“Goddard delineates his film from its influences by focusing almost exclusively on character. Rather than a story filled with twists and turns and manipulation of the audience, ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’ presents each character’s story as a solo vignette, before tying it into the overarching drama.”
“The overcorrection for sentimentality does give ‘Wildlife’ a bit of a sterile feel, but the deliberate dissatisfaction that Dano allows to permeate through his debut feature provides a fitting complement to the private misery of the film’s characters.”
“It’s a confusing enterprise all around, but — at the very least — ‘Female Human Animal’ is unlike anything else out there, for better or worse.”
“‘Green Book’ becomes more than a comforting story of a friendship that today would actually be perfectly likely when its baseline intersectionality shows its limits.”
“‘Beautiful Boy’ occasionally veers into prevention video territory, but the despair and forced acceptance that David goes through show a side of fatherhood that cinema rarely confronts. Sometimes, your child has to help himself.”
“Apart from fantastic performances from its cast, especially Bomer and Patiño, Papi Chulo’s biggest strength is the subtlety and grace with which it deals with the wide cross-section of issues it touches upon.”
“Anchored by a deeply sympathetic performance from Aparicio, ‘Roma’ is an empathetic, sentimental, stirring delight.”
“Greta’s biggest asset is that it’s a film that relishes in its own absurdity.”
“The influence of Larry Clark’s 1995 cult film ‘Kids’ may be all over ‘Mid90s,’ but Hill has a more tender and perhaps more realistic approach of his young subjects: they are smart enough to know when they’re going too far.”
“Within the power plays of a self-aware love triangle, Garrel examines love, sex and companionship and tries to get to a point where everyone meets and exists in perfect harmony. It’s a tug of war between these three, and the final result is basically a test of which one outlives the others.”