Forty Years of Facehugging and Chestbursting: ‘Memory: The Origins of Alien’
“‘Alien’ is a gift that keeps on giving, and ‘Memory: The Origins of Alien’ unwraps so many colorfully wrapped boxes of various shapes and sizes.”
La Semaine de la Critique Review: Moin Hussain’s ‘Naptha’
“Moin Hussain’s ‘Naptha’ is a classic, compact portrait of a strained father-son relationship that addresses the angst of aging and the pain that familial relationships can bring.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Robert Eggers’ ‘The Lighthouse’
“Eggers is persistent in never revealing his hand, but I’ve got a hunch he’s hiding a royal flush.”
Review: Praveen Morchhale’s ‘Widow of Silence’
“Widow of Silence’s characters communicate little because the core of human existence is on the verge of death. It’s the humanization of the unfamiliar that makes the characters feel so exceptionally real, and viewers will likely see parts of themselves on screen.”
Olivia Wilde Makes Confident Directorial Debut with ‘Booksmart’
“You don’t have to be a queer teenage activist to relate to Amy, but imagine what ‘Booksmart’ might mean to those who have not seen themselves regularly represented on the mainstream screen.”
Review: FINT’s ‘Fonotune: An Electric Fairytale’
“‘Fonotune: An Electric Fairytale’ can’t escape feeling like a zany music video concept, lacking the energy or plot to sustain a feature.”
Review: Ry Russo-Young’s ‘The Sun Is Also a Star’
“Despite entertaining directorial flourishes often accompanied by striking stock footage cutaways — from Carl Sagan to a history lesson on Black hair care products — Russo-Young can’t set her hooks into much beyond the postcard images of the Big Apple.”
Review: Chad Stahelski’s ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’
“As a whole, ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ is a fun romp and continues the Greek/pulp mythology set up in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2.’ In future installments, Stahelski might want to tone down the campiness, otherwise the series will lunge into self-parody.”
Stefon Bristol Makes Bright Debut with ‘See You Yesterday’
“One of the greatest pleasures of ‘See You Yesterday’ is that the challenges and complexities of the jumps get better as the story unfolds.”
‘What Would Springsteen Do?’ and Other Questions: Gurinder Chadha’s ‘Blinded by the Light’
“While Springsteen takes the American dream and helps everyone navigate through its dismantling, Chadha packs it all up with ‘Blinded by the Light” and makes it speak to an entirely different country and a whole new generation.”
‘Tolkien’ Is a Competent Yet Clichéd Biopic About ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Creator
“Those seeking some deep-dive exploration into Tolkien and his process will likely get more out of a standard biography or documentary. As it stands, ‘Tolkien’ is a merely adequate celebration of the author and the power of art.”
Review: Michael K. Feinstein’s ‘The Browsing Effect’
“Written and directed by Michael K. Feinstein, ‘The Browsing Effect’ highlights the beauty of lasting connections. Despite pressing too hard on social media tropes, the film includes numerous charming performances and genuine laugh-out-loud moments.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia’s ‘Initials SG’
“Attieh and Garcia have ironically made a movie that metatextually gives Sergio the respect he doesn’t deserve. If he were real, he’d be absolutely thrilled to be the star of a movie that’s so unique, and so genuinely cool.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Tom Harper’s ‘Wild Rose’
“‘Wild Rose’ has the makings of a movie deathly afraid of validating a ‘bad mother,’ even if it comes at the expense of the protagonist’s internal consistency.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Mary Harron’s ‘Charlie Says’
“If ‘Charlie Says’ marks the official kickoff of Manson-50-years-later discourse, we’re lucky that it prioritizes the insidiousness of his ideology.”
Review: Jenny Gage’s ‘After’
“‘After’ plays it too safe start to finish. And aside from whatever discussions might emerge concerning the representation of toxicity, masculinity and toxic masculinity, the lack of originality is the film’s Achilles heel.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Tanya Wexler’s ‘Buffaloed’
“No one in ‘Buffaloed’ shines brighter than Deutch, who gives a performance that will completely redefine her as an actress.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Christoph Waltz’s ‘Georgetown’
“‘Georgetown’ is far from an egregious festival bomb, but Waltz’s directorial craftsmanship lacks the flair of his performance work.”
Review: Justin Kelly’s ‘JT LeRoy’
“‘JT LeRoy’ is a movie suiting those who, at minimum, can entertain the idea that we might not get what we desperately want.”
In Her Feature Directorial Debut, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Tames ‘The Mustang’
“Not all of Clermont-Tonnerre’s story moves hold up under logical scrutiny, but ‘The Mustang’ succeeds despite its familiarity.”