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NYFF Film Review: ‘Till’ is a Showcase for the Talents of Danielle Deadwyler
The 60th New York Film Festival is pretty low on World Premieres this year. That’s more a function of the calendar than the fest, but it does make Till all the more memorable. Despite not being in one of the three main slots, its spot at the festival is notable for kicking off its probable […] More
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NYFF Film Review: ‘White Noise’ is Noah Baumbach’s Biggest and Trippiest Work Yet
Historically, Noah Baumbach has been a somewhat intimate filmmaker. Especially prior to his partnership with Netflix, Baumbach was making modest independent films, which focused heavily on characters. Since teaming up with the streamer, he’s continued that, with a similar scale to the movies as well. With White Noise, however, he’s been given the opportunity to […] More
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Film Review (2nd Take): ‘Blonde’ is as Haunting as Ana de Armas is Remarkable
Rarely have I ever felt as conflicted about a film as I do about Andrew Dominik’s most recent release, Blonde. Honestly, I am not sure I ever have been this torn. The film covers the many tragedies in the life of the American icon, Marilyn Monroe (played with utter conviction by a captivating Ana de […] More
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Film Review: ‘Amsterdam’ is a Star-Studded Affair That’s Messy But Largely Enjoyable
At this point, you know what you’re getting when you watch a David O. Russell film. You’re going to see an A-list cast, usually with some returning players, engaging in a kind of organized cinematic chaos. There will either be very little plot or an oddly dense one, with heady ideas. When it works, you […] More
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Film Review: ‘Dead for a Dollar’ is an Old Fashioned Western From An Old Hand in Walter Hill
When a Western gets made these days, and that’s not a particularly often occurrence, it tends to be of the revisionist variety. Sometimes, it’s a modern take like Cop Land, while other times it’s very much a genre take, like with Logan. There’s also Quentin Tarantino‘s very distinctive two forays into the Western, with Django […] More
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Film Review: ‘Blonde’ Has a Never Better Ana de Armas Alongside An Off-Putting Portrait of Abuse
Few films have proven as hard to parse my feelings about as Blonde. On the one hand, it has a tremendous lead performance at its core. On the other hand, so much of what happens is off-putting, questionably done, and even vile. Yet, it’s all clearly done in the name of art. So, you kind […] More
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Film Review: ‘Meet Cute’ Cleverly Deconstructs the Romantic Comedy
Romantic comedies come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, they even crossbreed with other genres. Science fiction is one that certainly contains a multitude of possibilities when paired with the rom-com. So, it’s interesting to look at how self-contained Meet Cute is. In tying together the rom-com with sci-fi trappings, the braintrust here has opted […] More
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Film Review: ‘Catherine Called Birdy’ Finds Lena Dunham Effectively Targeting a Younger Crowd
Lena Dunham is a very specific voice. Whether it was on HBO’s hit Girls or even her directorial debut Tiny Furniture, it’s easily distinguishable when something is hers. Earlier this year, at the Sundance Film Festival, she debuted Sharp Stick, a movie that proved divisive (even though I liked it, as you can see here), […] More
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Film Review: ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Starts Out with Promise But Goes Off the Rails
After Booksmart, I was ready to follow Olivia Wilde anywhere behind the camera. Well, Don’t Worry Darling sure shows why it’s bad to make blanket statements. Whereas that film was a razor sharp vision, executed flawlessly, this one is a muddled mess. The movie certainly doesn’t lack for ambition, but the execution leaves a ton […] More
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TIFF Film Review: ‘Patrick and the Whale’ Marvels at Nature’s Enigmatic Beauty
Nature documentaries have been one of the most enduring and popular subgenres for good reason. The sights and sounds of the natural world are perfectly suited to the visual storytelling of the cinema. That inherent appeal is certainly evident in the beautifully enigmatic documentary Patrick and the Whale, directed by Mark Fletcher. As the title […] More
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TIFF Film Review: ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ is a Quiet Consideration of How Conflict Can Become Never-Ending
How does a long-standing feud begin? Is it some big gesture or something tiny and potentially unseen by the non-aggrieved party? All answers are possible, but in The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh wants you to consider those options, as well as entirely other ones as well. While it might sound like something fairly complex […] More
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TIFF Film Review (Sunday Scaries Edition): ‘Pearl’ is an Unusual Companion Piece to Ti West’s ‘X’ That You Can’t Look Away From
Mia Goth and Ti West have something special going right now. What they crafted earlier this year with X (reviewed here in a previous hybrid Sunday Scaries piece) was pretty damn great, so this surprise sequel was a joy to find out about. Now, having seen Pearl at the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s more […] More
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