‘Pavements’ Review: Director Alex Ross Perry Innovates Rock Doc Cinema for the Future
“Perry fully (and successfully) commits to various comedic bits in ‘Pavements’ while documenting Pavement’s 1999 break-up and eventual 2022 reunion.”
Review: Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani’s ‘I Love You Forever’
“In ‘I Love You Forever,’ David and Kalani have their fingers firmly on the pulse of the current zeitgeist, injecting a much-needed youthful zest into a well-worn genre with an artful eye and incisive wit.”
Review: Mickey Keating’s ‘Invader’
“What sets ‘Invader’ apart from more conventional stalker horror films is its feverish aesthetic that owes more to the manic energy of 1970s and 80s exploitation cinema than modern genre trends.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Kôji Fukada’s ‘Love on Trial’
“Love on Trial’s opening two acts integrate personal drama into a subtly scathing social critique, but Fukada’s narrative loses power when the heroine must contend with the dark price of fame.”
Review: Michael Casey and Paddy Murphy’s ‘Lulu and the Electric Dreamboat’
“Michael Casey and Paddy Murphy’s ‘Lulu and the Electric Dreamboat’ is a winsome coming-of-age film with surgical wit.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Pedro Pinho’s ‘I Only Rest in the Storm’
“‘I Only Rest in the Storm’ is a succinctly angry film in large part because Pinho knows it doesn’t offer a reassuring explanation about its myriad themes.”
Review: Ben Petrie’s ‘The Heirloom’
“‘The Heirloom’ doesn’t follow a conventional climactic structure, and its brittle, dry humor and abstract tone may not appeal to everyone. However, Petrie’s inventive vision is admirable…”
On Dark and Lonely Waters: PIFs and Rural Landscapes as Sites of Danger
“Public Information Films, once tools for instruction, became haunted reflections of a nation’s growing uncertainty and discontent…”
Review: Tom Carroll’s ‘The Stress Is Killing Me’
“By the end of Carroll’s frustrating and stylistically unambitious film, it seems that there was a deeper, more interesting story just out of reach.”
Review: Maurice O’Carroll’s ‘Swing Bout’
“‘Swing Bout’ doesn’t establish enough of a backstory for any of the key players for them to register beyond the individual performances…”
Review: Dan Rocque and Kassandra Voss’ ‘Crawdaddy’
“Perhaps if ‘Crawdaddy’ played into the idea of an unremarkably ordinary man becoming a sex symbol for comedy, the sillier tone elsewhere wouldn’t feel as disparate from the rest.”
Review: Joel Potrykus Embraces Change with ‘Vulcanizadora’
“‘Vulcanizadora’ is an astonishing coming-of-age tale for adults-in-crisis.”
Netflix TV Review: ‘Ransom Canyon’ Season 1
“‘Ransom Canyon’ season 1 would’ve been much more entertaining with a stronger focus on Staten and Quinn’s perspectives/wants/needs, and how their values influence the people around them and the overall community culture.”
Review: Alexis Langlois’ ‘Queens of Drama’
“Unapologetically queer, sexy, messy and celebratory all at once, by refusing to conform to mainstream norms and instead leaning into the chaos, ‘Queens of Drama’ is utterly transcendent.”
Review: Rob Tregenza’s ‘The Fishing Place’
“It’s a shame that the conversations ‘The Fishing Place’ will provoke just might be far more substantial than anything within the film itself.”
Too Terrified to Log Off: 10 Years Later, ‘Unfriended’ Is Still Ruthlessly Effective
“Taken purely as a cheap thrills style horror movie, ‘Unfriended’ is hugely effective. But as an unflinching denouncement of peer pressure and cyberbullying, it’s downright terrifying.”
The Unforgiving Concrete: Lodge Kerrigan’s Cinema of Estrangement
“In Lodge Kerrigan’s first three features, he asks audiences to consider those left in the wake of his central characters…”
Short Film Review: Chloé Groussard and Julie Pacheco’s ‘Manucure 24/24’
“‘Manucure 24/24’ betrays the formula of so many short film productions, as the filmmakers fully embrace the task at hand with a vibrant color palette, a catchy needle-drop and an always-relevant feminist message.”
Short Film Review: Marcellus Cox’s ‘Liquor Bank’
“‘Liquor Bank’ is a fine example of economical indie filmmaking.”
Review: Alex Braverman’s ‘Thank You Very Much’
“‘Thank You Very Much’ separates itself from previous Kaufman documentaries in the way the director directly confronts the correlation between an artist’s childhood trauma and creative outlook as an adult.”