By now, I think we can say David Lowery’s ideal vision of cinema is one that takes its time to form in the viewer’s imagination. With a little patience, and with a little luck, people […]
November (Sarnet, 2017)
Lithuanian though I am, Estonian folklore is still quite a ways away from what I used to hear as a child. For instance, the concept of a kratt—a sentient creature made from household implements and […]
Rat Film (Anthony, 2016)
Anyone who goes into this thinking they’re going to learn about the physiology of rats and their historical notoriety as carriers of infection will be disappointed. This isn’t your standard nature documentary. It’s actually an […]
Wonderstruck (Haynes, 2017)
Yes, this is minor Haynes, and no, this is not his first “bad” film. Todd Haynes couldn’t direct a bad film if he tried. He’s much too poetic and graceful. The reason Wonderstruck isn’t as good as […]
Super Dark Times (Phillips, 2017)
The opening of Super Dark Times is so rich in promise, with a bizarre setup that could either be literal or symbolic in nature. It’s never mentioned again, and it could very well be because it happens […]
The Post (Spielberg, 2017)
Aware that The Post had not been faring so well this award season, my expectations were not very high. Nor did the opening prologue, showcasing a snippet of the Vietnam War, help assuage my fears that this […]
Atomic Blonde (Leitch, 2017)
Um, so, I’m going to be one of the few people to admit that I enjoyed Atomic Blonde more than John Wick: Chapter 2… even though I’ll concede that the latter had a better plot (or, at the […]
Casting JonBenet (Green, 2017)
Kudos to Kitty Green for keeping this immensely gossipy doc tethered to a concept she could pull off. I was weary at first, because the actors in this run through almost every sordid speculation about […]
All the Money in the World (Scott, 2017)
This is as competent as you’d want from a Ridley Scott picture. A very slick procedural and real-life thriller (with some fictionalized elements) that boasts a game ensemble and a compelling examination of capitalism’s dehumanizing […]
Loving Vincent (Kobiela & Welchman, 2017)
It takes a bit of time to get used to the animation of Loving Vincent, hand painted as it is in the style of van Gogh’s artworks. Overhead shots of towns and fields, and any fast […]
God’s Own Country (Lee, 2017)
A good portion of God’s Own Country rests in silence. Human silence, that is. In the background, the wind rustles and sheep bleat. Two men are forced to tend a Yorkshire farm together. One is the owner’s […]
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (Robinson, 2017)
Chances are, four out of five people reading this review will never have heard of this film. “Wait, there’s another movie about Wonder Woman?!” they will exclaim. And to that I say: yes… and no. Technically […]
Strong Island (Ford, 2017)
This deeply personal film finds horror in the fact that a murder has been stripped of its horror. Yance Ford’s brother was gunned down by a white mechanic, despite the fact that he was not […]
The Cloverfield Paradox (Onah, 2018)
I’m not averse to schlock if it’s entertaining. And there are definitely moments in The Cloverfield Paradox that are fun in a schlocky sense, like Chris O’Dowd’s arm being… ripped? sliced? bitten? from his body, and then […]
Last Men in Aleppo (Fayyad, 2017)
There are so many documentaries about the crisis in Syria out there right now that you’re spoiled for choice. Last year, a Netflix short called The White Helmets won an Oscar; this year, at least three (City […]
