“Given that documentaries are being pushed into hybrid spaces, and that many modern animators are covering morbid subject matter, these 12 short films give an example of contemporary moving image work pushing at cinema’s comfort zones.”
“The virility of the unwanted foreigner is a typical focal point for the average xenophobe.”
“If failure is the greatest teacher, then Peter Medak has earned his doctorate with ‘The Ghost of Peter Sellers.'”
“Film criticism is so vital not because it’s a service, but because it’s a tool — a way for each person to arrive at the final word on each film they see from the critic that matters most: themselves.”
“‘Sputnik’ is a thoughtful, knotty sci-fi thriller that’s firmly character-driven and also boasts a horrifyingly beautiful creature.”
“It’s a fascinating experience to see ‘Aparisyon’ via Locarno’s ‘Open Doors’ strand, where it is presented as a key work in understanding contemporary Filipino cinema.”
“‘The Go-Go’s’ boasts a treasure chest full of archival content in all shapes and sizes, and the imagery almost always complements the anecdotes told by the subjects with delightful detail.”
“There was nothing else like ‘CREEM’ back then, and there’s still nothing like it now. That’s not only a testament to the importance of the magazine, it’s also a sad commentary on what’s lacking in modern music criticism.”
“‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ shares with ‘Pixote’ a cautious destabilization, a sense of how long can this last, of tipping points, radical reform and the capricious aftermath.”
“If Ferris Bueller and his day off resemble something else universal, it is liberation. In the context of the journey, this is best understood as the ability to be in transit.”
“Jarman’s mix of time, history, memory, fantasy and dreams in ‘Jubilee’ is ultimately a hopeful warning for the future.”
“As much as I love a good story, the best movies always transport me, in an intangible sense, through the base elements.”
“As a character study, Miloš Forman’s feature directorial debut presents a realistic vision of a boy’s attempt to come of age; a path full of setbacks without a tidy resolution.”
“I was taken with You Don’t Nomi’s comfortable attitude toward the complexity and ambiguity of a text that can support and sustain such wildly opposite readings.”
“In all her dramatic iterations, Patty Hearst stands for an American purity that was always illusory but remains hallowed, that successive generations have set out to wrest back from the forces of complication.”
“‘Brigitte’ is a slight and sweet addition to Ramsay’s catalogue, and it gently leaves its impressions.”
“When ‘Make Up’ reaches the light at the end of its twisted tunnel, its culmination is gratifying and sumptuously-realised.”
“The black and white edition of ‘Parasite’ is a gift, and the real beacon shining brightly in the dark.”
“If New Hollywood was an attempt to shape the future in novel ways, Bogdanovich was manifestly more interested in looking back, in reaction over revolution, in conforming his artistic impulses to an unambiguously Golden Age Hollywood influence.”
“The ideas present are intriguing, however The Rental’s ultimate staying power is questionable.”