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The Quiet Girl
(2022)
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Marisa Carpico
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Indeed, Cáit and the Kinsellas’ relationship is built on small connections like that and while it can leave the movie feeling slight in the moment, it’s in the way the film accumulates those acts of love that it gains its power.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Creed III
(2023)
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Marisa Carpico
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And while Creed III is certainly operatic in scale, it succeeds because it’s grounded in character dynamics.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Of an Age
(2022)
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Marisa Carpico
|
And while it will take some time before we know if Of an Age will be regarded as one of cinema’s great queer romances, it’s certain that it’s this year’s first great romantic film.
Posted Feb 13, 2023
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Infinity Pool
(2023)
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Marisa Carpico
|
Everything in <i>Infinity Pool</i> is so outrageous that it eventually becomes boring.
Posted Jan 29, 2023
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The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
(2022)
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Marisa Carpico
|
The script is so busy trying to put all the pieces of this makeshift family together that it never has time to show us the intimacy that should bind them.
Posted Oct 07, 2022
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Heathers: The Musical
(2022)
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Marisa Carpico
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[The audience's] energy is infectious and while some viewers may not love every second of Heathers: The Musical, it’s impossible not to be swept up in its energy just like the audience in the theater.
Posted Sep 19, 2022
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After Yang
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
...After Yang manages to explore major ideas like loss and memory in a way that feels profound without also feeling self-important.
Posted Aug 05, 2022
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Bodies Bodies Bodies
(2022)
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Marisa Carpico
|
Still, while Bodies Bodies Bodies may stumble just before the finish line, it has enough strengths to keep itself from totally imploding.
Posted Aug 05, 2022
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Nightmare Alley
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
What should be a film about the depths of human depravity and deception becomes a lifeless painting, enthralling to look at but lacking in substance.
Posted Dec 17, 2021
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Red Rocket
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
Though Red Rocket began production well into the pandemic, it feels like a film made well before it and released well after it would have been most ideologically relevant.
Posted Dec 17, 2021
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The Lost Daughter
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
Gyllenhaal herself is a thoughtful and complex actress. So, it's unsurprising that she pulls and captures such layered performances from her core trio of actresses.
Posted Dec 17, 2021
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The Hating Game
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
However, for viewers coming to The Hating Game with an open mind and a desire to see two hot people flirt, the film is easily the best romantic comedy of the year.
Posted Dec 10, 2021
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Christmas at the Ranch
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
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However, because Christmas at the Ranch's central romance can't sweep us up in the way it should, it also can't distract us from the film's other weaknesses.
Posted Dec 01, 2021
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Belfast
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
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For some, the way Belfast breezes over its serious subjects will leave it feeling too slight, even cloying in its constant will to beguile the audience.
Posted Nov 12, 2021
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Antlers
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
While Antlers is perhaps not the culture-shifting prestige horror film genre fans hoped it could be, it is exactly what it sets out to be: a chilling dark fairy tale.
Posted Nov 01, 2021
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No Time to Die
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
No Time to Die is not only a fitting last chapter to the Craig era, but a Bond movie that dares to tread wholly new ground for the 59-year-old franchise.
Posted Oct 06, 2021
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Mayday
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
Still, sticky as some possible readings of Mayday can be, it's perhaps a mistake to ascribe a concrete meaning to what is essentially meant to mimic a dream.
Posted Oct 06, 2021
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Dating & New York
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
...while Dating & New York is often funny, it never quite convinces the audience that it's doing anything but going through the motions.
Posted Sep 10, 2021
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Kate
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
...a fun and surprisingly thoughtful action romp.
Posted Sep 10, 2021
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Wild Indian
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
...the threat of something horrible is constant and Wild Indian is a tense, wholly engrossing modern parable as a result.
Posted Sep 03, 2021
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John and the Hole
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
|
John and the Hole is an intriguing film. It just may not be a deep one.
Posted Aug 06, 2021
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The Green Knight
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
Indeed, Lowery doesn't seem interested in a straightforward, realistic adaptation so much as creating a vibe.
Posted Jul 30, 2021
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Zola
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
|
...like the viral social media that inspired it, Zola is simply meant to be enjoyed while it's happening, to be talked about later, meaning as much or as little as you want.
Posted Jun 29, 2021
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Occupation: Rainfall
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
|
Unfortunately, Occupation: Rainfall feels like the outline of a great sci-fi movie instead.
Posted Jun 12, 2021
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Poser
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
Certainly, [it's] a love letter to underground, local music scenes generally. But [Poser is] also exploring the boundaries of artistic integrity and...the result is thrilling.
