“‘The Searchers’ has moments of low-brow comedy and moments of penetrating tension, its interconnected themes involve love and guilt, and its visual and spiritual essence falls somewhere in the realm of poetic melancholy.”
“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.”
“‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ might be most well-known for its lengthy sex scenes, but the gripping romance, elaborate imagery and realistic demonstration of the human experience are what truly keeps the film’s legacy alive.”
“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.”
“In straining to emulate something in the order of a traditional thriller, Katz and his team of long-time collaborators find themselves sliding perilously towards the formulaic.”
“‘Argo’ allows you to enjoy the CIA’s outlandish caper, but it also confronts you with the ambivalence of the larger picture.”
“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.”
“Put simply, Rosalind Byrne changed how I think about cinema. Yes, film is largely about fiction, but in the recording of these fictions, there is an accidental reveal that says so much about who we are and what we think.”
“What’s truly terrifying about ‘Hereditary’ is how empty it really is.”
“What a beautiful gem of a film, one that’s carved so effectively by Francis Lee in his debut feature.”
“By playing characters that feel like versions of themselves, both Bela and Boris try to manipulate the iconography that surrounds them, in a postmodern exploration of what it means to be a star, and wonder if it’s possible to escape from their own shadows.”
“Like a modern-day Machiavelli, his amoral world-view doesn’t see the ethical shades of his actions, only the gains and losses they might occur.”
“Frank Henenlotter and his films have the demeanor of a naughty uncle making wild, dirty jokes while telling a campfire ghost story. He wants you to take the material seriously, but he’s mostly concerned with you having a great time.”
“The film is not without heart, though its heart exists in scattered fragments without assimilating into a cohesive whole.”
“In its absence of cynicism and surface mundanity, ‘Joe Pera Talks with You’ presents a conceit that feels genuinely daring in the context of a comic universe which prides itself on provocative fare from the likes of Tim and Eric, Dave Willis and Eric Andre.”
“‘Sweet Smell of Success’ seems to exist somewhere beyond auteurist canonization or even the traditional Hollywood studio stock.”
“Garrone is more sorry for Marcello’s corruption than he is frustrated by his naivety.”
“Memory and identity are inextricably linked.”
Michael J. Casey on Paul Schrader’s thematic links in ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters’ and ‘First Reformed’
“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.”