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3/5
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Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
(2023)
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Tomas Trussow
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Humanist Vampire remains a pleasing, yet insubstantial diversion, one best viewed on a cool October night with your romantic partner when every shadow outside your window feels imbued with mystery and cuddling close together is a necessity.
Posted Sep 22, 2023
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3/5
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Solo
(2023)
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Tomas Trussow
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[Its] unfiltered empathy, coupled with its focus on drag’s cathartic qualities, allow it to stand with enough merit alongside other works that celebrate drag’s sheer power and fierceness.
Posted Sep 22, 2023
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3/5
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Valeria Is Getting Married
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Vinik’s indictment of manufactured marriages that are dehumanizingly transactional is a cutting one, and she is unsparing in her critique of the male characters in particular.
Posted Sep 29, 2022
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4/5
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One Fine Morning
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Hansen-Løve’s uncanny ability to wring wells of profundity from the humblest of ideas ... encapsulates why this film---unsurprising as its general story may be on the whole---manages to nevertheless console us with its wise and warm perceptiveness anyway.
Posted Sep 29, 2022
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3.5/5
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No Bears
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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The master has left the building, albeit only for a moment. And like any master worth following, he has left behind his most challenging work for us to reckon with in his wake.
Posted Sep 29, 2022
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3.5/5
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Return to Seoul
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Park is able to thread the needle of her maturation while keeping an air of danger within her; like a live grenade on the cusp of explosion, she throws herself into terrain that even she sometimes is not ready to tread.
Posted Sep 29, 2022
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3/5
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This Place
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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The battle to preserve connections of all kinds becomes the shaping tenet of Nayani’s work, which is engrained in all facets of the film’s makeup ... allowing viewers to see how fully and freely these characters live out their roots in the moment.
Posted Sep 26, 2022
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4.5/5
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De Humani Corporis Fabrica
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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De Humani Corporis Fabrica already feels like one of the most vital and pioneering documentaries of the decade because of how thoroughly and unbelievably it lays everything on the line, providing us with a singular experience of unmatched perspicacity.
Posted Sep 26, 2022
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3.5/5
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Other People's Children
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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By the time Rachel is caught in one final freeze frame, her face almost out of view as the frantic pace of life quickens once more, the weight of Zlotowski’s efforts careens into its fullest focus and we’re able to walk out feeling nourished.
Posted Sep 26, 2022
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4.5/5
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Aftersun
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Both Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio are more than up to the task to bring Wells’s poetic meditations to fruition, and it's their collective efforts that ensures the ending devastates us with the weight of its impact.
Posted Sep 26, 2022
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3.5/5
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Walk Up
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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The many strands of the story ... guide us to a further appreciation of Hong’s stealthy craftsmanship, particularly in the way he can peel back the hidden melancholies of life with such nimble placidity and unconventional detours.
Posted Sep 25, 2022
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4.5/5
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Saint Omer
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Saint Omer is the filmic microcosm of all that is wrong in the world, but also one that demands us to open our eyes and hearts even wider to access truths and feelings that we would otherwise let lie dormant.
Posted Sep 25, 2022
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4.5/5
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EO
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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[EO] is a powerful, brutal and unexpectedly emotional work that asks little more from its audience than to keep the animal world close to us, and in doing so, it becomes that much more impactful.
Posted Sep 25, 2022
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3.5/5
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Triangle of Sadness
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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It’s easy to see why this year’s Cannes jury was so smitten with what [Östlund] achieves here, even though I hope his next venture will be a tighter and more disciplined affair.
Posted Sep 25, 2022
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2.5/5
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Winter Boy
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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While I don’t think Honoré unduly limits Kircher, I do think Kircher could have benefited from a film that dared to match his capriciousness step for step, as it would have made the emotional grace notes of his performance that much more rewarding.
Posted Sep 22, 2022
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3.5/5
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Sick
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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It leaves us questioning just how much the ordeal of the pandemic has changed our ways of thinking, and for that alone, Sick and its heart-pounding thrills really leave their mark.
