|
7/10
|
Bless Their Little Hearts
(1984)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
The film isn’t perfect, wears its budget on its sleeve, and finds its final two or three scenes disjointed through incongruous jump cuts that feel like whole scenes are missing, but it’s honest in its decision to not sanitize life’s hardships.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
|
|
5/10
|
Empire of Light
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
We bask in the period detail and cringe at the on-the-nose dialogue that always reminds us how "different" our two leads are. Colman and Ward are both very good, but neither can transcend the cardboard cutouts they're asked to play.
Posted Dec 09, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
White Noise
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
White Noise is funny, insightful, and downright scary at times for so much of that first two-thirds that it seems almost like the last portion was set-up to fail.
Posted Nov 26, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Despite Glass Onion not being as smart as Knives Out, it was definitely just as entertaining—if not more.
Posted Nov 21, 2022
|
|
6/10
|
EO
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Sadly, like Balthazar, EO just wasn't for me. Because while the whole is enjoyable, it's also fleeting. I'm glad to have experienced the journey, but that's it.
Posted Nov 16, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Causeway
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Causeway possesses a powerful display of recognition despite that seemingly barebones plot. Through Lawrence's excellent work in this return to her indie roots and Henry's scene-stealing support, we can see their characters' long road ahead.
Posted Nov 11, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
My Father's Dragon
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Love should never be conditional. It's a necessary lesson to be learned and Twomey and company are very willing to tell it with the seriousness children films demand.
Posted Nov 10, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Some of what Iñárritu creates works better than others, but it all comes from the heart. The artistry and cinematography prove next level regardless.
Posted Nov 09, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Tár
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
So much of what we see is mirrored, contrasted, and/or flipped at a future point. Field has constructed Tár this way so that he can play with our expectations and call out our preconceptions.
Posted Nov 02, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Call Jane
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
A documentary [would] probably do a better job providing details of what Jane was, but you can’t deny the power of a fictionalized narrative opening the door on an historical topic. What it lacks in historical objectivity, it makes up for with humanity.
Posted Oct 28, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Holy Spider
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
The production value, performances, and underlying themes are enough to warrant a watch despite any letdown [in the final act].
Posted Oct 28, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
The Woman King
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
With great visuals and choreography making each battle a physically brutal dance, we get a sense of what these women are fighting for whether "each other" means the Agojie or Africa itself.
Posted Oct 20, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
All That Breathes
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
While the brothers speak for themselves and the kites, [Sen] and his cinematographers capture the wild juxtaposition of nature and industry [with] amazing visuals courtesy of multiple slow pans devoid of artifice or intrusion.
Posted Oct 20, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
The Banshees of Inisherin
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Gleeson and Farrell play their roles to perfection despite being drawn as two-dimensional pawns in McDonagh's game—two sides of the same broken coin, doubling down when the opportunity for growth presents itself because they're too entitled to listen.
Posted Oct 20, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
To Leslie
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
This is slice of life humanity brimming with authenticity and propped up by one of the best performances of the year so we can understand the pain and self-loathing beneath every mean-spirited and vindictive action Leslie takes.
Posted Oct 07, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
I Like Movies
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Yes, the period specific nature of working in a video store circa 2002 is on point, but [Levack's] film isn't about fandom or obsession. It's about the masks we wear to hide the pain we feel.
Posted Sep 29, 2022
|
|
6/10
|
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Even if that pacing and comedy isn't your thing, however, it's impossible not to enjoy the underlying message of kindness. You can use your rage to victimize others or remember its pain and set them free.
Posted Sep 29, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
The House of the Lost on the Cape
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
The film is therefore about healing above all else—with a dash of mythologizing come true. A solid, heartwarming drama that balances the real world with the supernatural.
Posted Sep 16, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Clerks III
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Rather than have the [jack-in-the-box] pop be Randal yelling at his friend to open his eyes and see things aren't so bad, it's Dante exorcising decades of pent-up frustration to tell his friend that things were never that good.
Posted Sep 08, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Bullet Train
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
It delivers nothing we haven't seen before. Yet it succeeds on charisma and energy alone.
Posted Aug 31, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
This is Hall and Brown's show as a result. Even when the unwieldy script feels like a short expanded beyond its means, they come on-screen to chastise you for thinking their masterclass could lose even one second.
Posted Aug 30, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Bodies Bodies Bodies
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
The cast is game and Reijn is happy to let their characters shed their humanity with ease. And while the reveal is obvious, its hilarious predictability renders it perfect, nonetheless.
Posted Aug 24, 2022
|
|
6/10
|
Breaking
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
I can't therefore begrudge the choice because Breaking is very good at what it is. But it could have been so much more, especially with what Boyega, Beharie, and Williams are bringing in every scene.
Posted Aug 24, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Three Minutes - A Lengthening
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Much like the ancient vases discussed, this celluloid is mined as a reflection of humankind at its specific moment in history—a priceless artifact itself.
Posted Aug 17, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Nope
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
It's an exhilarating and fun ride as a result. Maybe more superficial than you'd expect from a Peele film, but no less complex in its characterizations.
Posted Aug 17, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Spin Me Round
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
The genre hopping that results might give you whiplash, but in the best way. [Baena is] humorously leading us towards extremes with the sole goal of subverting our expectations.
