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2.5/4
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Boston Strangler
(2023)
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Tom Meek
|
Coon has done a lot of supporting work, and it’s great to see her stretch out more here. She and Cooper are superb, as is Ruskin’s recreation of 1960s Boston.
Posted Mar 23, 2023
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3/4
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Pacifiction
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
It mesmerizes as it raises issues of colonialism and exploitation. The title, given the locale and De Roller’s conundrum, is a devilish little play and a perfect accent on Serra’s carefully crafted vision.
Posted Mar 23, 2023
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3.5/4
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Return to Seoul
(2022)
|
Allyson Johnson
|
An aching open wound, Return to Seoul begs the question of where we find our identity, how much of it is shaped by where we grow up and with whom, and the power of the perception of others.
Posted Mar 08, 2023
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2/4
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The Strays
(2023)
|
Tom Meek
|
Gan open-ended flourish at the end, it’s hard to tell just what first-timer Martello-White is angling for: family responsibility, class division, fear of foreigners? There’s shades of all that in Strays, but no recoil.
Posted Mar 08, 2023
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2/4
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Sharper
(2023)
|
Tom Meek
|
I could see this cast sail with a smarter script and deeper, more empathetic characters, but as it is, the one who loses here is the watcher.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
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3.5/4
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EO
(2022)
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Tom Meek
|
[Director Jerzy Skolimowski] has produced a focused narrative that’s big in scope and rich in visuals.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
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3/4
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To Leslie
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
No matter; it’s nice to see the British-born Riseborough -- someone told me British actors are wildly adept at Southern accents, and from this, I’d say so -- get the spotlight with a little help from her friends.
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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2/4
|
Rickshaw Girl
(2021)
|
Tom Meek
|
There is a dance number, and the vibrant Bengali locales entice, but ultimately the film suffers from not bringing anything new to the trope and its flat emotional affect.
Posted Feb 08, 2023
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2.5/4
|
Knock at the Cabin
(2023)
|
Tom Meek
|
[Knock at the Cabin] becomes something of a stage play rooted in one locale... nearly running out of gas before the final frame. What keeps it going are the performances by Groff, Aldrich and the scene-grabbing Cui.
Posted Feb 02, 2023
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3/4
|
Holy Spider
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
[A] riveting, true-crime serial killer thriller.
Posted Jan 26, 2023
|
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3/4
|
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
(2022)
|
Allyson Johnson
|
Poitras masterfully depicts decades with seamless transitions and deft editing. It’s a startling, evocative work that will leave audiences informed and wanting to learn more.
Posted Jan 26, 2023
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3/4
|
Living
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Hermanus’ pacing pairs seamlessly with Nighy’s subtly contemplative shifts. The lush yet dour cinematography by Jamie Ramsay adds to the reflective confluence.
Posted Jan 18, 2023
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2.5/4
|
Fairways to Happiness
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
The film’s production values are notable, and Morrione keeps things moving in a spritely way, even if he gets caught in a sand trap of self-indulgence every now and then.
Posted Jan 18, 2023
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2/4
|
The Old Way
(2023)
|
Tom Meek
|
The lack of nuance in the script hobbles what could have been an edgy feud that spans two decades but ends up slack, by-the-numbers and lacking in character development.
Posted Jan 18, 2023
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2.5/4
|
The Pale Blue Eye
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Hey, if we had “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” why not “Edgar Allan Poe: CSI sleuth”?
Posted Jan 12, 2023
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|
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Women Talking
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Polley’s film isn’t a clean shot, but it hits a nerve that needs hitting again and again.
Posted Jan 06, 2023
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2/4
|
Love in Kilnerry
(2019)
|
Tom Meek
|
The comedy-cum-character study is a bit unsteady at times... but does score some good tongue-in-cheek moments
Posted Jan 06, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
The Whale
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
The bland, matted cinematography takes some zip off, but Fraser, clearly committed, carries much, and the supporting cast do their part.
Posted Dec 21, 2022
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2.5/4
|
Avatar: The Way of Water
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Visually, the film is stunning, more so than the last, though you can’t escape the fact that it still looks like a video game running on the greatest graphics card of all time. I saw it in 3D Imax and... it’s worth your greenback.
Posted Dec 16, 2022
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2.5/4
|
The Inspection
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Pope does so much behind the eyes to convey the pain of enduring cruelty and repressing his identity during a hateful time, and Bokeem Woodbine sparks fire as an unrelenting drill sergeant.
Posted Dec 09, 2022
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|
3/4
|
The Fabelmans
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
It’s an odyssey of self-definition and embracing one’s inner passion that moves poetically in chapterlike strokes and gives insight into one of the most creative cinematic minds of our generation.
Posted Dec 09, 2022
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3/4
|
Please Baby Please
(2022)
|
Allyson Johnson
|
Amanda Kramer’s Please Baby Please nearly buries itself in eccentricities. It stays afloat due to the commitment of its performers, a clear-eyed vision and a playful atmosphere that imbues the screen with rich colors and dizzying vibrancy.
Posted Dec 09, 2022
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|
3.5/4
|
Something In The Dirt
(2022)
|
Allyson Johnson
|
As always, Benson and Moorhead have crafted something deceptive and engaging as two of the more exciting directors working today.
Posted Nov 30, 2022
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|
2.5/4
|
Strange World
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Strange World channels such classic adventure fare as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Fantastic Voyage. It checks all the Disney boxes, though the degree of genuine conflict, even across the generations, feels a bit subdued.
