Review: Iceland’s Woman at War on Living Boldly and Finding Balance
What can one person do to combat the forces of climate change and globalized industry? Quite a bit, as Benedikt Erlingsson would have us believe in Woman at War, the story […]
Review: Jordan Peele’s Us Revels in an Ambiguity with Bite
There’s a line spoken early in Us, the sophomore feature from writer/director Jordan Peele (Get Out) that is important but doesn’t give anything away about the film’s true nature. It’s […]
Review: Julianne Moore is Perfect Imperfection in Gloria Bell
As filmmaking challenges go, a movie with the resplendent Julianne Moore at its center, where the camera is as enamored with her as we are, is not exactly a difficult […]
Review: Coming Of Age with Resilience in Giant Little Ones
In this unexpectedly satisfying sophomore work from writer/director Keith Behrman (2002’s Flowers & Garnet), Giant Little Ones is the story of two fairly popular high school boys—Franky (Josh Wiggins) and […]
Review: Manipulative Five Feet Apart Hits New Low for Teen Romances
I have to admit, I was genuinely shocked when I learned that this romantic-drama about a pair of teenagers, both with cystic fibrosis (CF), wasn’t based on a novel by […]
Review: Animated Wonder Park Lacks Both Director, Inspiration
For a film that attempts to celebrate creativity and the power of imagination, the animated film Wonder Park is about as uninspired as you can get. This is the sort […]
Review: Despite Impressive Visuals, Ruben Brandt, Collector Misses the Mark
The widely acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse received praise for a lot of very valid reasons: inclusive representation, excellent writing, a stellar voice cast, and more. Most noteworthy, and likely one […]
Review: The Kid Feels Like a Familiar, Special Western
The tendency of most modern Westerns is to go about as dark as you can, but few in recent memory go quite as morose as The Kid, the sophomore effort from […]
Review: Captain Marvel Origin Story Hits New, Welcome Notes in the Marvel Universe
There’s a moment in the midst of Marvel Studio’s latest superhero spectacular Captain Marvel in which Brie Larson’s space warrior character Vers (her name at that point in the story; […]
Review: Timely Immigration Drama Saint Judy is Worth Seeking Out
This timely and unexpectedly good-hearted biopic tells the story of Judy Wood (the always reliable Michelle Monaghan), an attorney who moved to California with her young son Alex (Gabriel Bateman), […]
Review: A Provocative, Prolific Photographer’s Life Is Focus of Mapplethorpe
Documentary filmmaker Ondi Timoner has long been one of my favorite observers of life, in that she doesn’t just point a camera at her subjects—like comedian/activist Russell Brand (Brand: A […]
Review: As Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Directorial Debut, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is an Inspiration
In a time when science is considered opinion and a token in political games, it’s heartwarming to get a film that celebrates ingenuity inspired by a love of science and […]