an introspective international classic like Federico Fellini’s ‘8 1/2.'”
Review: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’
“Not only does ‘Oppenheimer’ prove to be one the best-crafted biopics in recent memory, but it also boldly reaffirms the director’s auteur status.”
‘Mad Heidi’ Review: A Very Swiss Tale of Nutrition and Patriotism
“‘Mad Heidi’ is a sassy Swissploitation film worth watching (it’s the only one in existence) and undeniably one of the best Swiss cheese-themed movies of the 21st century.”
An Interview with ‘Privacy’ Filmmaker Sudeep Kanwal
‘Privacy’ Interview: Dipankar Sarkar discusses the 2023 movie with filmmaker Sudeep Kanwal.
Review: Josh Appignanesi’s ‘My Extinction’
“‘My Extinction’ reads like the opening chapters of an unfinished novel from an intellectual-turned-radical: heavy sociopolitical context, rich character development and instructions for the path forward. Essential viewing.”
Review: Daniel Andres Werner’s ‘Amor Bandido’
“‘Amor Bandido’ is shrewdly paced, heartbreakingly performed and cunning in its political awareness.”
Films About Films
“The awareness of complicity in an institutional problem brings ‘The Fabelmans,’ ‘Babylon’ and ‘Empire of Light’ together.”
Review: Christopher McQuarrie’s ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’
“‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ is the best franchise film since the fourth installment and possibly the best yet…”
Crime Scene #5: ‘Branded to Kill’ and Tokyo Teardowns
“Discordant, broken, berserk: ‘Branded to Kill’ refuses all direct relations with geography in its depiction of a career hitman on the verge of losing control.”
Don’t Expect Roses: Growth, Transformation and Illusion in Tony Blair’s Britain
“The ghosts of the divisive past that New Labour set out to consign to history’s trash heap reared their heads, presaging a politics that would cast off the Blairite technocratic order.”
Review: Adele Lim’s ‘Joy Ride’
“A rollicking good time that pulls disparate pieces together for a sex-positive exploration of family, friendship and identity.”
‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’: Time, Loneliness and the Internet
“‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ prefers the space between categories. This position facilitates a unique experience of time, much like the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Review: Léa Mysius’ ‘The Five Devils’
“‘The Five Devils,’ co-written and directed by French filmmaker Léa Mysius, burns bright with its cerebral story about female relationships.”
An Interview with ‘Vaat’ Filmmaker Miransha Naik
‘Vaat’ Interview: Dipankar Sarkar discusses the 2022 movie with filmmaker Miransha Naik.
Review: Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’
“As carefully controlled as every shot typically is for one of Anderson’s films, this is the most alive behind the wheel he has felt as a purely comic filmmaker in quite some time.”
Forbidden Worlds Film Festival: ‘Cliffhanger,’ Sylvester Stallone and Realism
“‘Cliffhanger’ is emblematic of a specific kind of big-budget Hollywood blockbuster that was very much in vogue at the time: dumb, full of testosterone and British villains.”