Review: A Master Filmmaker Gives One Last Masterclass in Varda by Agnès
A few years ago, I designed for myself a sort of one-woman film festival: the films of Agnès Varda. Then in her mid-80s, the prolific French New Wave filmmaker was […]
Review: In The Aeronauts, Thrills and Scientific Discovery Taken to New Heights
Those with a fear of heights may want to brace themselves for The Aeronauts, the story of a scientist and a balloonist who ascend in a hot air balloon over 1860s […]
Review: Risky, Adventurous Filmmaking in I See You Focuses on a Town and Family Mired in Mystery
Considering it’s only the second feature from director Adam Randall (iBoy), I See You is as ambitious and complex as many of the films I’ve seen lately from more seasoned […]
Review: White Snake Retells An Ancient Chinese Legend In Slick Animation
Technically a prequel to the ancient Chinese “Legend of the White Snake” tale (which has ben interpreted in a number of major Chinese operas, films, and television series), White Snake […]
Review: Dark Waters Is an Eye-Opening Activist Drama with an Impressive Central Performance
Although the late fall is certainly known for being the place where hard-hitting dramas, ripe for awards consideration, often land, I don’t think I was quite prepared for just how […]
Review: Smart, Fun and Expertly Crafted, Knives Out Invites Repeat Viewing
With all of his films, writer/director Rian Johnson does something rather remarkable: he takes a genre he loves and studies it until he understands all of its working parts. He […]
Review: In When It Breaks, a Public School Teacher Turns to Folk Music to Raise Awareness, Create Change
This is a guest post by Chloe Noelle Fourte. Named after a song by the documentary’s main subject, Konrad Wert, When It Breaks is a deceptively understated portrait of a […]
Review: A Deeply Personal Exploration of Childhood Traumas in Shia LaBeouf’s Honey Boy
The premise is, admittedly, a bit strange: actor Shia LaBeouf wrote a screenplay based on his own experiences as a child actor (and later, in rehab) exploring his dysfunctional relationship […]
Review: In Waves, Family Drama, Heartbreak and Ultimately, Hope
A whirling, spinning roller coaster of emotion and drama, Waves, the third feature film from writer/director Trey Edward Shults (Krisha, It Comes at Night), is so fraught with heartbreak it may […]
Review: The Planet Enters a New, Uncertain Era in Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
As difficult as it is to imagine, the Earth’s condition—both in terms of climate and physical characteristics—is not more a result of human shaping and interference than forces of nature. […]
Review: Kindness, Humanity and Forgiveness Create A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
For fans of the eternal goodness and life lessons of Fred Rogers, the last couple of years have been a real treat. Last year we got the Morgan Neville-directed Won’t […]
Review: Cop Drama 21 Bridges Never Crosses Into Anything Interesting
The best thing I can say about the new crime actioner 21 Bridges is that it’s mercifully short, and that even in a subpar film like this, star Chadwick Boseman […]