London Film Festival Review: Andrew Haigh‘s ‘Lean on Pete’
“‘Lean on Pete’ hits the mark emotionally and reveals itself to be a poised, moving film.”
The Joy of Creating: On Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Hana-bi’
“‘Hana-bi’ is a deeply personal labour of love made by an artist observing his own enigmatic nature from a variety of angles in an attempt to arrive at some clarifying epiphany.”
New York Film Festival Review: Serge Bozon’s ‘Madame Hyde’
“‘Madame Hyde’ crystallizes its views about the absurd limitations in trying to communicate the abstract gift of knowledge.”
Review: Darren Aronofsky’s ‘mother!’
“If ‘mother!’ lacks the refinement of a manifesto for a new breed of movie theater flick, it makes up for it in the audacity to be unique.”
TIFF 2017 Review: Lucrecia Martel’s ‘Zama’
“‘Zama’ is the kind of historical film that refuses to concede even the smallest positivity to the history in question.”
TIFF 2017 Review: Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’
“Guillermo del Toro may very well be cinema’s reigning master of monster mythology.”
TIFF 2017 Review: Govinda Van Maele’s ‘Gutland’
“The brooding ominousness Van Maele plays with throughout seems to run through many of this year’s European offerings.”
Andy Muschietti’s ‘It’ Struggles with Adaptation
“As an adaptation of a great 20th century novel, ‘It’ completely misses the mark.”
TIFF 2017 Review: Alexander Payne’s ‘Downsizing’
“‘Downsizing’ thinks it has big ideas, but artistically and intellectually, it’s as small as its protagonists.”
TIFF 2017 Review: Michael Haneke’s ‘Happy End’
“In ‘Happy End,’ writer/director Michael Haneke coalesces several of his recurring fixations.”
The Woman and the Puppet: On Abel Ferrara’s ‘New Rose Hotel’
“Her power lies in her opaqueness.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on David Lean’s ‘This Happy Breed’
“It is, quite simply, one of the most engaging and most charming movies ever made.”
The Sadness of Desert Trolls: On Robert Altman’s ‘3 Women’
“Altman balances searing interpersonal conflicts with a visual rhythm that’s downright whimsical.”
Netflix from 5 to 6: Reed Morano’s ‘Meadowland’
“With ‘Meadowland,’ Reed Morano doesn’t shy away from pain, and neither should Netflix viewers.”
Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? – On Philippe Garrel’s ‘Frontier of the Dawn’
“This is a love story expressed through gaping structural absences.”
Action Hero Vulnerability and Shocking Comedy in John Frankenheimer’s ‘Dead Bang’
“The vomit moment in ‘Dead Bang’ is unfailingly human.”
The Absurdity of Our World: Tom Ford’s ‘Nocturnal Animals’
“With great color, style and technique, Ford haunts the audience with the disappointments of our absurd world.”
‘Fatal Attraction’ at 30
“Lyne does not believe in the ‘New Man.'”
Review: Matt Spicer’s ‘Ingrid Goes West’
“Unexplored potential aside, there is a deeper issue which casts ‘Ingrid Goes West,’ for me at least, in a pale rather than neon light.”
Review: Eliza Hittman’s ‘Beach Rats’
“Hittman has created a powerful, sensual film about identity, loss and the complicated space that often lies between desire and expectation.”