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B-
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To Freddy
(2020)
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Andrea Thompson
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“Til Freddy” may clock in at a slight 71 minutes, but it leaves an impression...
Posted Dec 20, 2022
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D
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Mary Queen of Scots
(2018)
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Andrea Thompson
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“Mary Queen of Scots” could've at least been an average, or even above average effort to explore a history that is so often misconstrued. Instead, both women are done a disservice in a more modern way...
Posted Dec 19, 2022
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B+
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The Report
(2019)
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Andrea Thompson
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“The Report” doesn't much acknowledge just how much racism played a role in what happened, but it also almost seems to seethe, in its own understated fashion, against giving ground to the argument of torture being a necessary evil.
Posted Dec 19, 2022
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A-
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Language Lessons
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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Morales has had a steadily successful career as an actress, and more recently has just as quietly built up her director bonafides, and hopefully “Language Lessons” is a sign of a promising new(ish) direction.
Posted Dec 19, 2022
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D
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Benediction
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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Any film or piece of art in general is going to in some sense reflect the artist, but biopics should at least try to capture a sense of the life and perspective of those they’re depicting.
Posted Dec 19, 2022
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C-
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The Starling
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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It doesn’t exactly make for a bad movie, but it can’t be called good either.
Posted Dec 19, 2022
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C-
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The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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The more “Electrical Life” goes on, the more buried it becomes, sometimes literally, under a sea of quirk rather than delving into just how far Wain fell and how his vulnerability left him exploited.
Posted Dec 19, 2022
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A-
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Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
(2022)
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Andrea Thompson
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The film is deeply knowledgeable about the fact that sex and pleasure can be two very different things. To a depressing degree.
Posted May 24, 2022
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A-
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Watcher
(2022)
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Andrea Thompson
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A film where a single hand wave can be as terrifying as any flashy chase scene.
Posted May 24, 2022
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|
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Cha Cha Real Smooth
(2022)
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Andrea Thompson
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“Cha Cha Real Smooth” is a crowd-pleaser in the best way, blending humor, heartbreak, and above all else, sincerity.
Posted May 24, 2022
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|
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Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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An old-fashioned crowd-pleaser in shiny new packaging, the kind of film that cinephiles can ditch the sitter for and just experience with their kids.
Posted May 24, 2022
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|
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I Love My Dad
(2022)
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Andrea Thompson
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That [Morosini] pulls this off so successfully is doubtless an indicator of a filmmaker at the cusp of a long career.
Posted May 24, 2022
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|
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Hold Your Fire
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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What director Stefan Forbes manages to achieve is a documentarian’s dream state, bolstered by a staggering access to a number of New York characters who were directly involved in a nightmare.
Posted May 24, 2022
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D
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The Northman
(2022)
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Andrea Thompson
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You can always count on things to get weird with Eggers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they get interesting.
Posted Apr 15, 2022
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B-
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Alice
(2022)
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Andrea Thompson
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For those who are willing to go with it, “Alice” will certainly be a satisfying ride.
Posted Feb 03, 2022
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A-
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Happening
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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“Happening” is body horror in every sense, but the true revulsion lies in how easily it all could’ve been avoided.
Posted Feb 03, 2022
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B+
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The Princess
(2022)
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Andrea Thompson
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Sometimes it's shockingly kind, sometimes it's horribly malicious, but always it's an indictment of us, and how we so often thoughtlessly, actively empower those who would drive a woman to an early grave.
Posted Jan 26, 2022
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C-
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Silent Night
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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Where Silent Night loses its way is how it can't bear to follow its own conclusions to their natural ends.
Posted Jan 06, 2022
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|
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House of Gucci
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
|
It hardly needs saying that House of Gucci calls for an entirely different performance, and Gaga more than rises to the occasion, over the top accent and all.
Posted Dec 08, 2021
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B+
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Red Rocket
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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It isn't Baker's best work given that it gets dragged down in the daily grind of Mikey's life, but it is a story that only Baker could tell with his trademark mix of humor, compassion, and accountability.
Posted Nov 29, 2021
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D
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The French Dispatch
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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The mistake that "The French Dispatch" makes is classic in itself, that of indulging what it's trying to criticize.
Posted Nov 29, 2021
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B+
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Dune
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
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Come to theater and you'll live quite deliciously throughout the two and a half hour runtime.
Posted Nov 29, 2021
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C-
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Spencer
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
|
Rather than celebrate her and her life, Larraín can only seem to memorialize her as a fragile victim, filling his film with constant references to death, as if anyone could forget the horrific circumstances of Diana's end.
Posted Nov 29, 2021
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A+
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Procession
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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One of the most essential films I've ever seen, one that centers survivors and looks from within trauma rather than without.
Posted Nov 29, 2021
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|
D
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Dear Evan Hansen
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
|
It's a tragic waste, especially when director Stephen Chbosky so skillfully directs such everyday settings into the feel of an indie drama with real emotional resonance.
