London Film Festival Review: Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Artificial’
“‘Artificial’ only falls short when it’s placed in the shadow of the inescapable comparison to ‘The Social Network’ that will always be unflattering.”
Review: Ankur Hooda’s ‘The Calf Doll’
“‘The Calf Doll’ finds a strange beauty in a landscape caught between agrarian rhythms and industrial expansion, where the struggle to preserve a livelihood becomes inseparable from the desire to hold on to a vanishing way of life.”
Review: Brian Duffield’s ‘Whalefall’
“‘Whalefall’ sinks before it can swim, drowning in its own tedium far ahead of its descent underwater.”
Review: Alison Reid’s ‘The Art of Adventure’
“‘The Art of Adventure’ creates a pretty picture as a travel-themed film about trailblazin’ naturalists, but a documentarian must always spend some time rollin’ in the mud.”
Review: Julia Kowalski’s ‘Her Will Be Done’
“Charged by ‘devil within’ energy and two marvelous lead performances, ‘Her Will Be Done’ announces the arrival of another French auteur.”
Review: Lance Oppenheim’s ‘Primetime’
”’Primetime’ is worth a watch, but it shouldn’t be considered the end of the “conversation” nor entertainment.”
Review: Macon Blair’s ‘Idiots’
“With ‘Idiots,’ Blair cements himself as an up-and-coming provocateur. Moving forward, it’s best to let go of cinematic imitations to build the voices of today while always remaining uninhibited.”
Review: Kallol Mukherjee’s ‘Herland’
“‘Herland’ is less about emancipation achieved than emancipation practiced.”
Review: Anmol Sidhu’s ‘Flowers of Acacia’
“‘Flowers of Acacia’ is unflinching in showing how humiliation can become ordinary… “
Review: Destin Daniel Cretton’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
“‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ thwips back into the hearts of Marvel enthusiasts, fanning the flames of both consumers and investors alike.”
Review: Eli Roth’s ‘Ice Cream Man’
“Eli Roth’s exercises in bad taste are always more tiresome than they are provocative, and his latest effort ‘Ice Cream Man’ is no different…”
Review: Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s ‘The Samurai and the Prisoner’
“‘The Samurai and the Prisoner’ never subverts expectations, which is further proof that Kurosawa’s skill as a genre craftsman extends far beyond his horror comfort zone.”
Review: Gregg Araki’s ‘I Want Your Sex’
“Outside of the liberated world of contemporary queer cinema, ‘I Want Your Sex’ is like nothing else on our screens right now.”
Review: Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’
“‘The Odyssey’ is indeed a fun action-adventure film, but die-hard Nolan fans may find themselves questioning the sustainability of generating such high-cost productions.”
Review: Avalon Fast’s ‘Camp’
“‘Camp’ is ultimately much easier to admire than enjoy.”
Review: Abinash Bikram Shah’s ‘Elephants in the Fog’
“‘Elephants in the Fog’ is a moving and deeply empathetic portrait of transgender lives in a conservative South Asian society.”
Review: Leah McKendrick’s ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’
“‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ might annoy some viewers with its handling of rom-com tropes, but McKendrick clearly understood objective #1: to entertain a global Netflix audience of different ages.”
Review: John Early’s ‘Maddie’s Secret’
“Camp is a near impossible sensation to manufacture without feeling forced, but Early manages to evoke it with ease in ‘Maddie’s Secret.'”
Hyperreal Film Club Review – ‘SHARP: Moving Picture II’
“This cavalcade of ambitious eccentricities and diasporic dreamers isn’t after your validation, nor should it be considered “main character energy.”
Review: John Carney’s ‘Power Ballad’
“‘Power Ballad’ is an authentic crowd pleaser that the movie’s in-universe hit single could never be.”