TIFF 2017 Review: Michael Haneke’s ‘Happy End’
“In ‘Happy End,’ writer/director Michael Haneke coalesces several of his recurring fixations.”
TIFF 2017 Review (Wavelengths): Denis Côté’s ‘A Skin So Soft’
“There’s an odd fraternity in their grease rubdowns and muscle worship.”
Review: Matt Spicer’s ‘Ingrid Goes West’
“Unexplored potential aside, there is a deeper issue which casts ‘Ingrid Goes West,’ for me at least, in a pale rather than neon light.”
Review: Eliza Hittman’s ‘Beach Rats’
“Hittman has created a powerful, sensual film about identity, loss and the complicated space that often lies between desire and expectation.”
Review: Fabrice Du Welz’s ‘Message from the King’ (Netflix Original)
“For the most part, ‘Message from the King’ doesn’t mess around.”
Fantasia Film Festival 2017 Review: Federica Di Giacomo’s ‘Libera Nos’
“It’s an unconventional perspective, making ‘Libera Nos’ a riveting new lens on a familiar topic.”
Review: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’
“As a portrait of differing wartime experiences, ‘Dunkirk’ is too plot-oriented to be successful.”
Review: Esteban Crespo’s ‘Amar’
“‘Amar’ is passionate without being pretentious.”
Review: David Lowery’s ‘A Ghost Story’
“For Lowery, cosmic-historic memory is the supernatural, and this is his translation of the myth. And it is woeful.”
Review: Albert Maysles’ ‘In Transit’
“‘In Transit’ attests to the possibility of human connection and serves as a reminder to the insights Albert Maysles has given us over the last 50 years.”
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Toby Paton’s ‘Jo Cox: Death of an MP’
“‘Jo Cox: Death of an MP’ is a difficult film that resonates now more than ever with a minority Tory government, the knock-on effects of Brexit felt.”
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Josh Homme and Andreas Neumann’s ‘American Valhalla’
“There is a sense of bearing witness to history-in-the-making and of the unlikely melding of soulmates.”
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Nick Broomfield’s ‘Whitney: Can I Be Me’
“‘Whitney: Can I Be Me’ plays out like a tragedy of the most cinematic kind.”
Oak Cliff Film Festival Review: Dustin Guy Defa’s ‘Person to Person’
“‘Person to Person’ posits a world where forgiveness, kindness and neighborliness are actualized by a recognition of the innate goodness of humanity.”
Oak Cliff Film Festival Review: Alex Ross Perry’s ‘Golden Exits’
“In ‘Golden Exits,’ the miserable find company in the spaces they inhabit. Nothing is shared; nothing is collective.”
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2017 – Andrea De Sica’s ‘Children of the Night’
“De Sica has mentioned ‘The Shining’ and ‘Dead Poets Society’ as influences, and ‘Children of the Night’ is at its best when it favors the former.”
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2017 – Roberto Andò’s ‘The Confessions’
“Sleek visuals and cryptic dialogue aren’t enough to save a film that’s essentially a truncated season of ‘House of Cards.'”
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2017 – Edoardo De Angelis’ ‘Indivisible’
“‘Indivisible’ is a fantastically imaginative coming-of-age tale, an opera of sweeping creativity and a universal human love story.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Wind River’
“‘Wind River’ is a well crafted, but straightforward, thriller with an interesting setting and social context.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Roman Polanski’s ‘Based on a True Story’
“The title is, of course, a knowing joke. ‘Based on a True Story’ couldn’t be further from reality.”