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Living Bad
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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With striking compositions and a hypnotically rich color palette, DP Leonor Teles has created images of lingering beauty.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Bad Living
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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As stand-alone narrative works, Bad Living and Living Dead are driven by a tremendous ensemble and stunning visuals. The first film, in particular, is essentially about the inability of three generations of women to connect with each other.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Afire
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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A film devoid of formal or stylistic stunts, yet there’s a richness to the narrative, including its dream-like quality and metaphorical possibilities, realized with complete assurance...
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Tótem
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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The whole cast is fabulous but Sentíes shines as Sol. Without the antics of most child actors who try too hard to play precocious, her performance feels completely unaffected and genuine.
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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Here
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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Gorgeously lensed by Grimm Vandekerckhove, Here is visual storytelling at its most instinctive and tender.
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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Past Lives
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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Captivating and profoundly moving...
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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White Plastic Sky
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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[It] morphs into a contemplation on what it means to be alive, with a beautifully realized ending that’s poignant, wordlessly heartbreaking.
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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BlackBerry
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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Baruchel and Howerton, especially, impress with their convincing, fiercely committed portrayals of two vastly different characters whose partnership is doomed from the start.
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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The Shadowless Tower
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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An unassuming, lyrically dispassioned endeavor, but one I suspect will grow on me for a long while.
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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Manodrome
(2023)
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Zhuo-Ning Su
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A thought-provoking piece of queer filmmaking that should not be missed.
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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Elvis
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Butler’s explosive interpretation of Elvis – from the physical gesticulations to the big, burly voice – humanized The King, pulling down the bright lights to show us the distressed man behind the immortal God of Rock.
Posted Jan 16, 2023
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B
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Darkling
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Dušan Milić’s harrowing feature, Darkling is set in post-war Kosovo when pogroms against the Serb population were at an extreme...This gripping film builds to an intense final reel but would have had more power if it had ended just a few minutes early.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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B
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Our Brothers
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Rachid Bouchareb’s discomfiting Our Brothers is based in fact and centers on the murders of two young men...by Parisian police during student protests in 1986. It’s a horrible stain on France’s history and Bouchareb does not sugar coat it.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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B
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January
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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January is a testament to how even indifferent youth can be galvanized into fighting for a cause.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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B
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Nostalgia
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Nostalgia balances the somber with the hopeful (although the ending is sadly predictable). There’s a homoerotic charge to the Felice/Oreste relationship that Martone is afraid of exploring.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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B+
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Winners
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Winners, Hassan Nazer’s enchanting meta valentine to film–and specifically Iranian filmmakers–follows two kids from a small Iranian village who find an Oscar and the mayhem that ensues...This dense work remains light and uplifting throughout,
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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B+
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Blanquita
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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...this story, inspired by real Chilean events in early 2000, is a potent Jason vs. Goliath look at a priest and a young girl taking on the vengeful government leaders to force justice for those who sexually abuse children.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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A-
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Beautiful Beings
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Beautiful Beings boasts a cast of electrifyingly good teen actors led by the handsome and charismatic Birgir Dagur Bjarkason.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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A
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World War III
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Houman Seyedi’s startling, audacious and truly entrancing satire, World War III, deserved (Oscar) consideration...Seyedi and (his) co-screenwriters searingly comment on power, class and how everyone has a breaking point. And the ending is priceless.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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C
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Cairo Conspiracy
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Tarik Saleh’s thriller, Cairo Conspiracy, did not engage me—although the power struggles between holy men and elite politicos is certainly an interesting one...The logline sounds a lot more exciting than the actual film.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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C-
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Holy Spider
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Director Ali Abbasi seems to take misogynistic pleasure in meticulously depicting the slaughters, all the while focusing way too much on the life of the assassin, instead of the victims.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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B-
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Return to Seoul
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Davy Chou’s evocative and maddening film, Return to Seoul, centers on a young French woman (a beguiling Park Ji-Min) who returns to Korea in search of her biological parents...Chou’s work is both bizarre and mesmerizing.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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B-
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Last Film Show
(2021)
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Frank J. Avella
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Nalin’s work gleams because of its sheer adoration for the medium (and its express homage to Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso.)
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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A-
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The Quiet Girl
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Bairéad’s work is rich with nuance and subtext.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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B
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Saint Omer
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Diop rather ingeniously dissects Coly’s bizarre and fraught journey ending in tragedy, laced with the racism and misogyny of both the French and Senegalese cultures.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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A-
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Joyland
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Saim Sadiq’s debut feature, Joyland, is an unsettling look at the crippling consequences of the single-mindedness of the patriarchy...Joyland sheds an important light on how repression often leads to destruction.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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A-
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Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Never count out the great Alejandro G. Inarritu (Birdman, The Revenant) whose astounding, surreal and, ultimately, profound epic, Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, is one of the most ambitious and exciting films of 2022.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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A-
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Argentina, 1985
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Santiago Mitre’s powerful and frighteningly timely film, Argentina 1985, examines, in docu-detail, the ’80s landmark trial of the Juntas, exposing the human rights violations by the fascist dictators.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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A
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Close
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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The filmmaker and his cast manage to achieve so much with very little dialogue asking more questions than it answers. Young newcomers Gustav De Waele and Eden Dambrine deliver authentic performances.
