‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ Is Genndy Tartakovsky’s Mania Gone Unproductively Mad
“For all the music that ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ offers, it amounts to a one-note production.”
Netflix’s ‘The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter’ Plays It Safe for Maximum Viewership
“‘The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter’ lacks ‘true grit.’ It’s designed to feel relatable, yet Brolin’s impassioned performance can only do so much to override the stock dialogue and the narrative’s lack of originality.”
Review: Claire Scanlon’s ‘Set It Up’
“As a showcase for two actors who more than deserve their moment to shine, ‘Set It Up’ is hugely satisfying. As a modern romantic comedy, it’s glorious.”
See and Be Seen: Aaron Schimberg’s ‘Chained for Life’
“In a borough of New York teeming with independent and micro-budget filmmakers, Aaron Schimberg is one of the handful to keep an eye out for with every new work that he makes.”
Jim McKay’s ‘En el Séptimo Día’: An Immigrant Fairy Tale
“With flexible, transparent cinematography by Charles Libin, the film captures, beat by beat, moment by moment, José’s actions and movements as he bikes, makes deliveries and encounters his boss, friends and customers.”
Ari Aster’s ‘Hereditary’: Hollow Horror
“What’s truly terrifying about ‘Hereditary’ is how empty it really is.”
Scrappily-Assembled Star Wars: ‘Solo’ Is Safe Galactic Fun
“The film is not without heart, though its heart exists in scattered fragments without assimilating into a cohesive whole.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Matteo Garrone’s ‘Dogman’
“Garrone is more sorry for Marcello’s corruption than he is frustrated by his naivety.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: David Robert Mitchell’s ‘Under the Silver Lake’
“It’ll take more than a surface-level appreciation of ‘Under the Silver Lake’ to grasp what lies beneath real threats, instinctive desire and a swilling indebtment to the world that has shaped who we are.”
Review: Coralie Fargeat’s ‘Revenge’
“‘Revenge’ is not quietly revolutionary. It makes its message quite clear. Loud, brash, neon-colored and shot like a music video, the flick is unabashedly cool.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Asghar Farhadi’s ‘Everybody Knows’
“Though it’s not one of Farhadi’s best films, ‘Everybody Knows’ is still an effective, impactful thriller.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Panos Cosmatos’ ‘Mandy’
“It’s unconventional and provocative, but with such a powerfully invigorating narration and clear passion between the lines, ‘Mandy’ feels like an explosive liberation.”
New York Indian Film Festival Review: Hansal Mehta’s ‘Omerta’
“What could’ve been an intense peeking into the mind of a terrorist ends up being a somewhat naive, clinical recording of his wrongdoings.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Wanuri Kahiu’s ‘Rafiki’
“Without being didactic or simplistic, Kahiu shows the widely different ways in which the people around the girls react to their affection to suggest that, although not all Kenyans are homophobic today, lives are still ruined by a pervasive intolerance.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra’s ‘Birds of Passage’
“Guerra and Gallego may not have reproduced the surreal images from ‘Embrace of the Serpent,’ but their determination to preserve the history of those who capitalism has destroyed remains as strong and necessary as ever.”
New York Indian Film Festival Review: Miransha Naik’s ‘Juze’
“‘Juze’ tells the story of an India we don’t often see in films, but an India that hurts, suffers and yet revolts and thrives.”
New York Indian Film Festival Review: Bornila Chatterjee’s ‘The Hungry’
“For a play that is so much about macho-ness and the male code of honor, it is refreshing to watch Chatterjee give it a somewhat feminist tweak.”
New York Indian Film Festival Review: Ravi Jadhav’s ‘Nude’
“‘Nude’ is a caveat to our times; a warning that we are driving arts education to a point of redundancy with our politics…”
Review: Anthony and Joe Russo’s ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
“‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is the apex of franchise movie-making, bringing together a plethora of heroes from a number of different franchises to form the blockbuster of blockbusters.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Ioana Uricaru’s ‘Lemonade’
“‘Lemonade’ makes palpable the psychological experience of immigration and the constant, self-effacing guardedness it encourages.”