“With ‘Between the Temples,’ Silver shows an awareness of dramedy cliches and takes great pleasure in making the audience’s skin crawl each time the narrative takes a sharp left turn from expectations.”
“‘The Outrun’ feels lacking in the specificity that makes for rewarding character drama.”
“What sells the overall ‘Alien: Romulus’ experience is the genuine authenticity of the cast itself.”
“‘Victims of Sin’ certainly is a product of its time and place in regard to its prescriptivism, but Fernández’s movie far surpasses its simpler elements because of its rather glorious and noirish textures.”
“‘Scrap,’ the feature directorial debut from actress Vivian Kerr, is yet another festival darling that is indeed charming, but one that doesn’t quite pack a punch with its overall visual design and technical execution.”
“‘What Remains’ is a low-key stylish film about human potential and the elevation of consciousness, though Huang keeps the audience trapped in a dark and uncomfortable place with his cryptic storytelling.”
“If ‘Kneecap’ was merely the first ‘edgy’ comedy in years with gags as shocking as they are laugh-out-loud hysterical, that would be enough to recommend it.”
“Director Jac Cron shows major filmmaking potential with her feature debut, though the underdeveloped screenplay will presumably irritate the casual moviegoer.”
“‘Insane Like Me?,’ a vampire thriller with little visual style, relies on decent lead performances to make up for a clunky screenplay.”
“Sorry/Not Sorry’ is fascinating with its exploration of ethics, but Mones and Suh’s documentary essentially plays out like a CliffsNotes version of The New York Times’ 2017 report about Louis C.K.’s sexual misconduct.”
“The genius of Sayles’ ‘Lone Star’ is that the film envelops its difficult, knotty questions about history, identity and geography without any didacticism.”
“Fiala and Franz, who also co-wrote ‘The Devil’s Bath,’ aren’t interested in making viewers feel comfortable. What they’ve crafted, even more so than their breakout hit, is a tough, distressing watch by design.”
“Being multiple things at once is what makes Everett’s novels, but also his other art, so intriguing. ‘Through the Writer’s Mirror’ is its own process of plate spinning. It is its own juggling act.”
“‘Edge of Everything’ straddles the line of original storytelling and coming-of-age tropes like its teenage protagonist straddles the line between adolescence and adulthood.”
“‘Linda Perry: Let It Die Here’ is a moving study of female self-empowerment and perseverance.”
“‘Mi fanno male I capelli’ communicates an important message about the theatrical movie experience that cinephiles will appreciate: some people find inner peace through the outdoors, while others experience closure and rebirth in dark places.”
“‘Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie’ is a divisive film, but its bold stylistic choices make up for any narrative deficiencies.”
“Many of the best crime films make a virtue of the specificity of their location. Few, however, are as specific as ‘Salvatore Giuliano,’ nor are they as cognizant of how the central locations effect the story.”
“‘Enea’ is full of rich character development, yet the protagonists and antiheroes seem like archetypal figures dropped into a real world setting inhabited by naturalistic side players.”
“Zauhar gets to the heart of her characters’ deepest fears and desires, in a way that’s disarmingly funny and painfully relatable.”