Sundance Film Festival Review: Josephine Decker’s ‘Shirley’
“‘Shirley’ is not just a film about the pain and struggle of creativity for all artists, but about women particularly.”
Why Criticism: Time After Time, Linklater and Lucas
“In an era where cinephilia is always about performance, both online and in real life, woke buffs feel compelled to assemble their character like in a video game…”
IFFR 2020 Review: Oda Kaori’s ‘Cenote’
“By seemingly stripping the sacredness from the cenotes, and forcing the sinkholes to be penetrated by the eye of the camera, Oda appears to deconstruct the documentary’s premise: there’s no mystery to unearth…”
Sundance Film Festival Review: Josh Ruben’s ‘Scare Me’
“‘Scare Me’ takes a while to get going, awkwardly finding its footing through its opening scenes, but when it settles into the long night of storytelling in the cabin, Ruben’s debut feature becomes a total delight.”
Sundance Film Festival Review: Eliza Hittman’s ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’
“‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ is an abortion drama that is so grounded in reality, so meticulous in its details, that it becomes one of the most moving and insightful movies made on the subject.”
‘Cheer’ and the Dangers of Family Symbolism
“What’s consistently left out of the ‘Cheer’ conversation is a discussion of the precarious tension of love and exploitation between coach Monica Aldama and the team.”
Review: Chinonye Chukwu’s ‘Clemency’
“Chukwu avoids any overt didacticism in her storytelling, even if the mounting pressure on the beleaguered protagonist is delivered with quiet resolve and suffocating dread.”
IFFR 2020 Review: Roy Andersson’s ‘About Endlessness’
“Andersson depicts fragments of humanity, stitched together with humour and relatability, and without a hint of loftiness or condescension.”
Why Criticism: You Can’t Take the “Film” Out of Film Criticism
“Over time, a film critic should be able to engage with cinema in an all-encompassing manner, acknowledging the interior and exterior forces of what makes a movie…”
Navigating the Heart of the Lonely Capital in LSFF’s New Shorts: London Lives
“What drives through the heart of LSFF’s New Shorts: London Lives is the expansiveness of the city and the loss of connection through digitalisation. Collectively, the films demonstrate the importance of community.”
Review: Richard Stanley’s ‘Color Out of Space’
“‘Color Out of Space’ is one of the weirdest, most disgusting, thought-provoking and provocative releases of the year…”
March of Time: The Enduring Magic of Federico Fellini
“The persona, the artist, the maestro, the ringmaster — one can’t help but bask in the direct, subjective joy and the elegiac reverence for cinema itself.”
I Could Grow to Love This Place: On Bill Forsyth’s ‘Local Hero’
“The films of Bill Forsyth are well-observed, genial comedies — and yet the director’s humor is intermingled with a powerful strain of sadness, an attentiveness to protagonists lost and longing.”
Review: Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s ‘Honeyland’
“In her mysterious way, Hatidze’s character is as gorgeous and singular as the breathtaking images collected by cinematographers Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma.”
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LSFF Oscillations: Cinematic Juxtapositions of the Personal and Political
“LSFF’s Oscillations strand is one of the more immersive parts of the festival, with each film exploring social norms, bodily autonomy and the intersections of life.”
LSFF Houses in Motion: Transformation Through Physical and Emotional Space
“The Houses in Motion strand breaks the mould in successfully exploring how concepts of life and death, home and away and physical and mental states metamorphose and develop within their own spaces.”
Review: Kantemir Balagov’s ‘Beanpole’
“Many directors twice Balagov’s age could only dream of making a film this unwavering and unsettling — so explicit in its understanding and exploration of extreme female pain.”
Review: Sam Mendes’ ‘1917’
“With a fresh, new approach, Mendes memorializes not only his grandfather, but all the brave soldiers of WWI, reminding viewers of the individual tragedies that comprise warfare.”
A Master Looks Back: ‘Varda by Agnès’
“Varda’s enthusiasm for making is simply infectious.”
12 Angry Films: Sidney Lumet on Justice #7 – ‘The Verdict’
“‘The Verdict’ is Lumet’s morality play, a palate-cleanser after the bitter cynicism of his previous film that affirms the fundamental goodness of a few ordinary people within the justice system.”