Odagiri’s somber observations about transition within tradition make for a meditative, rewarding viewing experience. Ten years after his debut feature, Looking for Cherry Blossoms (2009),…
Clifford the Big Red Dog is vapid, conceptually nihilistic, and utterly soulless “entertainment.” When moviegoers go to the movies, they typically do so with certain expectations:…
A Man Named Scott is a vanity project doc that pushes a hip hop-savior narrative at the expense of any meaningful substance or study. If you…
Jimmy O. Yang makes for an unconventional, likeable lead, but Love Hard is an otherwise frothy and disposable holiday trifle. The bafflingly titled Love Hard would seem…
Larrain is given massive assists courtesy of Stewart and Spencer’s A/V artists, but everyone is let down time and again by the film’s wildly unsubtle script. With…
Hell Hath No Fury is something of a departure for Jesse V. Johnson, but the director once again delivers a tough, kinetic actioner, here aided by…
Anonymous Animals is repetitive, unimaginitive, and facile in boths its ideas and images. Anonymous, indeed. If, for some misguided reason, you feel the need to create…
A Cop Movie is a clever deconstruction that doesn’t add up to much more than a grab bag of meta elements, but it at least seems…
One Shot employs its titular gimmick to no discernible value, but its actioner bona fides offer top-notch DTV thrills. Over the course of the last decade…
Finch is entirely predictable and low stakes, but the duo of nice-guy Hanks and a cute pup musters enough pleasant earnestness to keeps things afloat. Sometime…
Mark, Mary & Other People’s narrow-minded treatment of open relationships would make for a fantastic double feature with any episode of The 700 Club. It’s fairly…
Gleefully violent and hyper-stylish but ultimately empty and overlong, The Harder They Fall ultimately manages only to trade in well-worn tropes and clichés. The Harder…
Ida Red is wholly derivative and overstuffed with subplots, but also delivers a lot of grimy, gonzo actioner fun. Writer-director John Swab has a few C-level…
Like so many pastiches before it, the thematically unfocused Dead & Beautiful succumbs to its own vacuous sheen. In the metropolitan center of Taipei, five young…
The Deep House is a claustrophobic, otherworldly bit of throwback horror that welcomingly pivots away from modern, flattened genre sensibilities. Forget indie insufferability: it seems vogue…
The Beta Test is a bold advancement for Jim Cummings as a filmmaker, supplementing his films’ familiar character with greater formal skill and precise critique. Over…
Sincerely, Kentrell is a senselessly assembled product, not without artistry, but lacking in a coherent vision. “YB better.” This simple phrase has become a rallying cry…
A Beginner’s Mind is an impressive collaborative work, one that beautifully reclaims the sounds and emotional heft of Stevens’ mid-aughts folk efforts. As our collective nostalgia…
Gaza Mon Amour finds inspirations in canonical “Mon Amour” films, but takes care to emphasize the present moment and the wya images ferment under occupation. Arab…
The Yearbook immediately situates Baby Queen at the fore of contemporary pop. Baby Queen (real name Arabella Latham) debuted in the pop music scene in 2020…
Star-Crossed is a raw album but distinctly minor, teetering into boring and a notable letdown after Golden Hour. After a busy release cycle unexpectedly launched Kacey Musgraves…