Review: Mati Diop’s ‘Atlantics’
“Diopโs feature debut is one that embraces the strange, joyous and tender moments that extend beyond boundaries and linear temporalities. Neither love nor life moves in a straight line.”
“Diopโs feature debut is one that embraces the strange, joyous and tender moments that extend beyond boundaries and linear temporalities. Neither love nor life moves in a straight line.”
“More mood piece than cohesive story, it’s impressive chiefly in how McGuinness mirrors the desolate bleakness of the protagonists’ lives with the parched cinematography of their surrounding landscape.”
“Greta Gerwig continues to exercise her command of cinematic storytelling with ‘Little Women,’ a perfectly wrapped and beribboned Christmas gift as welcome as a steaming cup of cocoa after a frosty skate around the local frozen pond.”
“A sharply-shot film, ‘Brotherhood’ย effectively uses the short running time to question familial responsibilities/motives,ย and the central performances makeย Joobeur’s planned feature adaptation even more intriguing.”
“A showcase of the potent purity of visual expression, ‘Alva’ concerns itself with consequence, more specifically the consequences we attribute to ourselves, as well as those we put upon others we can never truly know.”
“‘Richard Jewell’ is, for the most part, a captivating recreation of a manโs journey through hell and back. Its strong acting and character relationship dynamics are the main selling points, as Eastwoodโs sense of direction and pacing are the best they have been in a long time.”
“Playing with of-the-moment vocabulary familiar on college campuses, the latest ‘Black Christmas’ upends several slasher conventions, even if the film is a step down from the directorโs excellent ‘Always Shine.'”
“‘QT8: The First Eight’ is a serviceable, well-edited survey of Tarantino’s filmography prior to ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.'”
“Thereโs no telling the story of Khodorkovsky without telling the story of Russia, and itโs for that reason that ‘Citizen K’ is rather invaluable to people like this writer, Americans of aย certain age who perhaps arenโt well versed in Russian history.”
“Jennifer Kentโs ‘The Nightingale’ will not attract the same cult following or breadth of widespread fan devotion as ‘The Babadook,’ but her latest marks significant progress in the filmmakerโs command of story and cinematic language.”
“With ‘Daniel Isnโt Real,’ย Mortimer stands by his choices and doesnโt wobble. The result is a film thatโs harmonious and undiluted, if prickly and divisive.”
“The desperate need to locate hope and light (and maybe even love where those things are in short supply) recommends ‘Queen & Slim,’ especially at a time of frustration and division.”
“Who is going to argue with the casting of Tom Hanks? Even so, the reason I donโt care for most fictionalized biopics lies in the imitation of one well-known person by another.”
“‘Dark Waters’ may have a downbeat climax, to the degree that may not be considered a climax at all, yet itโs a film made to inspire action, to underline the idea that this crisis is a modern one — itโs still happening, and itโs not resolved.”
“Like the Master of Suspense before him, Bong effortlessly blends the horrific and the comic en route to the icebox talk that has viewers questioning their own attitudes and beliefs through the unanswered mysteries of the story.”
“Nicholas Brennan’s film makes a hugely convincing argument for following your dreams at all costs.”
“In a weird way, Flanagan might have inadvertently made the best X-Men movie to date.”
“Beauvais does what the essay filmmaker ought do: he appropriates film to his own ends. The combination of words and pictures rings nary a false note.”
“At once riveting and entertaining, while inciting in the viewer visceral and arduous self-reflection, ‘Marriage Story’ is an uncompromising and deeply affectionate reflection on what pulls us apart and yet what keeps us bound together despite it all.”
“‘The Witch’ may be the superior film, but ‘The Lighthouse’ shows Eggers growing by leaps and bounds as a storyteller and visual stylist.”