Review: Janus Metz’s ‘Borg vs McEnroe’
“‘Borg vs McEnroe’ loses momentum during its tennis sequences, but that’s just a minor complaint. Advantage LaBeouf.”
Review: Ridley Scott’s ‘All the Money in the World’
“It’s ultimately Scarpa’s bizarre scripting decisions that make the film just a fun crime thriller, and not a Ridley Scott classic.”
Review: Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Molly’s Game’
“For a film that prides itself on being ‘based on a true story,’ ‘Molly’s Game’ often relies on moments that are too coincidental, too easy. Yet, there’s nothing here to suggest that Sorkin won’t eventually figure things out behind the camera.”
Review: James Franco’s ‘The Disaster Artist’
“The Hollywood dream lives on proudly in ‘The Disaster Artist.’”
Of Elephants, Daughters and Rebels: Bobby Sarma Baruah’s ‘Sonar Baran Pakhi’
“In its thorough research and extensive reconstructing of the artist’s life, ‘Sonar Baran Pakhi’ is a document of celebration. Of the artist, the daughter, the mother. And the effortless rebel.”
A Musical Necropic: Todd Haynes’ ‘Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story’
“It’s done critically, sympathetically and with a demand from the viewer to take responsibility for their role in the story, too.”
‘The Bling Ring,’ Recontextualized in Post-Election America
“As the time between 2008, 2013 and 2016 grows comparatively smaller, the film will only loom larger.”
Tribeca Film Festival Reviews: Men with Guns – ‘Sweet Virginia’ and ‘Hondros’
“What ‘Sweet Virginia’ and ‘Hondros’ have in common is the notion that men with guns aren’t as brave or bloodthirsty as they seem.”
DIFF 2017 Review: James Gray’s ‘The Lost City of Z’
‘It cannot be understated: ‘The Lost City of Z’ is a revelation.’
True/False 2017 Review: Fan Jian’s ‘Still Tomorrow’
“No matter which storyline is in play, the best thing about ‘Still Tomorrow’ is its subject.”
Losses Made in Heaven: Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘Casino’
“In Scorsese’s inversion of the downfall, paradise isn’t the origin and its loss doesn’t mean moral decrepitude, only mediocrity.”
The Way of the Future: The Connections Between Martin Scorsese’s ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘The Aviator’
“With ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘The Aviator,’ Martin Scorsese perfects a configuration of the biopic as self-recognized fiction.”
Los Cabos IFF Review: Pablo Larraín’s ‘Jackie’
“Portman’s vivid portrayal is the film’s greatest strength, coasting through woebegone New England accents and the script’s on-the-nose airing of themes in the final act.”
CIFF Review: Terence Davies’ ‘A Quiet Passion’
“‘A Quiet Passion’ is at its best when its silence is broken by images, not words.”
CIFF Review: Andrzej Wajda’s ‘Afterimage’
“This portrait of an aging artist engages with and refuses the idea that artistic and social isolation is anything but selfish.”
NYFF Review: Pablo Larraín’s ‘Neruda’
“Neruda’s shining star is Luis Gnecco, who brings the poet back to life.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Auto Focus’ (Paul Schrader, 2002)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Patty Hearst’ (Paul Schrader, 1988)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
SANFIC 12 Review: Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ‘Poesía sin fin’
“Maybe it’s his own nostalgia or the naturalistic approach, but I haven’t felt someone film my city with that much love in a long time.”
At the Cinémathèque: ‘In the Realm of the Senses’ (Nagisa Ôshima, 1976)
“In the forbidden, Oshima reveals the fear of our own meaninglessness and our inability to face death as a certainty.”