Film International

Film International is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Anton Bitel, Elias Savada, Gary M. Kramer, Jessica Baxter, Matthew Sorrento
Rating Title/Year Author
3.5/5 Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation (2019) Elias Savada Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation offers rain-soaked memories and affectionate recollections of how it began and ended in a neat-and-clean 97 minutes. EDIT
Posted Jun 16, 2019
2/5 Brightburn (2019) Elias Savada In the end, there's an empty feeling that the filmmakers were just treading water, opting for a sequel money grab. EDIT
Posted Jun 11, 2019
3/5 American Woman (2018) Elias Savada American Woman has an appreciative, simple grace, but as it glides toward its final curtain, the film just seems to wimper out. EDIT
Posted Jun 11, 2019
4/5 The Spy Behind Home Plate (2019) Elias Savada While it doesn't hammer another home run for (director Aviva) Kempner, it's a solid triple and a worthwhile salute to a great baseball star, a true American hero...and a spy. EDIT
Posted May 29, 2019
10/10 Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017) Matthew Sorrento "The film stands out in its treatment an active female protagonist not immediately supplanting male power, but slowly struggling to assume it." EDIT
Posted May 29, 2019
My Son (2017) Gary M. Kramer My Son should be gripping, but it ends up just being lackluster. EDIT
Posted May 24, 2019
3.5/5 () Elias Savada Jackson's direction offers intelligent touches to notch up the tension when needed - quicker edits, closer shots, carefully orchestrated dialogue delivery, the use of longer lenses as the film progresses... EDIT
Posted May 21, 2019
Don't Be a Dick About It (2018) Gary M. Kramer If the film starts out slowly, it sneaks up on viewers, charming them by the end with its intimate portrait... Don't Be a Dick About It immerses viewers in the lives of it subjects. In doing so, the film provides a feeling of real empathy. EDIT
Posted May 16, 2019
Mickey and the Bear (2019) Gary M. Kramer Every shot in Mickey and the Bear is artfully composed... The performances are also quite strong. Morrone is especially affecting as the put-upon Mickey.... James Badge Dale is potent as Hank. EDIT
Posted May 16, 2019
Stockholm (2018) Gary M. Kramer Stockholm is uneven, but not entirely uninteresting. EDIT
Posted May 16, 2019
() Gary M. Kramer The film greatest asset is veteran actress Chin, who get a plum part here.... Chin is the film's lucky charm and the reason Lucky Grandma is so satisfying. EDIT
Posted May 4, 2019
() Gary M. Kramer A lovely, elegiac documentary about two men who shared a real brotherhood. EDIT
Posted May 4, 2019
() Gary M. Kramer [A] striking debut. EDIT
Posted May 4, 2019
() Gary M. Kramer Bliss is a grungy, bloody grindhouse film about a foul-mouthed female artist, Dezzy (Dora Madison in a helluva performance).... Madison flips her mane of kinky red hair and spews blood and one-liners with noticeable aplomb. EDIT
Posted May 4, 2019
4/5 Hail Satan? (2019) Elias Savada Never has a Penny Lane film been this funny. EDIT
Posted Apr 29, 2019
4.5/5 Avengers: Endgame (2019) Elias Savada If you've survived all the cliffhangers Marvel has tossed about in its awesome masterplan; pray tell, what happens after the dust has settled? It's epic. Quite somber, but epic. EDIT
Posted Apr 24, 2019
3.5/5 Depraved (2019) Elias Savada It's not a great film, but it is nice to see how Fessenden has put a nice off-kilter spin on a classic story. EDIT
Posted Apr 23, 2019
3.5/5 The Brink (2019) Elias Savada Probing Bannon: Alison Klayman and Marie Therese Guirgis on The Brink [interview] EDIT
Posted Apr 23, 2019
4/5 2019 Oscar Nominated Shorts - Live Action (2019) Elias Savada Not particularly child-friendly, this ... features five one-word titles ranging from 17 to 30 minutes in length, with a breakdown that brings two films from Quebec, one from Spain, an Irish entry, and a striking film from the United States. EDIT
Posted Apr 23, 2019
4/5 2019 Oscar Nominated Shorts - Documentary (2019) Elias Savada The rather long (143 minutes) Documentary Shorts program offers a solid lineup. Two (Period. End of Sentence and End Game) are available as originals on Netflix. EDIT
Posted Apr 23, 2019
4/5 2019 Oscar Nominated Shorts - Animation (2019) Elias Savada The 56 minutes of nominated Animated Shorts has been buffed up with two additional items (Wishing Box and Tweet Tweet) for a respectable 73-minute running time. EDIT
Posted Apr 23, 2019
4/5 Captain Marvel (2019) Elias Savada Captain Marvel, the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, rallies itself after a sluggish start, and ultimately proves itself an acceptable crowdpleaser. EDIT
Posted Apr 23, 2019
9/10 Us (2019) Matthew Sorrento The film is an economic nightmare machine, once it gets going. Serving both worlds of fans, the terrors are eerie and bone-crunching... in the same brisk rhythm as Get Out. EDIT
Posted Mar 22, 2019
Lost Holiday (2019) Gary M. Kramer Sheil gives an outstanding performance. Her mix of smarts and insouciance is why Lost Holiday is so enjoyable. EDIT
Posted Feb 15, 2019
3.5/5 Rodents of Unusual Size (2017) Elias Savada It's a quirky and well-researched animal documentary about nutrias, those semiaquatic South American natives that, over the last century, invaded the swamplands of Louisiana in the tens of millions... EDIT
Posted Feb 5, 2019