Posted Jun 12, 2021
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In the Heights
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
|
There is so much life and beauty and truth fueling In the Heights, but Chu and his game cast only infrequently execute the material to its full potential.
Posted Jun 10, 2021
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Undine
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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While Petzold's film retains much of that fantastic origin, it's far more grounded in reality than the average fairytale-perhaps to its own detriment.
Posted Jun 04, 2021
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The Get Together
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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...The Get Together, [is] a movie about a wild party with a streak of genuine melancholy and thoughtfulness at its center.
Posted May 14, 2021
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Stray
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
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...it's hard to deny that watching the way people react to the dogs followed here reveals something larger about human behavior and compassion.
Posted Mar 05, 2021
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The Vigil
(2019)
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Marisa Carpico
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Though some horror fans will likely find the film's emphasis on emotional stakes over scares disappointing, it's Yakov's journey that ultimately makes the film linger.
Posted Feb 26, 2021
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Little Fish
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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Despite its high-concept and eerily familiar premise, Little Fish is, at its heart, a meditation on love and memory.
Posted Feb 05, 2021
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The Dig
(2021)
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Marisa Carpico
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Its success isn't necessarily in dramatizing this single story, but collapsing thousands of years of human experience upon each other to remind us of life's inherent beauty.
Posted Jan 29, 2021
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Promising Young Woman
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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And while [the film] is still provocative enough to surprise viewers streaming it at home, it does feel like the kind of thriller that works best experienced with a crowd.
Posted Dec 21, 2020
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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Still, as frustrating as the filmmaking may be, a lot viewers probably won't even notice because the performances are uniformly incredible.
Posted Dec 18, 2020
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Queer Japan
(2019)
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Marisa Carpico
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Each interviewee is fascinating and while the constant onslaught of new faces can become tiring by the film's end, it's mostly a thrill to meet them at all.
Posted Dec 11, 2020
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Songbird
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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...feels like a first draft, made too much in a vacuum of production restrictions and a need to finish it quickly for anyone involved to notice that it's a little weightless.
Posted Dec 11, 2020
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I Hate New Year's
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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Indeed, what allows I Hate New Year's to rise above some of the other queer holiday romances this year is that it actually gives the viewer a romance worth rooting for.
Posted Dec 05, 2020
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Happiest Season
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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In the end, Happiest Season is to holiday movies what the Pillsbury crescent roll is to holiday meals: comfortingly familiar, unsurprising and irrevocably commercial.
Posted Nov 28, 2020
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Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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...those hoping Dolly Parton will save this weird Christmas season will likely be disappointed.
Posted Nov 23, 2020
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The Princess Switch: Switched Again
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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...if this sequel proves anything, it's that we should learn to appreciate the Vanessa Hudgens we already have.
Posted Nov 19, 2020
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I'm Thinking of Ending Things
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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Still, regardless of how aware Kaufman is of his film's failings, it doesn't make them any less disappointing for a viewer.
Posted Nov 17, 2020
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Sisters with Transistors
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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Rovner's film is stimulating on musical, visual and intellectual levels as well as being a necessary corrective to an art form that wrote women out of its history.
Posted Nov 17, 2020
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The War With Grandpa
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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Sure, it's not going to blow anyone's mind, but it's fun family entertainment and, really, in 2020, isn't it enough to just have some meaningless fun?
Posted Nov 17, 2020
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Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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It may not have been made for a theater experience, but it's big and bright enough that it almost manages to recreate the magic of seeing big screen spectacle.
Posted Nov 17, 2020
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Fire Will Come
(2019)
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Marisa Carpico
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It's a fairly simple plot and one that goes exactly where you expect given the title, but Fire Will Come creates meaning through its mood and sense of place rather than its plot.
Posted Nov 17, 2020
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Akilla's Escape
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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Its relaxed, contemplative take on noir may not excite every viewer, but it certainly captivates.
Posted Nov 17, 2020
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Residue
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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...Residue is fiction, but the truth driving it is captivating.
Posted Sep 17, 2020
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DTF
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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...like watching a slow-motion train wreck: horrible to look at, but impossible to tear your eyes away.
Posted Sep 15, 2020
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Epicentro
(2020)
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Marisa Carpico
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...regardless of [Sauper's] self-awareness, Epicentro is a really thought-provoking study of modern day Cuba and its history.
Posted Aug 28, 2020
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The Prey
(2018)
|
Marisa Carpico
|
By trying to walk the line between serious and silly, Henderson's film fundamentally fails on both accounts.
Posted Aug 21, 2020
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