“Children and adults are complex; they behave differently depending on who they are with, performing various roles to survive. ‘Monster’ underlines this lesson by masterfully harmonizing writing, performance, cinematography, sound and more.”
“I much prefer DiCaprio’s more comedic performances to his dramatic ones, but ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ feels like career-best dramatic work from the actor…”
“‘Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World’ is a jolt of energy, one that bounds forward — always a few leaps ahead of its audience.”
“‘May December’ has the initial feel of a heightened, vaguely trashy soap opera, revealing new layers to its central figures the more they question their perceived roles.”
“‘Yellow Bus’ tries to manufacture misunderstandings that may naturally exist in a country that has a diverse immigrant population, but Bednarz’s heavy-handed sociology lesson ultimately aligns with the pseudo-intellectual drivel of ‘Crash’ and ‘Babel.'”
“The differences between the equally impressive ‘The Assistant’ and ‘The Royal Hotel’ prove that there is more room for subversive thrillers directed by Green.”
“‘Failure!’ is a failed experiment that grates more than it excites.”
“‘Astrakan’ is most intriguing when not trying to explain everything away.”
“‘The Holdovers’ tries a little too hard to swerve melancholic moments into a hokey optimism, as it’s indebted to a screenwriters’ seminar-style narrative.”
“If one is willing to meet ‘The Zone of Interest’ on its own terms, Glazer’s film offers an uncompromising glimpse at the lengths people will go to avoid seeing the horrors around them…”
“‘Hit Man’ is easily one of Richard Linklater’s most entertaining and emotionally satisfying films.”
“‘Mickey Hardaway’ is the real deal.”
“Lanthimos examines human emotion as a sort of mask that we wear, stripping his characters of time and place to observe the raw human animal. ‘Poor Things’ might be the purest distillation of this yet.”
“There is so much to adore in ‘Maestro,’ as Cooper’s supremely controlled vision touches greatness and sustains it.”
“While Origin’s conclusion undermines the breadth and depth of its observations, there is much to be admired in the ambitious undertaking.”
“The tension between all these figures prompts a sudden and ferocious outpouring that will cement ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ as one of the most quietly stirring films of the year.”
“Spaeny’s rigidity — especially in the first half of ‘Priscilla’ — is the perfect extension of Coppola’s curiosity regarding space and movement.”
“‘Ferrari’ is a mixed portrait; a kind of freeze-frame of 50s masculinity, in all its ruthlessness and moral codes that have not adapted to a less binary society.”
“‘El Conde’ is an unhinged satire, more than any of recent memory.”
“As an indie Giallo, ‘That’s a Wrap’ fails to read the room.”