Review: Kris Swanberg’s ‘Unexpected’
“Throughout Unexpected, little is ever gained or lost, ultimately raising the question (albeit a rather absurd one when considering film): for whom was this made, and what is its intended purpose?”
“Throughout Unexpected, little is ever gained or lost, ultimately raising the question (albeit a rather absurd one when considering film): for whom was this made, and what is its intended purpose?”
“Phoenix’s devastating final scene pretty much erases a need for the specifics of the moral blindness.”
A Column by Max Bledstein
“A BBC Films production from the minds of Outnumbered, What We Did on Our Holiday often looks and feels like an extended sitcom episode rather than a film.”
“An interesting, indie-minded horror, Creep’s simplicity adds to its effectiveness as a taught, jarring film.”
“Charlie Manton (The Imitation Game) shows incredible promise as a filmmaker with Beneath Water, as the visual techniques and character staging project someone in command of their own personal style.”
“Billed as a comedy about sex, Josh Lawson’s The Little Death only manages to explore a small margin of the current sexual landscape.”
“A subdued comedy with some truly inventive gags, The Strongest Man is the culmination of an original voice on the rise more than the triumph of a writer-director already on top.”
“Despite the well-worn territory and jumbled narrative, Dope is proof positive that Hollywood needs diversity and needs it NOW.”
“Seldom more than a vehicle for Pacino to exercise his considerable (and still active) talents, Manglehorn is a string of engaging and breathtaking images that, when strung together, become a subdued meandering plot devoid of any real meaning.”
“Through a series of seemingly sensual vignettes, the director hides the passion that her protagonist so desperately wants, and its this absence of feeling that unveils a misguided and disillusioned woman.”
“The latest Netflix original series, Sense8, throws a lot at the viewer in its premiere episode with an overarching science fiction arc and eight powerful human stories, but somehow the Wachowskis pull it off.”
“A plethora of heart-pounding footage (race and off-track) is at the heart and soul of Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman.”
“Crossing the boundaries of reality, Animals tackles drug abuse from an insider’s perspective by inviting the audience to share in an experience so uniquely alienating, it is impossible to fully comprehend.”
“Apprehensively approaching its subject from a fresh, interesting angle, Time Lapse never quite fulfills the lofty goals it has for itself.”
A fresh, vibrant Western revival, Slow “West uses the tropes of the genre to its advantage, delivering a unique tale about searching for love in all the wrong places.”
“Surpassing expectations and delivering a heaping dose of electrifying visuals, Mad Max: Fury Road is what all blockbuster action movies should strive to be.”
“A film that deals more with heady emotional concepts than surviving a viral apocalypse, Maggie is the perfect actor’s showcase for a man long thought to have given up drama.”
“A commanding first directorial effort from Alex Garland, Ex Machina is the product of a perfectly-tuned collaborative endeavor, much like the mind of its artificial centerpiece.”