Posted Sep 22, 2022
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3/5
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Women Talking
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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It is incredibly affecting material that strikes us with grief, rage and hope over all that transpires. But for all that Polley does well, there are some missteps here that force me to moderate my opinions.
Posted Sep 22, 2022
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2/5
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Empire of Light
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Its assertions---on cinema’s wondrous capacities, on race relations, on mental illness, on working-class living---are glassy-eyed and crudely drawn, lacking any true sense of insightfulness to make this project legible.
Posted Sep 22, 2022
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3.5/5
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Something You Said Last Night
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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That is the refreshing thing about Luis De Filippis’s feature debut: It is a film about trans livelihood without seeking to cater to preconceptions and stale notions about how trans life should be depicted cinematically.
Posted Sep 21, 2022
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3/5
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I Like Movies
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Despite the disjointedness, I Like Movies nevertheless possesses enough charm to win you over because of Levack’s sterling commitment to detail.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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3.5/5
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My Imaginary Country
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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The film’s brevity does not undermine the potency of its goals, even if one can’t help but wish Guzmán had waited a little longer to finish it in order to fill in the inevitable gaps that time and circumstance have left.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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2.5/5
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The Inspection
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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The film’s overall lack of complexity becomes an issue, for without more rigorous critiques of the problematic institutions it’s depicting, The Inspection veers dangerously close to being propagandistic.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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3/5
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The Whale
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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It is a testament to the genuineness of Fraser and Chau that the film manages to scrape by as it does, flaws and all.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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4/5
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The Eternal Daughter
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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The fact that both the mother and the daughter are played by the same person opens up a wealth of fascinating contradictions and gradations that help anchor a film that can sometimes feel a bit too restricted by its own limitations.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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3.5/5
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Casa Susanna
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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There is much we will never know about what went on behind the casa’s walls, but there is enough here to get a taste of it. For me, at least, I was able to walk away enlightened and humbled by the beauty and freedom of these stories.
Posted Sep 19, 2022
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4/5
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Pacifiction
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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It is frighteningly beautiful work that turns the cruel ambivalences and reckless indifferences of postcolonial corruption onto those figures of power, forcing them to contend with the same fears that colonial subjects were subjected to in the past.
Posted Sep 19, 2022
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5/5
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All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Nan Goldin is using her remaining years on this earth to fight and fight some more, and Laura Poitras wisely sits back and lets her carry on while we bear witness to her remarkable grit.
Posted Sep 19, 2022
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4/5
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Glass Onion is good escapism without aspiring to surpass the genre’s masters, and that worked for me for this iteration.
Posted Sep 19, 2022
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3/5
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Viking
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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The actors have a strong grasp on the material and bestow the script with their own subtle nuances that makes watching Viking quite fun.
Posted Sep 16, 2022
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4.5/5
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Will-o'-the-Wisp
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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It bounces in the interstices of varying genres and critiques, undaunted by the fact that not every strike is cleanly wrought, but confident in being caustic when needed, while also giving satire a breath of much-needed fresh air.
Posted Sep 16, 2022
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1.5/5
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The Son
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Its attempts to dramatize the turmoil and repercussions surrounding the titular character’s severe depression, replete with graceless symbols and half-hearted literalization, becomes almost an insult to the viewing audience’s intelligence.
Posted Sep 16, 2022
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4/5
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The Banshees of Inisherin
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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It’s McDonagh’s quietest and most inward-looking film to date, settling for the agony of sheer absurdity than primal bombast.
Posted Sep 16, 2022
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4/5
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How to Blow Up a Pipeline
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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Minor imperfections do not take away from the sheer magnetism of the central plot, which thrives on the smallest details that build and build into more precarious and riveting scenarios.
