Review: ‘The Invisible Man’ Is a Sight for Sore Eyes
“Whannell’s ‘The Invisible Man’ is an absolute banger, and stands tall as the most spectacular evolution of the story to hit the big screen.”
Album Review: Wasted Shirt ‘Fungus II’
“‘Fungus II’ is another reminder that not only is Segall one of the most hard-working and talented artists of the last decade, but also a genuine musical omnivore.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Mahnaz Mohammadi’s ‘Son-Mother’
“Mahnaz Mohammadi’s tale of an Iranian mother’s dilemma render the emotional highs and lows of its characters with a naturalistic clarity.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Tsai Ming-liang’s ‘Days’
“Why are we watching if the director’s gaze — and hence our own — makes us feel like we’re intruding spaces that should be left otherwise untouched?”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Alexandre Rockwell’s ‘Sweet Thing’
“‘Sweet Thing’ is creatively shot and bursting with energy, but Rockwell’s biggest ambition is seemingly to replicate a bunch of ideas from other films, to put visuals to his favorite songs and to showcase his talented family.”
Why Criticism: Berlinale 2020 and the Power of Sound
Swedish Film Critic Jakob Åsell on the Sounds of Berlinale 2020
Review: Oz Perkins’ ‘Gretel & Hansel’
“Great art has every piece in intimate communion with the art as a whole. ‘Gretel & Hansel’ takes an elemental approach to the folklore, gasping with the fears of the original material while exhaling a new mystique of its own.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Abel Ferrara’s ‘Siberia’
“Ferrara throws everything at ‘Siberia,’ turning it into a playground for emotive relation. But it is Dafoe, his muse, who so thoroughly brings the audience along with the randomness…”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Kelly Reichardt’s ‘First Cow’
“Reichardt’s story has the mythic quality of a fable, but refrains from moralising or casting judgement on the misdeeds and mistakes of its characters.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Hong Sang-soo’s ‘The Woman Who Ran’
“Hong Sang-soo’s cinematic apparatus might seem limited to some, but it’s in the endless repetition of the same movements that perfection is achieved.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Christian Petzold’s ‘Undine’
“Petzold’s use of fairytale is rote, but – as a piece of Sirkian high melodrama – ‘Undine’ is eminently satisfying.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Bassam Tariq’s ‘Mogul Mowgli’
“Similarly to its lead, ‘Mogul Mowgli’ indicates its awareness of the big themes tied to the experiences of young British-Pakistani men, but doesn’t quite do all the legwork required to properly manifest a thesis.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Camilo Restrepo’s ‘Los conductos’
“‘Los conductos’ announces Camilo Restrepo as a visceral talent with the substance to back up his sublime imagery.”
Review: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’s ‘The Lodge’
“Franz and Fiala scale down Kubrick’s more expansive vision, and the result offers its own kind of skin-crawling satisfaction.”
World Cinema Project: Nowhere Fast – ‘Touki Bouki’ and ‘Taipei Story’
“For those suffering from the same dissatisfactions depicted in ‘Touki Bouki’ and ‘Taipei Story’ — be they based on economics, vocation, familial and romantic relations or a broad national uncertainty — hope may be all there is. And that, at least, is something.”
That Sweet Smell of Success: On Bruno de Almeida’s ‘Cabaret Maxime’
“By addressing the dark realities of show business, ‘Cabaret Maxime’ spotlights the beauty of unconditional artistic love – for an individual creative pursuit, and for a shared belief system amongst peers.”
Light in a Dark Room: The Legacy of ‘The Snake Pit’
“‘The Snake Pit’ became the first Hollywood film to address mental health in such a raw way, and set a standard for future films that similarly explore the topic.”
Album Review: Bambara ‘Stray’
“Stray’s expanded timeline, along with Bambara’s skill in conjuring a distinctly Southern kind of horror, feels akin to True Detective’s spectacular first season.”
Pictures of You: Stella Meghie’s ‘The Photograph’
“The appealing leads spark with genuine onscreen chemistry, and Meghie capitalizes on a terrific supporting cast to vividly render past and present in complementary balance.”
Why Criticism: The One-Inch Tall Barrier of Foreign Cinema
“Tucked in our so-called privileged positions, we need to not only hold tight but also need to learn when to engage and when to let things go.”