Posted Nov 30, 2022
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3.5/4
|
She Said
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Director Maria Schrader and writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz make sure the focus is on the victims who were silenced by an omnipotent megalomaniac... They now get to have their harrowing ordeals heard.
Posted Nov 30, 2022
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|
3/4
|
Bones and All
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Bones and All is definitely not a movie for a family, but it about family, roots and tradition, no matter how troubling that tradition may be.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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|
2.5/4
|
RRR
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
RRR is astonishingly energetic from start to finish, tongue-in-cheek craziness that sometimes strains but never breaks the wild turning and dropping ride.
Posted Nov 25, 2022
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2.5/4
|
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
This year we saw Robert Zemeckis’ live-action take on Pinocchio with Tom Hanks as the avuncular Geppetto. That Disney reboot of the 1940 animated classic was a bit wooden and too by the numbers; here del Toro mixes it up.
Posted Nov 25, 2022
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2.5/4
|
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
It’s just not as sharp as its predecessor, though the cameos by Hugh Grant, Ethan Hawke and Serena Williams are spikes of punchy good fun.
Posted Nov 25, 2022
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|
2.5/4
|
The Menu
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
The casting and framing of The Menu is rich, flavorful and brilliant. The plot, however, is gruel-thin.
Posted Nov 18, 2022
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3/4
|
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
As much as Iñárritu’s meticulous craftsmanship shapes Bardo, it doesn’t work without Cacho as the director’s committed stand-in.
Posted Nov 11, 2022
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2.5/4
|
Good Night Oppy
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
It’s a pat but fond remembrance and a testimony to the resolve of the NASA team as well as the droids who had autonomous programming built in and made some of their own life-and-death decisions.
Posted Nov 11, 2022
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|
|
Causeway
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
The film soars, however, because of Lawrence and Henry, who wholly convey the turmoil of their troubled characters while holding a faint, flickering light of hope, healing and redemption.
Posted Nov 11, 2022
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3/4
|
Till
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Next to Cate Blanchett’s remarkable incarnation of an egomaniacal conductor in Tár, Deadwyler delivers the most essential and critical performance in a film this year.
Posted Nov 04, 2022
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|
2/4
|
Arranged Marriage
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
How it all ends is a bit of a head-scratcher on so many levels; as a result, the film lingers, for better or worse.
Posted Nov 04, 2022
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|
3/4
|
The Banshees of Inisherin
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
[Gleeson and Farrell give] great performance that rise above the film’s material and lift the film to the heights of Davis’ lofty lens looking down on an island of lonely people.
Posted Oct 28, 2022
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3/4
|
Decision to Leave
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
The film feels a bit like a true-crime noir and would make a perfect double bill with countryman Bong Jin Ho’s Memories of Murder.
Posted Oct 26, 2022
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|
3.5/4
|
Tár
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
A film that likely could not come into existence without its star, Cate Blanchett, who delivers a turn so bravura, lived-in and essential that it may just be the most defining performance of a highly accomplished career.
Posted Oct 13, 2022
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|
2.5/4
|
Amsterdam
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
The buddy bond that Bale and Washington forge goes a long way to holding Amsterdam together, and Robbie’s free-spirited third cements it.
Posted Oct 12, 2022
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3/4
|
Bros
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
The heyday of gay rom-coms seemed to be the late 1990s with the likes of Jeffrey and The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, but with Fire Island and this shaggy-dog, Mutt-and-Jeff love story set in Manhattan and P-town, it seems to be back.
Posted Oct 06, 2022
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|
2.5/4
|
I'll Find You
(2019)
|
Tom Meek
|
A big canvas to be sure, and one lushly and intricately rendered.
Posted Oct 06, 2022
|
|
2/4
|
Goodnight Mommy
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Matt Sobel’s remake of a 2014 psychological thriller by Austrians Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, about twin boys questioning the identity of their mother, can’t fully recreate the icy chill.
Posted Sep 30, 2022
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3.5/4
|
Sidney
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Reginald Hudlin’s documentary about Sidney Poitier, the timeless, barrier-breaking star who died in January, makes for a wonderfully intimate portrait.
Posted Sep 30, 2022
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|
2.5/4
|
Don't Worry Darling
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Ambitious if overwrought and undercooked.
Posted Sep 30, 2022
|
|
2.5/4
|
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
Russell Crowe adds a nice, gruff touch as the war correspondent Chickie teams up with as Saigon starts to fall (shades of Peter Weir’s great The Year of Living Dangerously).
Posted Sep 30, 2022
|
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2.5/4
|
Catherine Called Birdy
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
It’s a big departure from Girls in era and setting, with its mucky, mud-strewn streets, but in theme and empowerment, it’s simpatico.
Posted Sep 30, 2022
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3.5/4
|
The Woman King
(2022)
|
Allyson Johnson
|
Prince-Bythewood has made some wonderful films, but The Woman King may be her very best.
Posted Sep 23, 2022
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|
2.5/4
|
See How They Run
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
The film loses some of its edge as it wear on and Rockwell seems a bit off for a part that begs for Sellers, but Brody and Ronan keep things clicking along.
Posted Sep 23, 2022
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2/4
|
Samaritan
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
It’s fun to see Stallone walk through raining bullets like Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, but other than that it’s a creaky, joyless ride.
Posted Sep 23, 2022
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2.5/4
|
Pearl
(2022)
|
Tom Meek
|
What is clear is Goth’s deep and impressive immersion here, projecting broad emotions and conveying persona changeups on a dime.
Posted Sep 22, 2022
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