Review: Ryan Marley’s ‘Candidato 34’
“‘Candidato 34,’ a documentary short by filmmaker Ryan Marley, raises important questions about disability ethics and sociopolitical norms.”
Review: Pedro González Bermúdez’s ‘A Forbidden Orange’
“The side trips in ‘A Forbidden Orange’ are more tantalizing than the sights on the main highway.”
Review: Krystin Ver Linden’s ‘Alice’
“Alice’s imaginative genre-mashup works in fits and starts, but there is no question about the quality of lead Keke Palmer’s smooth Pam Grier-inspired performance, even if she inhabits a universe that never fully comes together for viewers.”
A Song of Suggestion and Sanctimonious Snakes
“Singh understands the power of suggestion and how a simple turn of the head can communicate what a character might struggle to articulate.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Claire Denis’ ‘Fire’
“Denis drenches every scene in ‘Fire’ with such a sultry sadness; the film stays captivating even as a drastic turn never seems to arrive.”
Review: Christian D. Bruun’s ‘Calendar Girl’
“‘Calendar Girl’ is charming but meandering, a film torn between being a historical documentary and a character study that never ends up successfully being either…”
Review: Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’
“The end results of ‘The Batman,’ while acceptable, are insufficiently satisfying, largely because the gritty realism overtakes the story itself.”
Review: Christopher Boone and Kevin Smokler’s ‘Vinyl Nation’
“‘Vinyl Nation’ accentuates the positive, but the documentary can also be commended for at least raising questions about industry downsides to the record boom.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Justin Kurzel’s ‘Nitram’
“In ‘Nitram,’ even the simplest domestic scenes inside the Bryant family home seem to have had the light and life sucked from them. And even in the film’s gentlest moments, Kurzel never lets the audience forget the film’s hopeless destination.”
Review: Mattie Do’s ‘The Long Walk’
“‘The Long Walk,’ the latest from Mattie Do — Laos’ first and, so far, only female director — understands that for time travel to make sense, all one has to do is present it as is. For Do, it’s a feeling more than a fact.”
Horror Fans Will Devour Mimi Cave’s ‘Fresh’
“Throughout ‘Fresh,’ Cave shows a sophisticated command of the screw-turning suspense in the material and the milieu.”
That Feeling When You’re Hellbending (and Evolving)
“The Adams Family continues to evolve as a DIY filmmaking unit… In 10 years, ‘Hellbender’ will probably be viewed as the hit before THE HIT.”
Review: Richard Bates Jr.’s ‘King Knight’
“‘King Knight’ isn’t terribly substantial overall, with much of the central premise built on being weird for weird’s sake.”
Berlinale Review: Ulrich Seidl’s ‘Rimini’
“By dint of the fact that ‘Rimini’ showcases such a vast gulf between performance and direction, Seidl’s return to fictional filmmaking is, if nothing else, hugely interesting.”
‘Cosmic Dawn,’ Supernovas and the Dangers of Homage
“‘Cosmic Dawn’ isn’t a bad film, it’s just not better than anything that’s already been made by the filmmaking team of Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij (‘Sound of My Voice’, ‘The East,’ ‘The OA’).”
Sundance Review: Alli Haapasalo’s ‘Girl Picture’
“The lighthearted slice-of-life storytelling in ‘Girl Picture’ gives viewers a healthy sampling of what Haapasalo has to offer and, ultimately, a fulfilling and effervescent exploration of teenage sexuality.”
Time Machine: Bianca Stigter’s ‘Three Minutes: A Lengthening’
“Stigter’s direction transforms ‘Three Minutes: A Lengthening’ into so much more than a historical lesson on atrocity and genocide.”
The Ontology of ‘Ferroequinology’
“‘Ferroequinology’ is a magical piece of self-reflexive work that arguably reveals more about the documentarian than its subjects.”
Pedro Almodóvar Is Eternally Maternal in ‘Parallel Mothers’
“Cruz has forged a lasting partnership with Pedro Almodóvar, and ‘Parallel Mothers’ — their seventh movie together — is arguably the most satisfying collaboration.”
IFFR Review: Alberto De Michele’s ‘The Last Ride of the Wolves’
“More moralistic viewers might question if ‘The Last Ride of the Wolves’ is in reality glamorizing these men, but I think Di Michele is a couple of steps ahead, both embracing that glamorization and distancing the audience from it.”