“‘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.”
“‘Prince of the City’ is a taxing, draining experience, but one that is ultimately rooted in very real despair; the system, it argues, has failed. If these characters are the products of the American criminal justice system, then it ought to be blown up.”
“Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Nightingale’ will not attract the same cult following or breadth of widespread fan devotion as ‘The Babadook,’ but her latest marks significant progress in the filmmaker’s command of story and cinematic language.”
“While a number of combat films released in 1943 focus almost exclusively on the male war effort, ‘So Proudly We Hail!’ finds nobility, heroism, anger, racism, sacrifice and camaraderie in its female characters.”
“With ‘Daniel Isn’t Real,’ Mortimer stands by his choices and doesn’t wobble. The result is a film that’s harmonious and undiluted, if prickly and divisive.”
“The desperate need to locate hope and light (and maybe even love where those things are in short supply) recommends ‘Queen & Slim,’ especially at a time of frustration and division.”
“Lewton’s insights into both childhood and adult inner personal conflicts are legacies which deserve recognition in the foundational history of horror, both for psychological thrillers and fantasy films.”
“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.”
London Korean Film Festival: Serena Scateni on ‘Young-ju,’ ‘A Bedsore, ‘A Boy and Sungreen’ and ‘Yukiko’
“‘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.”
“Like the Master of Suspense before him, Bong effortlessly blends the horrific and the comic en route to the icebox talk that has viewers questioning their own attitudes and beliefs through the unanswered mysteries of the story.”
“Kusama skillfully reinterprets the stylistics of classic film noir to explore the genre’s timeless and heady themes: obsession, loneliness, guilt and (most of all) identity…”
“In retrospect, a film can seem so intentional, with every artistic choice so deliberate, that you can’t imagine it being any other way. But these movies that last for generations are often shaped by whims and circumstance.”
“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.”
“In a weird way, Flanagan might have inadvertently made the best X-Men movie to date.”
“At once riveting and entertaining, while inciting in the viewer visceral and arduous self-reflection, ‘Marriage Story’ is an uncompromising and deeply affectionate reflection on what pulls us apart and yet what keeps us bound together despite it all.”
“Judy the Actress and Judy the Icon may have been one in the same after all.”
“‘The Witch’ may be the superior film, but ‘The Lighthouse’ shows Eggers growing by leaps and bounds as a storyteller and visual stylist.”
“From the moment Ramona first appears, ‘Hustlers’ announces itself as a new addition to the neo-noir cannon — a film about bright lights in dark places.”
“Widmark offers a succession of performances in ‘Kiss of Death, ‘The Street with No Name’ and ‘Road House’ that show a young actor building, then resisting, and then reconciling his own burgeoning screen persona.”