Review: Robert Schwartzman’s ‘Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary’
“Press play on ‘Hung Up on a Dream’ for the music, stay for the wild and interconnected industry stories that span seven decades.”
VV Double Review (2/2): Macon Blair’s ‘The Toxic Avenger’ (EIFF)
“‘The Toxic Avenger’ isn’t unpalatable to the mainstream, but it quickly becomes evident why the film was left on the shelf for a couple of years.”
VV Double Review (1/2): Macon Blair’s ‘The Toxic Avenger’
“Blair’s ‘The Toxic Avenger’ does what a great reboot should do — the film carves its own path, in every sense of the word, while paying homage to what came before and taking some big swings along the way.”
Know the Cast: ‘Plane’
‘Plane’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every actor and character in Jean-François Richet’s 2023 movie.
Review: Christopher Smith’s ‘Consecration’
“‘Consecration’ is a disjointed affair with sparks of interest scattered throughout that nonetheless ends up as a middling entry into the newly popular religious horror sub-genre.”
‘All Happy Families’ Review – A Gently Chaotic Portrait of Multigenerational Family Life in Chicago
“‘All Happy Families’ is a warm family drama. What the film lacks in originality, it makes up for in sincerity.”
Review: Michael Casey and Paddy Murphy’s ‘Lulu and the Electric Dreamboat’
“Michael Casey and Paddy Murphy’s ‘Lulu and the Electric Dreamboat’ is a winsome coming-of-age film with surgical wit.”
Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’
‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every song in Francis Galluppi’s 2023 movie.
Know the Cast: ‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’
‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every actor and character in Francis Galluppi’s 2023 movie.
Review: Dan Rocque and Kassandra Voss’ ‘Crawdaddy’
“Perhaps if ‘Crawdaddy’ played into the idea of an unremarkably ordinary man becoming a sex symbol for comedy, the sillier tone elsewhere wouldn’t feel as disparate from the rest.”
Review: Alex Braverman’s ‘Thank You Very Much’
“‘Thank You Very Much’ separates itself from previous Kaufman documentaries in the way the director directly confronts the correlation between an artist’s childhood trauma and creative outlook as an adult.”
Building the New Queer Canon #3: Olmo Schnabel’s ‘Pet Shop Days’
“The biggest problem with ‘Pet Shop Days’ is the extent to which it feels indebted to both an earlier wave of rebellious LGBTQ cinema and current trends in American independent filmmaking, never finding a distinct identity beyond homage.”
Review: Atom Egoyan’s ‘Seven Veils’
“‘Seven Veils’ wears its heart on its sleeve like a John Cassavetes drama, and teases the audience like an M. Night Shyamalan thriller.”
Review: Cody Kennedy and Tim Rutherford’s ‘The Last Video Store’
“‘The Last Video Store’ is a nostalgic horror production that talks the talk and walks the walk.”
Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘To Catch a Killer’
‘To Catch a Killer’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every song in Damián Szifron’s 2023 movie.
Know the Cast: ‘To Catch a Killer’
‘To Catch a Killer’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every actor and character in Damián Szifron’s 2023 movie.
Review: Eric McGinty’s ‘Stockade’
“‘Stockade’ will polarize viewers with its flimsy cultural commentaries.”
Review: Kaveh Daneshmand’s ‘Endless Summer Syndrome’
“The narrative truth in ‘Endless Summer Syndrome’ lies in what goes unsaid and what’s just outside the frame.”
Review: Tim Hautekiet’s ‘Me, Myself & the Void’
“‘Me, Myself & the Void’ was clearly made with passion and enthusiasm, but none of Hautekiet’s efforts can stop the mystery from feeling like it’s dragging its heels towards an obvious conclusion…”
Review: Mary Dauterman’s ‘Booger’
“‘Booger’ is a surprisingly poignant and sensitive meditation on grief that utilizes a truly wild metaphor.”