“There’s a calculated precision to both Reitman’s direction and Cody’s screenplay. The film is perfectly paced and cut, and moves with a rat-a-tat rhythm; the writing is sharp and specific, with a zinger in every other line.”
“Nyman and Dyson’s film is so full-bloodedly cinematic that it leaves one wondering how on earth they captured this on the stage.”
“Coherence is the last concern in ‘The Green Fog,’ whose beauty is comprised in the hidden connections between the city-film tropes.”
“‘No Date, No Signature’ excels by subtly examining themes of integrity and moral duties.”
“The father’s strength lies in knowing when to ‘protect the heart by pretending to have no heart,’ and the moment when he chooses to do so is devastating.”
“‘A Quiet Place’ masterfully builds tension, pays it off in unexpectedly satisfying ways and provokes genuine emotional investment in its characters with precious few traditional tools at its disposal.”
“Ramsay and Phoenix eloquently communicate the trappings of depression, and how it grips the sufferer.”
“The story feints towards transgressive ideas but lacks the commitment for maximum impact.”
“The shrieking masses are right on the money for once. Plaza’s tale of teen possession is powerfully scary.”
“‘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.”