“Based on ‘Oui mais non’ and ‘S.D.R.,’ Dubé seems fully capable of tackling various genres, and taking the medium forward into the future.”
“‘She Who Wears the Rain’ shows how lucid dreaming engagement can help people cope with mental health issues.”
“‘Entangled’ feels like a clunky ‘Love in New York’ story during the first hour, but ultimately transforms into a moving tale about self-love and acceptance.”
“Mesmerizing and immaculately-structured, ‘Overwhelm the Sky’ is an ambitious indie epic that doesn’t waste a single minute.”
VV’s D.M. Palmer, Peter Bell and Q.V. Hough on Martin Scorsese and Marvel
“Rob Grant’s ‘Harpoon’ exudes all the sly confidence of a well-prepared and half-in-the-bag wedding table orator.”
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“‘Semper Fi’ leans heavily on male codes of honor — a la HBO’s ‘The Wire’ or Ben Affleck’s ‘The Town’ — but doesn’t fully explore the motivations for the primary players, a group of Marines trying to re-acclimate to life in upstate New York. As a result, the final act suffers.”
“In ‘A Private War,’ Rosamund Pike embodies a woman under the influence, a real-life war journalist in pursuit of truth. She establishes an authentic physical interpretation — high shoulders, low vocal tone, 90-degree arm posturing — and then improvises for a more in-depth character portrait.”
“Through sharp sound design and awkward moments of situational comedy, ‘Olla’ highlights the inner fire of a young woman; a charismatic vagabond. Like her frequent collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos, Labed uses tonally offbeat situations to hilariously explore perceptions of logical and illogical behavior.”