Posted Sep 15, 2022
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4.5/5
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The Fabelmans
(2022)
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Tomas Trussow
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The film is swooningly warm and tender, with memories---both fond and bitter---being realized with the same kind of care and sensitivity that always radiates from the screen.
Posted Sep 13, 2022
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4/5
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Spencer
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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Rather than trying to hide behind complete imitation, Stewart harnesses a careful symbiosis that incorporates who she is with who Diana was and must have been, and in that fusion lies an enrapturing cohabitation of spirits that one cannot look away from.
Posted Sep 28, 2021
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4/5
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Titane
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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Cishet audiences will not, by and large, appreciate what Ducournau does here in the same way that queer audiences will, for Titane very much speaks to the disorientations and frustrations of people who live in bodies that dissatisfy them.
Posted Sep 28, 2021
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4/5
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The Tsugua Diaries
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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It is one of the more overtly pandemic-era films that I've seen since the COVID crisis began, but in a way that is not morbid. Rather, it is celebratory and rejuvenating, like dipping one's toes in a natural spring.
Posted Sep 28, 2021
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2/5
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Last Night in Soho
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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[Wright] is unable to thread the needle properly to hold his hall of mirrors in one piece.
Posted Sep 22, 2021
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2.5/5
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Belfast
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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For a film that must emphasize civil turmoil for the story to land its beats, the payoff cannot help but feel compromised because the film is making so many compromises with itself in order to be liked.
Posted Sep 22, 2021
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4.5/5
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The Power of the Dog
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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The Power of the Dog is something you watch with the knowledge that you're back in a trusted master's hands, safely ensconced in craftsmanship that is meticulously hewn.
Posted Sep 22, 2021
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3/5
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Earwig
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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One trudges through Earwig's hallways with begrudging obligation because of its very strangeness.
Posted Sep 19, 2021
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4.5/5
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Memoria
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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Weerasethakul remains a rhythmic filmmaker who finds footing on specific beats that thrum in the air rather than ones bound by authorial narratives.
Posted Sep 11, 2021
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4.5/5
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Drive My Car
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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Drive My Car works with such power because Hamaguchi never leaves his compassion at the door, instead opening it wide for it to overflow.
Posted Sep 11, 2021
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3/5
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Compartment No. 6
(2021)
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Tomas Trussow
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A disarming roadtrip that paints its milieu and characters with a trusting and thorough brush.
Posted Sep 11, 2021
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4.5/5
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Nomadland
(2020)
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Tomas Trussow
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[Nomadland] may flicker though Fern's transient existence with episodic regularity, but the kernels of its beauty lie in the collective expanses of that journey, which build and build with quiet intensity.
Posted Sep 13, 2020
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3/5
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Shiva Baby
(2020)
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Tomas Trussow
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Shiva Baby does not falter in turning what ought to be a solemn Jewish tradition into a fearless, often entertaining roller coaster of emotions and social commentary that many audiences will eat up with relish.
Posted Sep 13, 2020
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3.5/5
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Night of the Kings
(2020)
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Tomas Trussow
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When coupled with the aural tapestry of the West African oral tradition and Lacôte's visual acuity, Night of the Kings becomes a rewarding look into the interconnections between mythmaking and one's own immediate historicity.
Posted Sep 13, 2020
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4/5
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No Ordinary Man
(2020)
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Tomas Trussow
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[No Ordinary Man] forges itself as a text of great import for the trans community that I hope will be shared widely and broadly.
Posted Sep 13, 2020
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3/5
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Downton Abbey
(2019)
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Tomas Trussow
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Fellowes giftwraps the heartbeat of his beloved show and presents it to [fans] intact, including all the glamour and beauty of the sets and costumes.
Posted Oct 20, 2019
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3/5
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Judy
(2019)
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Tomas Trussow
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I find it difficult to be too hard on a film that is so irrevocably buoyed by its lead performance, and such is the case with Judy, a film which wouldn't have passed muster without its star.
Posted Oct 06, 2019
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