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Late Night
(2019)
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Tara Thorne
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That this film was made at all-let alone caused a money-throwing frenzy-is shocking. That anyone gets to see it is a gift and a privilege, so get to it.
Posted Jun 20, 2019
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The Biggest Little Farm
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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In a time when technology and stuff are measures of success, The Biggest Little Farm offers up a more traditional view of life, existing from what the earth is able to give, in whatever form it may come.
Posted May 30, 2019
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Ordinary Days
(2017)
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Tara Thorne
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Its concept-the same story told from three perspectives, each segment handled by a different director-could've played as pointless schtick, but here it's deployed deftly enough to keep you guessing until nearly the final shot.
Posted May 20, 2019
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The Hustle
(2019)
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Tara Thorne
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The Hustle doesn't have a grand message and it doesn't need one. It's two top-notch comedians trying to steal the movie from one another. They both win.
Posted May 17, 2019
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Birds of Passage
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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The directors coax layered, duplicitous performances out of their actors, a lot of whom are performing for the first time, including the formidable Carmiña MartÃnez as Wayuu matriarch Ursula.
Posted Apr 12, 2019
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Gloria Bell
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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Julianne Moore's brightest spot in ages.
Posted Apr 01, 2019
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Neither Wolf Nor Dog
(2016)
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Tara Thorne
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It's a gentle, educational ride, and Canadians will see the parallels in the two countries' treatment of its Indigenous citizens.
Posted Apr 01, 2019
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The Hummingbird Project
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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Eisenberg does his usual, but Skarsgård gets a lot of notes to play with Anton, whose quiet genius is offset by great bursts of energy in the form of screaming or running.
Posted Apr 01, 2019
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Captain Marvel
(2019)
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Tara Thorne
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Anyone who saw Larson's finely wrought work in The United States of Tara knows she is equally adept at drama and comedy and Carol Danvers is allowed both, a rarity in this universe.
Posted Mar 14, 2019
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Arctic
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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You're on board with this sort of thing or you're not-in this case Arctic is incredibly captivating, made with care and wholly entertaining, plus it's got an ending that leaves you with a discussion.
Posted Feb 22, 2019
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On the Basis of Sex
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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Even if - despite the fact - men still feel the need to point out the obvious in 2019, Bader Ginsburg and [director Mimi] Leder are much-appreciated proof that change takes time, is arduous and worth it.
Posted Jan 25, 2019
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If Beale Street Could Talk
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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But this is less a movie than an actual experience, built to wash over you, leaving bits behind - of race and justice - for you to look at and think about long afterward.
Posted Jan 04, 2019
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The Front Runner
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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It's not thrilling, exactly, but it is engaging and ultimately-surprisingly?-wistful, especially if you went to wikipedia before the movie.
Posted Dec 01, 2018
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Clara
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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It does gain traction in its final 20 minutes, when Clara's big reveal appears and pays off most of the previous hour, but that sacrifices actual emotion for dutifully plotted emotional beats.
Posted Dec 01, 2018
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Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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It's a heartbreaker of a performance.
Posted Nov 30, 2018
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Widows
(2018)
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Tara Thorne
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It won't get the awards attention of 12 Years a Slave, but it should.
