‘Nope’: Jordan Peele Goes West in Imaginative Genre Mash-Up
“One of the most refreshing dimensions of ‘Nope’ resides in Peele’s willingness to trust viewers to follow him into unexpected territory.”
Practical Magic for the Family: Jacob Estes’ ‘He’s Watching’
“‘He’s Watching’ is a practical and efficient horror film in the style of Rob Savage’s ‘Host’ (2020), but its brilliance lies in Estes’ subversive funhouse mirror approach.”
Review: Adam Christian Clark’s ‘Diary of a Spy’
“‘Diary of a Spy’ mostly keeps viewers in the dark; it’s unclear what makes the main characters tick. Anna and Camden are Dostoevskian figures in spirit, from a different tale, who seem lost in time.”
Review: Sophie Hyde’s ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’
“Hyde’s handling of the material, confirmed by her tone and the setting, should not be condemned for something it is decidedly not.”
There Are No Stupid Questions
“‘Ruth Stone’s Vast Library of the Female Mind’ is an inspiring excavation of the subject’s subconscious; a trip that shouldn’t be avoided by off-the-grid creatives.”
Visions of the Future from 1995: I Am the Law
“The capacity to dehumanize has always been present in cinema; to witness the vanquishing of enemies on the screen has served a cathartic function for every society in which cinema has taken hold.”
‘Elvis’: The Tale of a Southern Country Boy Who Crossed the Racial Divide
“Films today, likes films of yesterday, have great trouble dealing with the poor Southern white.”
Review: Cooper Raiff’s ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’
“I think Raiff is a legitimate addition to the broad group of artists identified with the New Sincerity trend as popularized by David Foster Wallace and Jim Collins.”
Not Forever on Earth: The Moving Image as Spiritual Medicine in Dario Guerrero’s ‘Rocío’
“‘Rocío’ is one of those special films that has the power to heal and calm the mind.”
Review: Seth Breedlove’s ‘American Werewolves’
“‘American Werewolves’ takes itself seriously but doesn’t fully engage with Western Kentucky prank lore or Native American traditions that could help explain Dogman sightings.”
Review: Charlotte Colbert’s ‘She Will’
“‘She Will’ is an impressive introduction to Colbert as a filmmaker, not to mention a great showcase for what Krige can do with a leading role.”
Vagabond Noirs and Tramp Westerns: The Films of Hugo Fregonese at Il Cinema Ritrovato
“Hugo Fregonese is a director ripe for rediscovery.”
Review: Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ ‘The Janes’
“Lessin and Pildes smartly frame speakers in well-lit, detailed close-ups, often in the cozy surroundings of living spaces and kitchens. The approach underlines the common and the everyday without diminishing the legacies in action.”
Il Cinema Ritrovato: ‘Tony Arzenta’ and Recanonizing Italian Genre Cinema
“Do some films get ignored because they are unavailable or do they get ignored because they aren’t that good to begin with? This is precisely where I stand with ‘Tony Arzenta.'”
Review: Josephine Decker’s ‘The Sky Is Everywhere’
“Decker is committed to immersiveness and immediacy. Her bold and passionate choices value and validate the subjective experiences of female artists/creators toiling to figure it all out.”
The Redemption of Sexual Reality
“‘A Sexplanation’ is both timely and hilarious, a big brain event.”
Kate Dolan Debuts with Effective ‘You Are Not My Mother’
“‘You Are Not My Mother’ lives at the fringes of folk horror, but the underlying family melodrama drives a story more interested in generational trauma than a supernatural fairytale.”
Visions of the Future from 1995: The World Is Screwed
“‘Waterworld,’ ’12 Monkeys’ and ‘Tank Girl’ posit that when a civilization collapses, many of its customs will be upheld through authoritarian means…”
Femme Fatales in ‘Batman Returns’ and ‘Batman & Robin’
“With ‘Batman Returns’ and ‘Batman & Robin,’ Burton and Schumacher apply their collaborative and authorial sensibilities to iconic female villains.”
The Only Thing Real: Meaning and Maturity in Post-9/11 Cinema
“9/11 was a psychic wound that fostered a new relation to the world, and those who grew up in its aftermath struggled to digest its lessons; some fell back onto intransigence, while others internalized the damage.”