TIFF Review: Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers’
“‘The Holdovers’ tries a little too hard to swerve melancholic moments into a hokey optimism, as it’s indebted to a screenwriters’ seminar-style narrative.”
TIFF Review: Jonathan Glazer’s ‘The Zone of Interest’
“If one is willing to meet ‘The Zone of Interest’ on its own terms, Glazer’s film offers an uncompromising glimpse at the lengths people will go to avoid seeing the horrors around them…”
TIFF Review: Richard Linklater’s ‘Hit Man’
“‘Hit Man’ is easily one of Richard Linklater’s most entertaining and emotionally satisfying films.”
Review: Marcellus Cox’s ‘Mickey Hardaway’
“‘Mickey Hardaway’ is the real deal.”
Venice Film Festival Review: Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Poor Things’
“Lanthimos examines human emotion as a sort of mask that we wear, stripping his characters of time and place to observe the raw human animal. ‘Poor Things’ might be the purest distillation of this yet.”
Venice Film Festival Review: Bradley Cooper’s ‘Maestro’
“There is so much to adore in ‘Maestro,’ as Cooper’s supremely controlled vision touches greatness and sustains it.”
Venice Film Festival Review: Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’
“While Origin’s conclusion undermines the breadth and depth of its observations, there is much to be admired in the ambitious undertaking.”
Venice Film Festival Review: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s ‘Evil Does Not Exist’
“The tension between all these figures prompts a sudden and ferocious outpouring that will cement ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ as one of the most quietly stirring films of the year.”
Venice Film Festival Review: Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’
“Spaeny’s rigidity — especially in the first half of ‘Priscilla’ — is the perfect extension of Coppola’s curiosity regarding space and movement.”
Crime Scene #7: ‘Twilight’ and the Hungarian Hills
“In ‘Twilight,’ Fehér suggests, the force of authority truly loses its voice.”
Venice Film Festival Review: Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’
“‘Ferrari’ is a mixed portrait; a kind of freeze-frame of 50s masculinity, in all its ruthlessness and moral codes that have not adapted to a less binary society.”
Venice Film Festival Review: Pablo Larraín’s ‘El Conde’
“‘El Conde’ is an unhinged satire, more than any of recent memory.”
Review: Marcel Walz’s ‘That’s a Wrap’
“As an indie Giallo, ‘That’s a Wrap’ fails to read the room.”
Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Daniel Bandeira’s ‘Propriedade’
“As a pure piece of genre filmmaking, ‘Propriedade’ is highly successful.”
An Interview with ‘Guras’ Filmmaker Saurav Rai
‘Guras’ Interview: Dipankar Sarkar discusses the 2023 movie with filmmaker Saurav Rai.
Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Devashish Makhija’s ‘Joram’
“‘Joram’ is effectively a new version of ‘The Fugitive’ (and a rather good one at that).”
Review: Joe Eddy’s ‘Bootyology’
“Eddy’s entertaining flick will presumably be a digital/midnight movie hit, if and when the Butt Gods help streamers find the film online. Godspeed, ‘Bootyology.'”
Megachurch Charms: ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Season 3
“‘The Righteous Gemstones’ season 3 stays true to the constants that made me appreciate the show in the first place while adding more characters to love.”
Review: André Øvredal’s ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’
“‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ doesn’t make enough of an impression to stand out amongst the veritable legions of other Dracula films that already exist.”
Hollywood Writers and Actors on Strike: The Latest Historic Battle
“Here in the heart of Yoknapatawpha (Lafayette) County, I think about our favorite literary son, William Faulkner, during his time as a screenwriter in Hollywood and how he would feel about the current strike by members of the WGA.”