Posted Oct 28, 2021
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C+
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Candyman
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
|
There's no sign of the razor sharp observations from the film that started it all, which meticulously incorporated not just racial but class and gender dynamics.
Posted Sep 02, 2021
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B+
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Confetti
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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There's a real intimacy to how [Hu] captures the small details that can make or break a life, how bonds are often built, and a quiet knowledge of just who is most likely to intervene and change lives
Posted Sep 02, 2021
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A-
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The Suicide Squad
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
Well damn.
Posted Aug 10, 2021
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A-
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Pray Away
(2020)
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Andrea Thompson
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"Pray Away" may end on a note of hope, as a former Exodus leader marries the love of her life and celebrates her love for her wife and herself, but it is McCall the camera lingers on at the end.
Posted Aug 10, 2021
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|
D-
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Space Jam: A New Legacy
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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"Space Jam" is very basic. When gadgets are prized over character, everyone loses.
Posted Jul 30, 2021
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B+
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Black Widow
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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At least it seems the baton is being passed to Pugh, who not only effortlessly holds her own opposite Johansson, but breathes life and emotion to her every role.
Posted Jul 30, 2021
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C+
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The Green Knight
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
Every film is going to be a kind of reflection of its creator, but a creator without empathy can only hope to create a mirror, and even an incredible actor like Patel can't overcome this.
Posted Jul 30, 2021
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D
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Annette
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
It's enough to make that Joan of Arc heavy metal rock opera seem normal.
Posted Jul 30, 2021
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|
F
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Old
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
By the time the twist came, everything seemed past its goddamn expiration date, and I could only ponder an ancient question that seems to have no answer: why is Shyamalan still allowed to do s--t like this?
Posted Jul 30, 2021
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B+
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In the Heights
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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It's hard to resist getting swept up in its power, and I'm of the opinion that it shouldn't be attempted.
Posted Jun 18, 2021
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B+
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See You Then
(2021)
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Andrea Thompson
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Walker is also one of those directors who doesn't just direct her actors, but their surroundings, with each intimate close up ringing just as true as moments of silence.
Posted Mar 25, 2021
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|
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The Velvet Vampire
(1971)
|
Andrea Thompson
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It's a bizarre mishmash of art and classic slasher, and it's the kind of movie to watch and appreciate for an artist working within their limitations.
Posted Mar 09, 2021
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B+
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Raya and the Last Dragon
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
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Such sorrowful yearning dominates, even obscuring the colorful, dangerous, and always stunningly beautiful world.
Posted Mar 06, 2021
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|
D-
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Mother Schmuckers
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
There's just nothing that could save "Mother Schmuckers" once it decides that shock value and offensiveness should take precedence over genuine laughs.
Posted Feb 09, 2021
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|
A-
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Sabaya
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
According to the film, the volunteers have rescued a total of 206 women and girls. It seems like a triumph until we're informed that 2,000 are still missing.
Posted Feb 09, 2021
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B+
|
Passing
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
Rebecca Hall fully and boldly commits to a dreamy black and white aesthetic in her directorial debut, which has all the quiet forcefulness of a storm about to break.
Posted Feb 09, 2021
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B+
|
Judas and the Black Messiah
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
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What unfolds is a modern American tragedy, all the more so because nearly everyone in it believes they're doing the right thing.
Posted Feb 02, 2021
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C-
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Land
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
"Land" could've easily devolved into a simplistic story where Miguel instructed Edee in life and love, but the film is smart enough to at least avoid some cliches... But everyone is ultimately betrayed by the film's ending.
Posted Feb 01, 2021
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A-
|
Rebel Hearts
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
"Rebel Hearts" is still determined to not only uplift, but do justice to the women it's profiling and just what gave them a communal backbone of such stuff that they eventually chose to defy the Vatican itself.
Posted Feb 01, 2021
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A-
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Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
Any danger of the documentary defining Moreno by her worst periods is offset by Moreno herself, whose movie star charisma is enhanced by the warmth and confidence of a woman who's faced the worst periods of her life and not only survived, but thrived.
Posted Feb 01, 2021
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B-
|
Mayday
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
"Mayday" is the kind of film with some damn good ideas, which the film can't seem to see through.
Posted Feb 01, 2021
|
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C+
|
Mass
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
"Mass" is at least intelligent enough to know that sometimes there are no answers. But more is needed, such as the simple recognition that not everyone is given not only the benefit of the doubt.
Posted Feb 01, 2021
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|
D
|
Violation
(2020)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
"Violation" has other, more effective ways to disturb, and disturb it does. What it fails to realize is true empathy is still often the most radical choice we can make.
Posted Jan 29, 2021
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A-
|
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
(2021)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
Thankfully, Questlove widens our gaze to a period of seismic changes, when America was in turbulence and many leaders advocating for progress had been assassinated.
Posted Jan 29, 2021
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A-
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I'm Your Woman
(2020)
|
Andrea Thompson
|
It's still a radical prospect to build an entire film about a character who would normally spend it quivering in fear in the most ineffective way possible.
Posted Jan 12, 2021
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