Busan International Film Festival Review: Anoop Lokkur’s ‘Don’t Tell Mother’
“‘Donโt Tell Mother’ is an assured debut, less concerned with plot points than with the tremors of lived moments rippling through its gently stirring narrative.”
Review: Sara Zandieh’s ‘Doin’ It’
“‘Doinโ It’ is caught in the bind of being too obnoxious for adults and too unrelatable for younger viewers.”
Review: Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another’
“In ‘One Battle After Another,’ the political is inextricable from the personal, in a way that transcends a mere commentary on Trumpโs America.”
Review: Justin Tipping’s ‘HIM’
“Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of ‘HIM’ is that Tipping is clearly a talented visual stylist, but his keen eye never quite helps the screenplay transcend various cliches.”
Review: Jimmy Warden’s ‘Borderline’
“Just like a Hollywood actor or actress who doesnโt quite know when to stop performing amongst family members and friends, ‘Borderline’ is frequently annoying yet always entertaining and unpredictable.”
Review: Racheal Cain’s ‘Somnium’
“‘Somnium’ is rather predictable, as first-time feature filmmakers like Cain tend to prioritize visual design over the nuts and bolts of their script.”
TIFF 2025 Review: Benny Safdie’s ‘The Smashing Machine’
“The biggest problem with ‘The Smashing Machine’ is that Safdie simply doesnโt bring anything new to the table in terms of style or ideas.”
TIFF 2025 Review: Gianfranco Rosi’s ‘Below the Clouds’
“With ‘Below the Clouds,” Rosi makes it clear that history and the present interact every day.”
TIFF 2025 Review: รliver Laxeโs โSirฤtโ
“What I really appreciate about ‘Sirฤt’ is Laxeโs constant bucking of expectations.”
TIFF 2025 Review: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachokeโs โA Useful Ghostโ
“As interesting as ‘A Useful Ghost’ is in concept, itโs a typical film by a talented debut artist and storyteller, one with a litany of ideas but no clear voice that brings them together.”
Review: Robert Schwartzman’s ‘Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary’
“Press play on ‘Hung Up on a Dream’ for the music, stay for the wild and interconnected industry stories that span seven decades.”
Review: Joe Begosโ โJimmy and Stiggsโ
“‘Jimmy and Stiggs’ is frenetic, metal AF and feels dangerous, which is something thatโs sadly missing from a lot of modern horror movies.”
EIFF 2025 Review: Mas Bouzidi’s ‘Concessions’
“‘Concessions’ is essentially a collage, taking bits of other films and sticking them together to make something pretty. But it struggles when it comes to time to say something of its own.”
VV Double Review (2/2): Macon Blair’s ‘The Toxic Avenger’ (EIFF)
“‘The Toxic Avenger’ isn’t unpalatable to the mainstream, but it quickly becomes evident why the film was left on the shelf for a couple of years.”
VV Double Review (1/2): Macon Blair’s ‘The Toxic Avenger’
“Blair’s ‘The Toxic Avenger’ does what a great reboot should do — the film carves its own path, in every sense of the word, while paying homage to what came before and taking some big swings along the way.”
EIFF 2025 Review: Sepideh Farsi’s ‘Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk’
“As a cinematic epitaph for an extraordinary young woman, ‘Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk’ more than captures the spirit of Fatima Hassouna.”
EIFF 2025 Review: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne’s ‘The Young Mother’s Home’
“After a few missteps since ‘Two Days, One Night’ became an unlikely crossover success, the Dardennes brothers are back on track with ‘The Young Mother’s Home.’ Itโs their simplest, most open hearted work to date…”
EIFF 2025 Review: Ondine Viรฑao’s ‘Two Neighbors’
“Sadly, ‘Two Neighbors’ turns out to be one of those parties where the people donโt really mix and the event seems to drag on forever.”
EIFF 2025 Review: Jan-Ole Gerster’s ‘Islands’
“‘Islands’ smoothly makes the transition from a romantic drama to an understated thriller, and itโs utterly intoxicating.”
Review: Zach Cregger’s ‘Weapons’
“Cregger is less interested in the ways in which his characters rise to the occasion in ‘Weapons’ and more concerned with how they fall short at the worst possible moment.”