With After the Storm, I can now say that I’m no longer a Kore-eda virgin. I don’t know why it’s taken this long for me to watch one of his films, because if this one is […]
Tag: 2016
Nocturama (Bonello, 2016)
I could ding Nocturama for being on the nose in its second half, when it gathers its group of youthful terrorists within the confines of an expensive shopping mall and has them ogle over all the brand […]
Staying Vertical (Guiraudie, 2016)
The largely aimless countryside jaunt that is Staying Vertical is saved from the scrapheap purely because of its intoxicating absurdism. It takes itself seriously and no one in the film laughs, but I would classify it as […]
Graduation (Mungiu, 2016)
It’s nice to see Cristian Mungiu channeling his inner Asghar Farhadi, spinning some of the Iranian’s moral fibers into the Romanian New Wave. It’s always been a fruitful method of critiquing one’s society, and Mungiu […]
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 […]
The Ornithologist (Rodrigues, 2016)
Provocative and evocative. These two words are the best way to sum up João Pedro Rodrigues’ strange film The Ornithologist. Attempting to put a queer spin on the mythos of St. Anthony of Padua, Rodrigues charts […]
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (James, 2016)
It is a testament to Steve James that he can turn a subject that, by all accounts, is best understood by a small subset of the population (namely, a federal savings bank being prosecuted by […]
Don’t Breathe (Alvarez, 2016)
A most dangerous game of “blind man’s buff” plays out in Don’t Breathe, with a group of thieves trying to avoid the wrath of a blind army veteran after breaking into his home. It’s an interesting […]
Aquarius (Mendonça Filho, 2016)
There’s an impressive amount of strength that Sônia Braga carries while she’s acting. From one look or movement, she has the ability to arrest you on the spot. You do not mess with her. You […]
Dawson City: Frozen Time (Morrison, 2016)
I learned a lot about Dawson City, Yukon while watching this. Heck, it was like a free history lesson. So many tidbits about the Gold Rush, the social life of its residents, and the population […]
Raw (Ducournau, 2016)
After letting Raw sit with me for a while, I’ve come to admire it more than actually love it.
All These Sleepless Nights (Marczak, 2016)
All These Sleepless Nights is a weird hybrid of documentary and artifice, dealing with real Polish youth and their restlessness
Your Name (Shinkai, 2016)
Your Name is really fun to watch, and takes more risks than I would have expected it to. I may not be blown away, but I am still very impressed.
The Death of Louis XIV (Serra, 2016)
Does anyone nowadays care how Louis XIV died? I certainly didn’t. Nevertheless, Albert Serra imagines the event as though it were a slowly deflating balloon in a burnished Baroque painting.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Waititi, 2016)
Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople is so precious. I don’t mean that negatively—it’s just a really cute film that you want to give a warm hug to.
