Berlinale 2016: With ‘Chi-Raq’, Spike Lee Pushes the Power of Sexuality to New Heights
“Profoundly funny, shocking, sad and ultimately inspiring, Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq is the rude awakening that America needs to get its shit together.”
Berlinale 2016 Review: Rama Thiaw’s ‘The Revolution Won’t Be Televised’
“Thiaw’s control of frenetic, vibrant energy dictates every frame of The Revolution Won’t Be Televised.”
Two Drink Minimum: ‘Hannibal Buress: Comedy Camisado’ (Netflix)
“Buress, typically non-confrontational, slips his subversive humor in slyly, a submarine beneath an inky sea.”
Berlinale 2016: ‘Alone in Berlin’ – A Lifeless Tale of White Heroism
“An overlong melodramatic exercise in aridity, Alone in Berlin fails as a testament to the efforts of the Quangels and fails to tell a cohesive, engaging story.”
Berlinale 2016 Review: Gianfranco Rosi’s ‘Fuocommare’
“Though separated by less than 100 miles of water, the lives of those lucky citizens of Lampedusa and those living in war-torn Africa are worlds apart.”
Berlinale 2016 Review: Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s ‘Creepy’
“Kurosawa possesses an almost supernatural ability to control his audience. “
Berlinale 2016: Jeff Nichols’ ‘Midnight Special’ – A Refreshingly Familiar Sci-Fi Adventure
“Midnight Special has an emotional core compelling enough to draw in massive crowds of cinemagoers, a sci-fi grandeur showy enough to pull in the Marvel/DC crowd (is there a still a DC crowd?), and a visual acuity worthy of the interest of even the most hardened cinephiles.”
Review: Burr Steers’ ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’
“The morality and plot of the film, despite the hand-holding, are impossible to follow, as wars, balls, tea parties, schemes, and bizarrely combative discussions between sisters all feel as equally light and dreary as the next, like equal servings of spoiled plain yogurt.”
Review: Doron and Yoav Paz’s ‘JeruZalem’
“Like something completely lost in translation, JeruZalem is more Troll 2 than Cloverfield and contains all the ironic hallmarks of a future cult phenomenon.”
Review: Jafar Panahi’s ‘Taxi’
“A cry against governmental indifference and a cruel restriction from a chosen means of expression, Taxi is a unique work of art that defies boundaries and convention.”
Review: Alessandro Carloni and Jennifer Yuh’s ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’
“The divine spirit of fools run deep within a film too relatively light and inconsequential to have too much staying power, but as an artistically rich Saturday morning puff piece, you could do far worse.”
Review: Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s ‘Mustang’
“A film full of warmth and dread in equal measure, Mustang serves as a reminder of the power of siblinghood in the face of adversity.”
Review: Tobias Lindholm’s ‘A War’
“More than a simple condemnation of war, of which there are plenty, A War seeks to deliver a thorough examination of human behavior.”
Commanding Leads and Creative Insults in Colin Thompson’s ‘It’s Us’
“Energized by two charismatic leads, It’s Us beautifully explores the process of early 30s decision-making and how one deals with the consequences of questionable actions.”
Review: Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘Youth’
“Akin to a melody that resonates in your mind in a continual loop of madness and pleasure, Youth is a not-so-easily eradicable experience.”
Closer to Fine: ‘Transparent’ 2.6-2.10 (Recap)
“The show is moving without being sappy, fast-paced without feeling like it runs at anything other than the speed of life, and insightful without being driven by political messages.”
An Intimate Family Portrait: ‘Transparent’ Episode Recaps 2.1-2.5
“Building on the impressive groundwork laid by Season One, the first half of the new season provides a closer look at the trials and tribulations of the Pfefferman clan and also zooms out, giving Transparent both an emotional claustrophobia and a wide canvas.”
Review: Jason Moore’s ‘Sisters’
“Sisters is a house party film told by and from the perspective of women, and that is precisely why it succeeds.”
Review: Tetsuya Nakashima’s ‘The World of Kanako’
“For all its frenetic editing, energetic performances and twisty narrative structure, there is sadly an elephant in the room, and that’s the film’s treatment (or mistreatment) of women.”
2015 in Review: Noah Baumbach’s ‘Mistress America’
“Mistress America revels in the romance of being young before carefully setting its characters back down into the real world.”