Review: Toby Amies’ ‘In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50’
“Amies’ revelatory rock doc succeeds by exploring the sacred and profane aspects of the subject’s musical mentality.”
Review: Paco Plaza’s ‘Sister Death’
“With ‘Sister Death,’ Plaza builds upon traditional elements of the possession movie by expanding his cinematic universe through cosmic horror.”
Philadelphia Film Festival Review: Xiaopeng Tian’s ‘Deep Sea’
“Xiaopeng Tian’s ‘Deep Sea’ features the most mesmerizing animation since ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.'”
Philadelphia Film Festival Review: Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Kubi’
“A total riot, ‘Kubi’ is a consummate epic that pokes fun at components of the subject matter while communicating the cold tragedy.”
Review: Jaco Bouwer’s ‘Breathing In’
“‘Breathing In’ effectively deconstructs themes of eternity, loyalty and slow strategy — it’s a timely tale about the horrors of war.”
London Film Festival Review: Mahalia Belo’s ‘The End We Start From’
“‘The End We Start From’ falls short of being a meaningful observation on the perils of climate injustice, but the film succeeds as an embodiment of maternal commitment, largely due to Comer’s wonderfully present performance.”
London Film Festival Review: Angela Schanelec’s ‘Music’
“The rhythms in ‘Music’ — the shift from one image to the next — make sense in ways that defy obvious explanation, much like the film itself.”
London Film Festival Review: Anh Hung Tran’s ‘The Taste of Things’
“There is no one better at channelling the multi-faceted force of joy than Binoche, whose entrancing performance grounds ‘The Taste of Things’ in its gentle tragedy.”
London Film Festival Review: Goran Stolevski’s ‘Housekeeping for Beginners’
“Stolevski’s work has air and breath to it, like someone in love with the energy of simply creating.”
London Film Festival Review: Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’
“A distinctly Ghibli feel pervades ‘The Boy and the Heron,’ which more comprehensively and ambitiously connects the studio’s interests than ever before — in whimsy and poignancy, struggle and adventure, the serious and the magical.”
London Film Festival Review: Warwick Thornton’s ‘The New Boy’
“‘The New Boy’ is a film of deep, mystical qualities, and I can’t wait to revisit it.”
Review: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’
“Not only does ‘Oppenheimer’ prove to be one the best-crafted biopics in recent memory, but it also boldly reaffirms the director’s auteur status.”
Why Criticism: James Agee – From Critic to Filmmaker
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
SANFIC 11: Kill (f)or Love: Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s ‘The Assassin’
Jaime Grijalba on Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine