“A film designed as a long-form music video doesn’t need heavy exposition to reach its ultimate truth, as ‘Challengers’ communicates the most important facts through sound design, reaction shots and shared character moments.”
“Tynan DeLong’s ‘Dad & Step-Dad’ finds comedic gold in awkward silence and silly stare-downs.”
“Unfortunately, it takes about 90 minutes for ‘Irena’s Vow’ to find its aesthetic and narrative groove.”
“‘La Chimera’ will hopefully inspire movie lovers of all ages to learn more about not only Italian cinema, but also the specificities of regional (and rural) Italian culture.”
“‘Civil War’ is a lot smarter than meets the eye, and the film is far more incisive in its cultural critique than its director’s simplistic interview comments may make it seem.”
“‘In the Land of Saints and Sinners’ truly sings during its quietest moments.”
“What ‘The First Omen’ lacks in innovation it makes up for in boldness, pushing familiar supernatural genre tropes about the secret relationship between the Church and the Devil to ideological extremes.”
“‘Project Dorothy’ has nothing meaningful to say about the lingering AI threat to humanity.”
“Part of the film’s effectiveness lies in the iceberg-style storytelling, which respects the audience’s intelligence by showing and addressing crime scene evidence without detailing the grisly specifics.”
“Queerness that isn’t defined by its queerness is always a green flag, but what makes ‘Silver Haze’ an enriching addition to the lesbian canon of cinema is its rugged ties to the British working class.”
“‘Die Before You Die’ is a solid independent horror film that, in its best moments, balances effective satire with claustrophobic terror.”
“‘Hundreds of Beavers’ stands on its own as one of the best rollercoaster-like films of the 2020s, but there’s also potential for a silent cinema-themed series starring Tews and Graves.”
“A unique sense of intimacy arguably makes ‘Lady Like’ the strongest of all the ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ documentaries produced so far, but that doesn’t mean it is flawless in the wider medium.”
“‘Femme’ is lean, mean, nasty, challenging, knotty, uncomfortable and disorientating — often all at once.”
“Poots isn’t just good in ‘Baltimore’ — she’s breathtakingly brilliant.”
“Schießer’s Amazon film is an imaginative thriller, one that requires the performers to think visually like the director.”
“‘Lovely, Dark, and Deep’ teases a bright filmmaking future for Sutherland while spotlighting one of the horror genre’s most promising stars.”
“Emma Westenberg’s father-daughter drama ‘Bleeding Love’ is a travel movie that sticks closely to previous genre routes.”
“It’s a sense of Korean specificity that defines ‘Memories of Murder,’ which is still the best of Bong’s films.”
“The prickly, nuanced performances from Chernick and Canning help drive The Burning Season’s mystery.”