“‘Motherless Brooklyn’ may not be a sterling example of traditional noir, but its subtext is gripping in its own way. The victim of this crime story isn’t a dead man or a damsel in distress, but the spirit of a city.”
“‘The Souvenir’ is essential viewing for devoted cinephiles.”
“‘Don’t Look Now’ stands as one of the best iterations of the giallo film. It takes the best elements of the commercialized Italian psycho-thriller and presents them with a Hitchcockian flair.”
“Lorre brought to his strangers the psychological wounds carried by the exile.”
“‘Ad Astra’ joins the likes of ‘Gravity’ and ‘Interstellar’ as one of Stanley Kubrick’s starchildren.”
“‘The Box’ elevates the daily minutiae of capitalist cruelty into the science fiction moral framework of a ‘Twilight Zone’ yarn.”
“Although ‘Come to Daddy’ slightly loses while accelerating to its conclusion, the splatter of dark comedy and dysfunctional father-son dynamics is always engaging and frequently smart.”
“‘Ham on Rye’ has an inescapably student film-y vibe, a bit like a wannabe Richard Linklater joint but without any of the ambition, grit or intelligence.”
“What ‘Tigers Are Not Afraid’ doesn’t contain in terms of deep characters and real-world specificity, it makes up for with its supernatural elements, allowing its allegory to resonate.”
“‘Luz’ may be a distancing film, but it’s ultimately a fascinating and genuinely creepy one, forging as it does a bold new vision for the tired old demon possession movie, taking a cue from the demons of the subgenre and putting new life into its subject.”
“When looking at Tarantino’s filmography, ‘The Hateful Eight’ doesn’t hold a candle to works like ‘Pulp Fiction’ or ‘Kill Bill,’ but it’s an entertaining film nonetheless — if you don’t mind the runtime.”
“Both Lucas and Lynch’s world views allow for the possibility of personal atonement, and for external peace emerging from inner peace.”
“If part of the horror genre’s mission is to elicit fear through the erosion of safety, then the endings of ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Midsommar’ are the ultimate expression of that mission.”
“‘The Blair Witch Project’ isn’t a horror film experience on par with ‘The Exorcist’ or ‘The Shining,’ but that’s not a fair comparison. It’s an experience all its own.”
“‘Midsommar’ is all steak, no sizzle, and no real lessons are learned other than, maybe, ‘Screw your mansplaining boyfriend.’”
“Coppola’s recent work is not a ‘return to form,’ whatever that means, but rather part of an ongoing exploration of what the form can do, showing an artist increasingly interested in only trying things he hasn’t done before.”
“Just like his protagonists, D’Antoni refused to play by the rules, and he got results.”
“Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’ cements the filmmaker’s reputation as a master craftsman and visual stylist. Creepy, funny and wicked sharp, the film’s genre is horror, the ideas are expansive and the execution is clean.”
Pablo Staricco Cadenazzi Interviews ‘Madeline’s Madeline’ Cinematographer Ashley Connor
“For Paul Schrader, First Reformed’s visual style realizes ideas of transcendental style that he first theorized at the beginning of his career. But that style only works because it serves the story and character he crafted so carefully.”