In Review Online - Film and Music Criticism

NYFF 2020 — Dispatch 1: Films We’ve Already Covered

September 24, 2020

The fall festival season has looked far different this year, limited both in its ability to exhibit films and in the breadth of selection available. As a result, heading into the 58th New York Film Festival, InRO has already published pieces on roughly one-third of its selection. Rather than sprinkle these into our forthcoming coverage as re-runs, we’ve decided to simply link below to the titles we earlier covered this year at Berlin, Venice, and Toronto. NYFF dispatches tackling new-to-us…

Credit: NYFF
by InRO Staff Festival Coverage Film
NYFF 2020 — Dispatch 2: Lovers Rock, Fauna, The Truffle Hunters
Lovers Rock Steve McQueen has always been a fine purveyor of potentially rich and powerful narratives, but he’s been much less consistent as their steward. His first three features all focused on singular individuals…
September 28, 2020
Credit: IFC
by InRO Staff Film
Before We Vanish | September 2020: Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles, House of Cardin, Space Dogs
OK, so things don’t really vanish anymore: even the most limited film release will (most likely, eventually) find its way onto some streaming service or into some DVD bargain bin assuming that those still…
September 25, 2020
Credit: Netflix
by Matthew Lucas Film Streaming Scene
The Trial of the Chicago 7 | Aaron Sorkin
Sorkin is as unsubtle as ever, but the high dramatics and contemporaneous relevance of The Trial of the Chicago 7 make for a nice fit with the writer-director’s showman instincts. Aaron Sorkin is a better…
September 25, 2020
Credit: Focus Features
by Luke Gorham Film Horizon Line
Kajillionaire | Miranda July
Kajillionaire is both July’s most restrained and most maudlin work to date There’s no denying that Miranda July’s particular idiosyncrasy shares DNA with a number of forgettable, mid-aughts indie comedies, but her weirdo shtick, then…
September 25, 2020
Credit: Paul Natkin / Getty
by Mike Thorn Kicking the Canon Music
Judas Priest | Screaming for Vengeance
Black Sabbath are generally credited as the leading pioneers of heavy metal music, and rightfully so. They took some definite cues from outfits like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Blue Cheer, but their iconic…
September 24, 2020
Credit: IMDB
by Steven Warner Film Horizon Line
Ava | Tate Taylor
Ava is a generic, poorly-shot, and utterly pointless entry into the female assassin subgenre. Tate Taylor must be the most charming man in the world. There’s no other explanation for why he continues to be…
September 24, 2020
Credit: Robert Viglaski / Legendary
by Luke Gorham Film Streaming Scene
Enola Holmes | Harry Bradbeer
Enola Holmes is a cartoon. Or perhaps the problem is that it should have been. The film follows the title character (played by Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown), Sherlock Holmes’ teenaged sister, as she…
September 23, 2020
Credit: TIFF
by InRO Staff Festival Coverage Film
TIFF 2020 — Dispatch 6: Falling, Under the Open Sky, Gaza Mon Amour
Falling The prospect of spending a couple hours with one of the most tremendously unpleasant movie characters you’re likely to ever encounter might not even be the first reason to check out of Viggo…
September 23, 2020
Credit: Letterboxd
by Selina Lee Film Kicking the Canon
Metropolitan | Whit Stillman
Observed through a crystalline lens of deadpan gentility, Whit Stillman’s charming 1990 comedy of manners, Metropolitan, is a timeless tale of a bygone era. Stillman paints a world where teenagers catch trains in tuxedos…
September 23, 2020