|
|
The Long Game
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
[The Long Game] transcends its clichés by being true to its characters and artistic in its approach.
Posted Mar 18, 2023
|
|
|
Problemista
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
“Problemista” maintains a consistently funny and clever rhythm—those who can find the same comedic register as Torres will love this movie.
Posted Mar 18, 2023
|
|
|
BlackBerry
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
A smart movie about smart people who were destroyed by a dumb system that eats people like Mike Lazaridis alive.
Posted Mar 18, 2023
|
|
|
Louder Than You Think
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
Young’s role in indie rock history makes for an interesting anecdote, for sure, but it’s harder to shape that into a rewarding full film.
Posted Mar 18, 2023
|
|
|
You Can Call Me Bill
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
It's impossible to walk away from Philippe’s film and not think that Shatner is a more complex man than entertainment history has given him credit for.
Posted Mar 18, 2023
|
|
|
Confessions of a Good Samaritan
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
A fascinating dissection of altruism, empathy, and personal exploration.
Posted Mar 18, 2023
|
|
|
The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
Timoner's film suffers by trying to do too much too quickly, pushing so many ideas into one film in an effort to almost overwhelm the viewer instead of educating them.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Last Stop Larrimah
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
I think there’s a version of this twisted tale that has a little more affection for the people of Larrimah (and runs much shorter than this 120 minutes), but there’s enough to like here in a well-done true crime doc.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Citizen Sleuth
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
One of the best dissections of our current obsession with true crime that I’ve ever seen.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
It Lives Inside
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
I kept actively trying to like “It Lives Inside.” It kept pushing me out.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
The Wrath of Becky
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
There’s a charming simplicity to a genre film that can be introduced as “Let’s just kill some fascists!” and Angel & Coote know how to pace and deliver this kind of gut punch of a movie.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Only The Good Survive
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
Southern’s film has a fun tone that intentionally plays with the freedom of filmmaking, using animation, quick cuts, questionable POV, and more to keep the momentum going.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Scrambled
(2023)
|
Nick Allen
|
Some of the script is too forced with its emotions, or its humor can be too broad, but "Scrambled" proves to overall be a charismatic directorial debut from a promising writer/director/star.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Upon Entry
(2022)
|
Nick Allen
|
The thrills from this movie are plentiful and poignant, made possible by confident direction that well knows the insidious potential of the systems in control.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
If You Were the Last
(2023)
|
Nick Allen
|
“If You Were the Last” is game for fluffy rom-com-like tension, but it fears its own premise. What a missed opportunity.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Late Night With the Devil
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
David Dastmalchian is again just excellent, really holding the film together as he finds the right tone between smarmy and likable that dominated so much ‘70s culture.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Brooklyn 45
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
Give me a flawed film that’s willing to be this personal, unexpected, and thematically complex over a more traditional genre piece any day.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Join or Die
(2023)
|
Matt Zoller Seitz
|
[Putnam] is an affable, sensitive person and a wonderful camera subject who never seems calculated, withholding, or insincere.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
The Arc of Oblivion
(2023)
|
Matt Zoller Seitz
|
The ark is a manufactured unifying device for a movie that is, by definition, probably impossible to make coherent, much less tidy and tight.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
No Ordinary Campaign
(2022)
|
Matt Zoller Seitz
|
An inspirational and enlightening movie, but also skillfully made and practical-minded.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Northern Comfort
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
A sequence of bad filmmaking decisions, amplifying characters who never once felt like they exist in the real world.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
Molli and Max in the Future
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
A deeply likable film with a tone that’s not really like anything else out there.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
|
National Anthem
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
A tender and moving piece about how it often takes other people to help us find ourselves.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
Back to the Drive-In
(2022)
|
Matt Zoller Seitz
|
Wright's movie is a love letter to drive-ins, ending with a plea to help save them. But unfortunately, it's also a reminder of complicating factors inherent in making movies about them.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Evil Dead Rise
(2023)
|
Katie Rife
|
