Don’t Make Him Wait: Editing, Thelma Schoonmaker and ‘The Irishman’
“Schoonmaker’s contribution to ‘The Irishman’ may be her finest effort: she shapes an epic that masterfully controls pace — accelerating and decelerating it at will…”
Leopards in Winter: ‘The Irishman’ and the Banquet Sequence
“‘The Irishman’ may be the last film of an era. The banquet scene ranks among the most powerful sequences of Scorsese’s career because he allows it, following Visconti’s example, to linger.”
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.”
A Master Looks Back: ‘Varda by Agnès’
“Varda’s enthusiasm for making is simply infectious.”
‘A Hidden Life’ Shows Terrence Malick at His Most Inquisitive and Incisive
“Every frame of ‘A Hidden Life’ is informed by unapologetic inquisitiveness. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful tapestry of faith, systemic inhumanity, humility and transcendent love — made with rare sublimity and sincerity.”
The Spirit of Revolution: How World Cinema Defined the 1920s
“There is a danger and dynamism to 20s cinema which was gradually eradicated by the standardisation of production processes.”
Review: Clint Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewell’
“‘Richard Jewell’ is, for the most part, a captivating recreation of a man’s journey through hell and back. Its strong acting and character relationship dynamics are the main selling points, as Eastwood’s sense of direction and pacing are the best they have been in a long time.”
Review: Marielle Heller’s ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’
“Who is going to argue with the casting of Tom Hanks? Even so, the reason I don’t care for most fictionalized biopics lies in the imitation of one well-known person by another.”
Review: Todd Haynes’ ‘Dark Waters’
“‘Dark Waters’ may have a downbeat climax, to the degree that may not be considered a climax at all, yet it’s a film made to inspire action, to underline the idea that this crisis is a modern one — it’s still happening, and it’s not resolved.”
12 Angry Films: Sidney Lumet on Justice #5 – ‘Dog Day Afternoon’
“By creating such a sympathetic, human subject, Lumet deepens the impact of his institutional critique of the justice system; its dehumanizing effect on American society seems all the more tragic when Sonny is its victim.”
I Sing for Myself: Renée and Judy on Judy Garland
“Judy the Actress and Judy the Icon may have been one in the same after all.”
12 Angry Films: Sidney Lumet on Justice #4 – ‘Serpico’
“With ‘Serpico,’ Lumet becomes a defining chronicler of American institutional corruption, most obviously within the justice system.”
London Film Festival Review: Marco Bellocchio’s ‘The Traitor’
“It wouldn’t be surprising to see ‘The Traitor’ filed in the Dad-canon of crime cinema alongside other European films like ‘Mesrine’ or ‘The Baader Meinhof Complex’ — films where the context is too wide to sufficiently cover…”
TIFF 2019 Review: James Mangold’s ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Provides an Old-School Adult Drama
“Nothing about ‘Ford v Ferrari’ reeks of studio interference, perhaps owing to the fact that the script hews so closely to screenwriting conventions that worked well for decades.”
Modern Malick
“In Malick’s effort to capture the alienation that accompanies modernity, in his contemporary-set films, he ultimately achieves a similar alienation cinematically.”
The Face of Faith: Falconetti, Dreyer and ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’
“Today, what survives is a film of exquisite poise, of fleshly tenderness against concrete cruelty, an evocative warmth against the coldness of Joan’s formidable suffering.”
Abel Ferrara’s ‘Pasolini’: A Poetic Disruption with Great Desires
“By the final act, Ferrara has presented both the man and the legend, but can’t seem to decide which version he wants the audience to remember.”
‘Maiden’ Doc Sails Around the World with Tracy Edwards and Her Crew
“Reflecting and refracting the ongoing conversations around everything from the salary inequity between male and female soccer players to the alleged child sex trafficking hellscape perpetuated by Jeffrey Epstein, ‘Maiden’ can be read as both time capsule and time bomb.”
On Performance by Q.V. Hough: Rosamund Pike in ‘A Private War’
“In ‘A Private War,’ Rosamund Pike embodies a woman under the influence, a real-life war journalist in pursuit of truth. She establishes an authentic physical interpretation — high shoulders, low vocal tone, 90-degree arm posturing — and then improvises for a more in-depth character portrait.”
Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Agnès Varda’s ‘Varda by Agnès’
“Playing almost like a self-eulogy, ‘Varda by Agnès’ resonates as both a manifesto to untamed creativity and a testament to future generations of artists.”