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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A
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All Quiet on the Western Front
(2022)
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Frank J. Avella
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Edward Berger’s staggering and engrossing film version of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1928 classic anti-war novel...is powerful, visceral filmmaking and is now the front-runner to win (Best International Feature.)
Posted Dec 27, 2022
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Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
(2022)
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Joey Moser
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Between Swiss Army Man and Miracle Workers (and even The Lost City and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) Daniel Radcliffe proves one again that he is one of the most willing actors of his generation. His Al is eager, arrogant, assured, and coy all at once.
Posted Dec 26, 2022
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Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical
(2022)
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Joey Moser
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Thompson sneers and dominates the screen in a way that it recalls the dangerous baboonery of people who need royally taken down a peg
Posted Dec 26, 2022
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Devotion
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Devotion tells a great and little-known story of two real-life heroes from the Korean War. It has a pretty straightforward approach and reminds me of the type of war movie I would have enjoyed in the early 90s.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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Aftersun
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Charlotte Wells’ debut is a memorable one... The soft touch of idealism meets the hard grasp of reality in a tight and unrelenting grip. Mescal is quite terrific.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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Triangle of Sadness
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Triangle of Sadness is a black comedy whose satirical view of the uber-rich leads to some true laugh out loud moments. The film takes a while to get going... but the film’s final act is well worth the wait.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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Bones and All
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All is a tough watch due to its bizarre and graphic subject matter. For those who catch the allegory for outsiders, the film does present some truly inspired moments between Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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Empire of Light
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Olivia Colman is sensational as a woman yearning for human affection whose melodramatic approach often her leaves her on the outside. But even the great Colman can’t salvage what feels like a very unfocused, uneven script.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is one of the most visionary films I have ever seen. The whole movie is a feast for the senses. It is both wildly inventive and deeply affective.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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Women Talking
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Polley’s intelligent and riveting film is the type that could and should win the SAG Ensemble. The entire cast is astonishing.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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She Said
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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She Said fits right in there with other investigative journalism-themed films like All the President’s Men, Spotlight, and Zodiac thanks to Schrader’s compelling and substantial filmmaking. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are exceptional... A must-watch film
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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The Fabelmans
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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When The Fabelmans focuses on the young Sammy – played outstandingly by Gabriel LaBelle – the film soars. Watching how the maestro became one of the greatest directors of all time was an absolute delight.
Posted Nov 29, 2022
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The Son
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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The incertitude that comes with being a father often overshadows the weight of disillusionment bequeathed upon our sons. When the story focuses here, you can see how the play would have been so successful.
Posted Nov 13, 2022
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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Affecting, tender, and full of heart-pounding thrills and excitement, Coogler and team have produced the rare sequel that not only lives up to the original but raises the bar in a tremendous way.
Posted Nov 08, 2022
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Please Baby Please
(2022)
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Joey Moser
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Kramer has made John Waters proud.
Posted Nov 01, 2022
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All Quiet on the Western Front
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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All Quiet on the Western Front is a jaw-dropping film and a remarkable piece of work. It's not only one of the best films of the year but should also be remembered as one of the greatest war films of all time.
Posted Oct 28, 2022
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The Quiet Epidemic
(2022)
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Mark Johnson
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The Quiet Epidemic does what any good investigative doc should do – it informs, infuriates, breaks your heart, and fills you with hope... it is an alarming call to action that should be required viewing for anyone involved in health, science, or politics.
Posted Oct 23, 2022
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Stars at Noon
(2022)
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Joey Moser
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Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn have a palpable, elusive chemistry.
Posted Oct 14, 2022
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Stars at Noon
(2022)
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Matthew Dougherty
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Stars at Noon is a challenging film, though not always in the ways you want it to be. But the
strength of Denis’ style and direction are, at this stage in her career, undeniable.
Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Aftersun
(2022)
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Matthew Dougherty
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Aftersun, the splash-of-cold-water debut from Charlotte Wells, is where the falsehoods of movies and memories meet. The results are nothing short of masterful.
Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Bones and All
(2022)
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Matthew Dougherty
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It’s at once horror, romance, coming of age, and a classic episodic American road trip movie. And for the most part, Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich succeed in making these various pieces sing together as a cohesive whole.
Posted Oct 08, 2022
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