“‘A Wrinkle in Time’ is for kids, and I mean ‘made for kids’ in the supportive definition rather than the usual lazy and disparaging connotation that’s carelessly applied to more lukewarm family films.”
“In the end, the humor fades away in favor of political machinations, but the film’s killer gags are still numerable.”
“Even if you do not believe in the soul, the film makes it impossible to deny the soul of a country, that which births us, grooms us, and to which we add as we live and die inside it.”
“In ‘António and Catarina,’ the potential of youth contrasts the accumulated regrets of age.”
“Formally electrifying and ethically discomfiting at the same time, ‘Flight of a Bullet’ is a movie one could just as easily gawk at in wonder or endlessly debate over.”
“Suspense and tension aren’t strictly necessary to this kind of Lovecraftian horror, but even so, the film suffocates under the weight of its own portentousness.”
“‘Annihilation’ is far from indecipherable, as it counts on its ability to be understood.”
“While messy in parts and offering more of a sprint than a narrative marathon, there is great heart and ferocious energy in this cartoonish caper.”
“Messy and real, touching and convincingly brought to the screen, ‘Daughter of Mine’ is a joyous, heart and mind-expanding film.”
“In post-Hunger Games mode, Jennifer Lawrence continues her streak of pushing the envelope.”
“‘The Prayer’ – and its strange mountain community – is oddly timeless or out-of-our-time.”
“For those who didn’t think Petzold could improve after ‘Phoenix,’ you might have to reconsider after experiencing ‘Transit.’”
“While nearly all Oscar-nominated shorts are doomed to eventual obscurity whether they win or not, that’s the key to one’s artistic staying power.”
“‘Ajji’ successfully imparts the notion that it’s compulsory for victims to retaliate against extreme injustice by transforming into wolves.”
“A tremendously fun movie, ‘Damsel’ reinvigorates the Western aesthetic even as it defies many of the genre’s story conventions.”
“At the risk of succumbing to the Sundance hype atmosphere, writer/director Josephine Decker may be offering a new form of altered cinematic consciousness with ‘Madeline’s Madeline.’”
“‘Piercing’ plays out Reed and Jackie’s tryst as a sadomasochistic Punch and Judy routine, with the flare-ups of violence equally funny and horrifying.”
“If indeed this is Day-Lewis’ swan song, ‘Phantom Thread’ is the crowning achievement of a monumental career.”
“It’s ultimately Scarpa’s bizarre scripting decisions that make the film just a fun crime thriller, and not a Ridley Scott classic.”
“Although the well worn label of ‘humanist’ may have lost its meaning by now, ‘Milla’ truly lives up to the mantle, as it is ultimately concerned with the fortitude and ability of a young woman to create a space of her own in the world.”