Posted Aug 16, 2022
|
|
3/10
|
Summering
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
It's as though Ponsoldt and Percy brainstormed a bunch of universal stereotypes for a coming-of-age film and let their characters rise from them rather than even attempt to make their identities anything but one single trait each.
Posted Aug 10, 2022
|
|
5/10
|
Thor: Love and Thunder
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
They should have simply let James Gunn play with Thor in Guardians 3 and given Jane Foster her own Mighty Thor film so as not to relegate her into footnote status. Thank goodness for Bale. [His] grief’s authenticity proves how superficial the rest is.
Posted Aug 09, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Memory Box
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Credit the filmmakers for going to those darker places with the impossibility of living through so much death and destruction. And for deciding that letting that pain out and realizing they don't have to battle it alone can lead to happy endings too.
Posted Aug 05, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Elvis
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Those of you wanting more about Elvis' process or, frankly, the art itself will therefore be disappointed. This tragedy is about control. The music's secondary.
Posted Aug 04, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Incredible But True
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
The humor has it's laugh-out-loud moments despite a relatively subdued overall tone. We're often laughing at these characters' pain, so that uncertainty of whether to gloat or wince comes with the territory.
Posted Aug 01, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Resurrection
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Resurrection centering Margaret's experience doesn't mean we can't still have been tricked. Regardless, neither [possibility] negates what Margaret goes through.
Posted Jul 27, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
A Love Song
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
What's more indelibly romantic than a tentative affection born out of distance and memory after already having lived what will be their greatest love? It's absolutely exhilarating.
Posted Jul 26, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
My Old School
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
What's great about letting everyone have their say is the realization that this isn't just one person's story. Who he was to them is much different than who he is to the world once the truth of his charade is revealed.
Posted Jul 20, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Gone in the Night
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
[The finale is] simple, flirts with extremes only to pull back, and even finds itself concluding with a pitch-black final frame that may in fact prove to be subtly darker than the myriad other possibilities.
Posted Jul 14, 2022
|
|
6/10
|
Anonymous Club
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
It flirts with [the possibility of diving deeper] to deliver an intriguing if shallower than expected look at the humanity behind the fame. It reminds us that our heroes carry and fight the same pain we all do.
Posted Jul 13, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Both Sides of the Blade
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Works when we get to see Binoche and Lindon wrestling with their own insecurities and fears through shouting matches with each other. The palpable rage bleeding through the silences and passive aggressive provocations are beautifully raw and explosive.
Posted Jul 07, 2022
|
|
5/10
|
Jurassic World Dominion
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
If ever there was a franchise that proved box office glory wasn't enough to greenlight sequels, this is it. One masterpiece and a handful of middling to bad facsimiles. At least it's over.
Posted Jul 07, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Fire of Love
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
While [the Kraffts'] work therefore speaks for itself, Dosa's documentary brilliantly speaks for them.
Posted Jul 04, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Clara Sola
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Mesén delivers a subtle yet powerful drama matching Araya's memorably innocent yet determined performance. It uses the magical realism inherent to being a vessel for God as a metaphor for what her awakening entails.
Posted Jun 28, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
The Forgiven
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
How we get there isn't perfect, but the sentiments are never confused. Fiennes doesn't become a different man by the end. He's merely ready to admit who that man is.
Posted Jun 28, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Top Gun: Maverick
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
It's wild what a plot can do. Where Top Gun succeeded on vibes alone, Maverick understands that the reason for getting all these characters together needs enough substance to sustain our interest in them as people.
Posted Jun 22, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Flux Gourmet
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
With insane anecdotes, psycho-sexual hang-ups, and overwhelming sensory cues via kitchen close-ups and deafening industrial sound, Flux Gourmet is as unique an experience as any of Strickland's films. A bit shallower perhaps, but no less captivating.
Posted Jun 20, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Cha Cha Real Smooth
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
[The film has] his characters' best interests at heart because he knows that's the only way honesty and authenticity can prevail. Andrew and Domino may need nothing more in this moment than each other, but that doesn't mean the same will be true tomorrow.
Posted Jun 17, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Brian and Charles
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
It's a rousing bit of "love conquers all" machinations as Brian realizes what matters most to him and how providing happiness to another is one of the best ways to find happiness himself.
Posted Jun 16, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Poser
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Despite knowing the fantasy must come to an end eventually, credit the filmmakers for adhering to the reality that there's sometimes no turning back.
Posted Jun 16, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Hyde and Brand are dealing with issues of consent beyond the physical realm. What happens on-screen in this room is a fantasy despite whatever real work is being done within its constraints. Nancy removes her public persona as Leo puts his on.
Posted Jun 13, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Crimes of the Future
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
The result is messy and circuitous, but it's also provocative and funny in strange and alluring ways like only [Cronenberg] can achieve.
Posted Jun 08, 2022
|
|
4/10
|
DASHCAM
(2021)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
I want to bash this misguided piece of COVID-panic into the ground and yet its filmmaking earns genuine praise.
Posted Jun 03, 2022
|
|
7/10
|
Watcher
(2022)
|
Jared Mobarak
|
Monroe is fantastic in this role. Her Julia is juggling her own skepticism with that gut feeling telling her something is wrong. Okuno might be writing fiction, but this terror is very, very real.
Posted Jun 03, 2022
|