We Are Thankful (Siyabonga) (2019) Matthew Sorrento There is a quiet power and tremendous dignity on display throughout We Are Thankful. This, along with Siyabonga's ingratiating "performance," is what makes Magor's film is so magical. EDIT
Posted Feb 4, 2019
3/5 Hal (2018) Elias Savada ...a reflective meditation on the (high) life and (best) films of Hal Ashby, a director of note during the 1970s, when he churned out award-worthy films that now shape this debut documentary from Los Angeles-based editor Amy Stone. EDIT
Posted Jan 4, 2019
4.5/5 Free Solo (2018) Elias Savada Spiderman, move over. There's another fearless warrior on your tail. For those of us who prefer solid, flat earth, take a seat watching Free Solo. EDIT
Posted Jan 4, 2019
3.5/5 The Great Buster: A Celebration (2018) Elias Savada The Great Buster: A Celebration is a fine tribute to a legend everyone should remember. EDIT
Posted Jan 4, 2019
4.5/5 Green Book (2018) Elias Savada The exceptionally crisp performances by Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen are but two of the great things about Green Book, a very solid contender for Best Picture accolades, and much more. EDIT
Posted Jan 4, 2019
4.5/5 Border (2018) Elias Savada However unsettling you may find Border, its grip is as strong as its convictions. EDIT
Posted Jan 4, 2019
3.5/5 Sickies Making Films (2018) Elias Savada It's an admirable history lesson and enjoyable examination of Maryland's long-deceased era of film censorship, a period that extended from 1916 to 1981. EDIT
Posted Jan 4, 2019
Nothing Like a Dame (2018) Gary M. Kramer Tea with the Dames will enchant fans of the actresses, and it is nice to see them for who they are, swapping acting tips, or talking about milestones in their careers. It's a nice documentary, but it is also far too slight and polite. EDIT
Posted Oct 19, 2018
4/5 Science Fair (2018) Elias Savada The film embraces friendships across borders and above politics, and showcases teenagers striving for excellence among their peers.... Like its incredible subjects, Science Fair is a winner. EDIT
Posted Sep 14, 2018
4/5 A Simple Favor (2018) Elias Savada Mystery loves the company of Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively in Paul Feig's head-spinning, twisty-turvy tale of fremily intrigue. Equal EDIT
Posted Sep 14, 2018
Phoenix (2014) Zhuo-Ning Su This is a delicate, incisive, spellbinding movie from a filmmaking team with no reason to stop anytime soon. EDIT
Posted Aug 3, 2018
The Tribe (2014) Zhuo-Ning Su Artistically challenging, topically provocative, stylistically assured, and an all-around daring, alluring, searing work of vision. EDIT
Posted Aug 3, 2018
Force majeure (2014) Zhuo-Ning Su Written, directed and performed with remarkable intelligence and empathy, it tickles, provokes, cooks up delicious tension throughout, even if all that steam can't seem to find the perfect outlet in the end for an appropriately volcanic burst. EDIT
Posted Aug 3, 2018
10.000 Km (2014) Zhuo-Ning Su Casts a universal spell and hits you on the most visceral level. EDIT
Posted Aug 3, 2018
Victoria (2015) Zhuo-Ning Su For all its failings and divisive choices, this is a movie that wows... Beyond the sheer effort that went into enabling this unbroken optical illusion, both the director and his principal cast show unmistakable promise. EDIT
Posted Aug 3, 2018
The Club (2015) Zhuo-Ning Su Ruthlessly dark and acidly funny. EDIT
Posted Aug 3, 2018
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018) Gary M. Kramer [Ross] creates a sparsely beautiful film; his shots of insects at night, or cars waiting for an animal to clear the road, are hypnotic EDIT
Posted Aug 2, 2018
3.5/5 Chained for Life (2018) Elias Savada Chained for Life's self-awareness about the nature of beauty - and how the World According to Schimberg perceives it - is obvious from the start...an hour-and-a half later, the dialogue on this topic only seems to be just getting started. EDIT
Posted Jul 26, 2018
4/5 Three Identical Strangers (2018) Elias Savada There's a large part of Three Identical Strangers that is disturbing, even though it's a smile-inducing miracle story about a family reunited, an early variant of the DNA pattern solving tv shows that abound today. EDIT
Posted Jul 3, 2018
2/5 The Catcher Was a Spy (2018) Elias Savada There's an unsettling blandness flowing through The Catcher Was a Spy, a well photographed and impressively designed film about a fascinating character who made a mark in two wildly divergent professions. EDIT
Posted Jun 25, 2018
4/5 Hearts Beat Loud (2018) Elias Savada Haley's look at the lighter, and lightly darker, side of family life between a father and his daughter is a super(b) counterpoint to this summer's blockbusters. EDIT
Posted Jun 9, 2018
3.5/5 La caméra de Claire (2017) Elias Savada As for his style, Hong loves to linger. If he feels his actors are riffing on each other, he'll just let the camera roll. EDIT
Posted Jun 4, 2018
4.5/5 Mountain (2017) Elias Savada The word "breathtaking" doesn't do justice to Australian documentarian Jennifer Peedom's Mountain. It's so far beyond that. EDIT
Posted May 31, 2018
3/5 Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) Elias Savada Ron Howard may be the person that Disney claims saved Solo, but it's a salvage job that proves less than endearing. EDIT
Posted May 24, 2018
4/5 Deadpool 2 (2018) Elias Savada The comedy is as dark as the blood in Deadpool 2, showcasing a truly inspired character's blend of invincibility and self-deprecation, flinging off one-liners faster than a machine gun spits bullets. EDIT
Posted May 18, 2018