“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 quickening tempo of non-diegetic, alienating sounds should not be simply viewed as part of a film score, but as an access point into the fear-induced perspectives of the victims within this film world.”
“Movies aren’t proverbs — their morals are questionable, their questions are impossible to answer. This is the case for good films, at least.”
“Ultimately, it seems that the film’s pleasant and inoffensive affect is exactly what Roth intends. The work is unassuming, competently handled and ably colored within its established lines. It aims clearly and unwaveringly to please a young target audience.”
“Fargeat is almost saying, ‘well, if you want to look at her, you must look at her no matter her condition.’ It is a grotesque way of calling out the male gaze, but it is an effective one.”
“Jodorowsky’s film is a potpourri of consecrated iconography and symbolism, providing ‘El Topo’ a breadth of sacred resonance and no doubt augmenting its potential for provocation and interpretation.”
“‘Hale County This Morning, This Evening’ is a cinema of living and breathing freedom: a poetry in light and sound that is bridling at the constraints of the very documentary form itself.”
Leslie Hatton Previews the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2018
“Blowback occurs when policymakers fail to take into account the far-reaching ramifications of their actions.”
“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.”
“What ‘First Man’ might lack in emotionality, Chazelle more than compensates for in spectacle.”
“Audiard finds the real drama of the film in how the seemingly boundless promise of the land collides with the very real limitations of the human imagination and body.”
“For a film about an eternal conflict, ‘Non-Fiction’ is a strangely calming film. It quietly assures you that while a fight for permanence is natural, the need to change is also equally natural.”
“In ‘Pitfall’ and ‘Crime Wave,’ two seminal films bookending the classic noir cycle, director André De Toth develops a more nuanced view of marriage and the married couple.”
“‘Baby Driver’ and ‘Drive’ are not road maps to modernity, they don’t offer any route through it that guarantees a safe arrival. The only advice they might offer is to tear up the map itself. To simply drive.”
“The ‘Predator’ franchise is a repository of the fears that plague the powerful. The context changes, but the fear persists — the fear that the conqueror may one day become the conquered.”
“Minihan’s tale is a moody, memorable work of art that dares its audience to meditate on the layers and anxieties of love and deceit.”
“‘Lean on Pete’ isn’t for me. It isn’t about me. But I needed it to wade through all the stories I’d ever heard that were supposed to be for me and about me.”
Michael J. Casey Imagines ‘Christopher Robin’ in the Style of Yasujirō Ozu
“While ‘The Descent’ is grounded in female friendship and showcases the power of women without the support of men, it also highlights the futility of teamwork in such a dire situation.”