Once it gets out of its own way and gives the audience what they came to see, “Evil Dead Rise” is an absolute blast.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Money Shot: The Pornhub Story
(2023)
|
Nick Allen
|
A pornucopia of issues handled with care by director Suzanne Hillinger.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Tetris
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
The cinematic blocks just don’t fall into place.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
Boston Strangler
(2023)
|
Nick Allen
|
Ruskin succeeds in paying tribute to Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole's hard work, but it's less successful in filling in the larger story.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
Rimini
(2022)
|
Matt Zoller Seitz
|
A blisteringly funny and often touching film about people struggling towards happiness despite having experienced lifetimes of disappointment.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
The Spirit of '45
(2013)
|
Matt Zoller Seitz
|
A terrific movie all on its own, giving us details about a specific period of history in a specific country that commercial films and TV platforms for obvious reasons won't touch.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game
(2022)
|
Sheila O'Malley
|
"Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game" is strictly low stakes. This is part of its knowing charm.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
Full River Red
(2023)
|
Simon Abrams
|
A few snappy comedy routines and a perpetually escalating mystery plot ensure that Zhang’s latest never slows down nor retraces its steps long enough to feel monotonous.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Rodéo
(2022)
|
Monica Castillo
|
[Rodeo] often switches gears between character study and a heist movie, creating an uneasy whiplash.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
The Magician's Elephant
(2023)
|
Nell Minow
|
The human characters are fairly standard, but the title pachyderm is designed with enough realism to bring emotional and believable physical weight to the story.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Inside
(2023)
|
Peter Sobczynski
|
This is the kind of wild, let-it-all-hang-out work we know going in that Dafoe is capable of pulling off, and as a result, his descent into savagery has a whiff of the familiar to it.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
(2023)
|
Simon Abrams
|
It’s schtickier and less assured than the first “Shazam!” but these leftovers still reheat well enough.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Moving On
(2022)
|
Marya E. Gates
|
Fonda and Tomlin are as good as they have ever been and “Moving On” proves itself a powerful rumination on the strength it takes to age—mentally, physically, and economically.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
John Wick: Chapter 4
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
Chad Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch have distilled the mythology-heavy approach of the last couple chapters with the streamlined action of the first film, resulting in a final hour here that stands among the best of the genre.
Posted Mar 15, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
The film often feels like it’s faking what the creators love about the game instead of trying to translate it from one medium to another.
Posted Mar 12, 2023
|
|
|
Flamin' Hot
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
It's depressingly unambitious, too content to skim the surface of its characters and story in a manipulative and even dishonest manner.
Posted Mar 12, 2023
|
|
|
Self Reliance
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
An undeniably ambitious project for a first-time filmmaker, but it's a tonal tightrope that should have been attempted with a bit more behind-the-camera experience.
Posted Mar 12, 2023
|
|
|
Bottoms
(2023)
|
Brian Tallerico
|
Girls are rarely allowed to use their sex drive as openly as Seligman does here. And the way she plays with violence is gleefully amazing. Some sequences in "Bottoms" are unforgettable.
Posted Mar 12, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Therapy Dogs
(2022)
|
Justine Smith
|
A sweet, chaotic, and inventive DIY movie about young people searching for authenticity.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
Stonewalling
(2022)
|
Peyton Robinson
|
“Stonewalling” is a moving, slow burn of a character study, as well as an examination of female stagnancy, personally and politically.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
Unwelcome
(2022)
|
Sheila O'Malley
|
Some of "Unwelcome" is legitimately creepy and upsetting. Some of it is hilarious. Whether or not the hilarity is intended is unclear.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
The Magic Flute
(2022)
|
Nell Minow
|
The movie does not live up to the eternally enchanting music, but it serves as an enjoyable delivery system for experiencing it again, which is magic enough.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Unicorn Wars
(2022)
|
Katie Rife
|
While “Unicorn Wars” undoubtedly indulges [its] impulses—think cartoon genitalia and bears hanging themselves in despair—it thankfully also has more going on.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
|
|
4/4
|
I Got a Monster
(2023)
|
Carla Renata
|
A glaringly honest recount of one city and its participants that will live in your spirit and psyche long after the credits roll.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
|
|
1.5/4
|
65
(2023)
|
Christy Lemire
|
There’s nothing to these characters, and the action sequences quickly grow repetitive and wearisome.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
|
|
A-
|
Hummingbirds
(2023)
|
Jason Gorber
|
It’s simply fun to hang out with the two and their circle, warmed by their moments of grace and awkwardness. It’s a film of deep honesty that’s carefully crafted, one of the best films of this ilk I’ve seen
Posted Mar 09, 2023
|