Posted Nov 30, 2018
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Childstar
(2004)
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Tara Thorne
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Mike Goldbach wrote Childstar in 2004; this is his first feature as writer-director, and it's nimble and full of visual tricks, funny and sexy, yet somehow a suspenseful thriller.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Toy Story 3
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Leave it to Pixar to subvert the Hollywood rule of sequels, which states that each subsequent film must have eyes full of dollar signs at the expense of quality.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Whip It
(2009)
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Tara Thorne
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Though it's got first-timer mistakes (too long, too many food fights) its indie-rock girl-power charms are, like co-star Kristen Wiig, undeniable.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Mother and Child
(2009)
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Tara Thorne
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There are powerful moments and the cast is note-perfect.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
(2009)
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Tara Thorne
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Precious is a hard but worthy journey.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Oceans
(2009)
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Tara Thorne
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There's surprisingly small amount of eco finger-wagging and a touch too many suspicious reaction shots... but Oceans is marvellously, fantastically shot (very little blood, parents) and foleyed, heavy-handed soundtrack aside.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Jack Goes Boating
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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It's tonally uncomfortable, which was probably Hoffman's intent, and though it's not a home run, there's great acting on display-another common theme in films adapted from plays.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Waiting for Superman
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Guggenheim's heartbreaking film, a Best Documentary contender that did not even get nominated---he won for An Inconvenient Truth---opens with an admission of white liberal guilt.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Please Give
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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The most underrated American director this side of Richard Linklater, Nicole Holofcener, continues to be a master of The Moment: a tiny but meaningful exchange or look or gesture that conveys more emotion than any awards-bait monologue could.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Passion Play
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Terribly shot and written, Glazer's got Rourke facing death so many times that an hour in you're hoping someone will just shoot him already, or at least you, and end this awful experiment.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Everything Must Go
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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The film is not quite there somehow-like Punch Drunk Love-level Adam Sandler, Ferrell needs a scene in which he busts out his signature belligerent yelling, or some kind of outburst, but he's just flat and defeated, and not in the Oscar-winning way.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Girlfriend
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Understated, well-acted and likely never to be heard from again, Girlfriend is the kind of movie you come to film festivals to see.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Virginia
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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It's not funny, it's not charming and it's only clear it's set in modern day when a character mentions the internet.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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The Silence of the Lambs
(1991)
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Tara Thorne
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It is a masterclass of acting, directing, writing and cinematography, of tonality, of pacing and of emotion.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Peep World
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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A strong ensemble led by narrator Lewis Black, Peep World is reasonably funny but never overly so, and the climactic dinner doesn't feel long enough to support the preceding hourish before it.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Somewhere
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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More tone poem than film, Somewhere finds Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) at her most untethered and experimental.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Allen has forgotten how to write like people talk, and the muted yellows of upper-class London are as boring as the script, which contains a Viagra joke, in 2010.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Heartbeats
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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[Director Xavier Dolan's] got an unquestionably terrific eye but a bit of a tin ear for dialogue, and continues to shoot himself in loving close-up, a detriment.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Tamara Drewe
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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It's fun but overlong, not a waste of regular time, but probably of festival time.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Janie Jones
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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It reminds me of one of those Disney movies about sports. I liked it.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Tabloid
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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It's a well-told story without any consequence or larger meaning, and it's the first round of applause I've witnessed at press screenings this year.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Beautiful Boy
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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The best scenes take place in a motel room, mostly hand-held, and Bello absolutely goes for it, and it's admirable that they hold themselves back a little bit in a story that's begging for histrionics.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Mother of Rock Lillian Roxon
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Featuring talking head interviews... it also contains great archival photos and excerpts from Roxon's writings, which at the time were progressive in feminism and music journalism.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
(2011)
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Tara Thorne
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Metallica aside - Berlinger also directed Some Kind of Monster - Purgatory is beautifully framed, critical but not judgmental of the law enforcement official... and even-handed with the jailed men who are somehow not bitter or beaten by their ordeal.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Kaboom
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Watch with friends.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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How Do You Know
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Brooks wants to make a contemporary relationship film and a topical one about the financial crisis and winds up failing on both sides.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Public Speaking
(2010)
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Tara Thorne
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Nonetheless, this is high-brow entertainment of the wittiest order---a little cold, but so what?
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Hysteria
(2011)
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Tara Thorne
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The movie, directed by Tanya Wexler, is a pretty conventional British run at something fun, like when Stephen Frears does a funny one.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Jennifer's Body
(2009)
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Tara Thorne
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Jennifer's Body assures that Cody is not a one-hit wonder - not that she needed to prove it.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
(2011)
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Tara Thorne
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This pleasant enough straight-to-DVD comedy stars Catherine Keener as an uptight lawyer who takes her kids (one is Elizabeth Olsen) to her Mom's for the summer.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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The Future
(2011)
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Tara Thorne
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Miranda July is a divisive force and a rare, vital talent.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Pariah
(2011)
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Tara Thorne
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Pariah is a fine debut---it's all been done, but rarely with performances this raw and real.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Page Eight
(2011)
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Tara Thorne
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For a "spy thriller" there is zero violence, zero running, zero screaming and only minimal double crossing-the whole thing is rather civilized and zingy.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Damsels in Distress
(2011)
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Tara Thorne
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It's completely absurd, and though overlong, completely hilarious.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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