Review: Jean-Marc Vallée’s ‘Demolition’
“Neatly tied resolutions and dime-a-dozen aphorisms feel as fleeting and immaterial as a television drama, while any lasting impression must be hard-fought and pried from between the lines of the script.”
“Neatly tied resolutions and dime-a-dozen aphorisms feel as fleeting and immaterial as a television drama, while any lasting impression must be hard-fought and pried from between the lines of the script.”
“Bateman brings the full force of his directorial ability to the film, finding beauty in every camera placement and character movement.”
“Sometimes the most difficult kind of review to write is one for a film that’s full of good intentions; a film that’s never outright hateful or anything like that, but lacking or floundering when it comes to certain decisions at a script or direction level.”
“Grappling with themes of self-preservation and mental stability amongst abject barbarity, ‘Son of Saul’ packs an emotional punch all its own, while seeking to convey the essence of an individual living in abhorrent chaos.”
“Horror and femininity run hand in hand.”
“In keeping with the tempo and improvisational flair of his subject, Don Cheadle has succeeded in breaking through the standard tediums of biographical film.”
“‘High-Rise’ gazes without flinching at a cavalcade of violence without ever feeling like it’s truly stepped into the muck.”
“‘Hush’ has some very interesting moving parts in what amounts to an average film.”
“‘The Charro of Toluquilla’ is definitely worth seeing, as Jaime is a character that you will not soon forget.”
“The Jungle Book is a fun, brisk and absolutely gorgeous achievement that honors the past while looking unflinchingly into the future.”
“Regretfully, ‘Criminal’ makes up for its lack of ideas with blood, guts and even more blood.”
“Humans and beasts share a primal bond as they occupy the land and the frame together. Mascaro thus internationalizes a strain of the French cinéma du corps as he weds it with the emerging art-house aesthetic of digital realism, crossing borders and species to create something extraordinary.”
“Abraham tells a tragic story but fails to shine a light on the genesis of Hank the man.”
A Column by Q.V. Hough
“Budreau is smart enough to illuminate the non-existent divide between the master performer and the man who sticks a needle in his arms, as Baker knows that he needs to stay clean to keep working, but only heroin can numb the pain.”
“It is rare for a film to look objectively at war’s after effects and the violence it instills on its participants, and yet Alice Winocour’s Disorder is not concerned with pity or ferocity.”
“MBFGW2 is like going to a Greek restaurant and ordering a sleeve of unsalted saltines.”
“An unquestionably personal work, Day Out of Days exposes the inequity of Hollywood’s interior while highlighting just how important female voices are in telling the story of human existence.”
“Eventually, Hood can’t avoid the chance to step up to the pulpit and offer a stance. But even as the film orchestrates its grandly emotional and proudly manipulative climax, it means nothing and everything.”
“True to form, the narrative beats of 10 Cloverfield Lane do unspool more than progress, but the difference is that they’re always based in character.”