Review: Don Hardy’s ‘Linda Perry: Let It Die Here’
“‘Linda Perry: Let It Die Here’ is a moving study of female self-empowerment and perseverance.”
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema Review – Roberta Torre’s ‘Mi fanno male i capelli’
“‘Mi fanno male I capelli’ communicates an important message about the theatrical movie experience that cinephiles will appreciate: some people find inner peace through the outdoors, while others experience closure and rebirth in dark places.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Kirill Serebrennikov’s ‘Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie’
“‘Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie’ is a divisive film, but its bold stylistic choices make up for any narrative deficiencies.”
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema Review – Pietro Castellitto’s ‘Enea’
“‘Enea’ is full of rich character development, yet the protagonists and antiheroes seem like archetypal figures dropped into a real world setting inhabited by naturalistic side players.”
Review: Kit Zauhar’s ‘This Closeness’
“Zauhar gets to the heart of her characters’ deepest fears and desires, in a way that’s disarmingly funny and painfully relatable.”
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema Review – Stefano Sollima’s ‘Adagio’
“Somewhat epic like Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’ (1995) and political in nature like Sollima’s underrated series ‘ZeroZeroZero’ (2020), ‘Adagio’ executes its brutal messaging through cinematographer Paolo Carnera’s observant visual language.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Andrea Arnold’s ‘Bird’
“Part coming-of-age drama, part quirky foray into magical realism, ‘Bird’ is a difficult film to nail down. Written and directed by Andrea Arnold, the 2024 movie sometimes doesn’t seem to know exactly what it’s trying to communicate.”
Review: Quarxx’s ‘Pandemonium’
“Quarxx guides the audience along through a French nightmare tale in ‘Pandemonium’ but doesn’t seem fully invested in what’s scary beyond the surface-level gore. He swings for the fences and falls on home plate in the process.”
Review: Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine as Light’
“In just her second film, Kapadia has become one of the most exciting directors working today. I doubt Cannes will be as quick to write off the cinema of India in her wake.”
Review: Chris Nash’s ‘In a Violent Nature’
“The package may be pretty, but there’s nothing of note inside, and what is there has been done better elsewhere.”
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema Review – Paola Cortellesi’s ‘There’s Still Tomorrow’
“‘There’s Still Tomorrow,’ the feature directorial debut by Italian actress Paola Cortellesi, betrays traditional World War II-era films with its unique style and subversion.”
Review: Guillaume Campanacci and Vesper Egon’s ‘Whenever I’m Alone with You’
“‘Whenever I’m Alone with You’ often feels pretentious, albeit in the best way possible.”
Review: Isaac Hirotsu Woofter’s ‘Bound’
“‘Bound,’ the feature directorial debut from actor Isaac Hirotsu Woofter, spotlights the struggles of fringe society characters but falls apart with its confusing editing and narrative structure.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Jonathan Millet’s ‘Ghost Trail’
“‘Ghost Trail’ is never boring — a testament to Millet’s laser-focused and tightly-edited direction.”
‘Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever’ Review: Borrowed Nostalgia for the Unremembered 90s
“‘Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever’ is formulaic to a fault… however, keep an eye on Fanny Bornedal. It won’t be long until she headlines (or co-headlines) a high-profile TV series or film on a major streaming service.”
Review: Bertrand Bonello’s ‘Coma’
“‘Coma’ conjures up the spirit of 2020 like no other movie thus far. Through its unwieldy structure and genre delineation, Bonello’s film often feels every bit as disorienting as it was to scroll through social media timelines during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Review: Everybody Needs to See John Rosman’s ‘New Life’
“Rosman builds to a powerful resolution and ideal ending moment in ‘New Life,’ using gore and traditional methods to escalate the tension, and then pulls the rug away from the audience — a reminder of who’s in control, a tease of what’s to come.”
Review: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Abigail’
“There’s more to love than hate in ‘Abigail’ — from the insanely over-the-top violence to the fresh take on vampire mythology — and most of the dangling threads pay off in a pacy, satisfying manner.”
Review: Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Challengers’ Is a Highbrow Music Video Experience That Doesn’t Owe You Anything
“A film designed as a long-form music video doesn’t need heavy exposition to reach its ultimate truth, as ‘Challengers’ communicates the most important facts through sound design, reaction shots and shared character moments.”
Review: Tynan DeLong’s ‘Dad & Step-Dad’
“Tynan DeLong’s ‘Dad & Step-Dad’ finds comedic gold in awkward silence and silly stare-downs.”