Night of the Kings thrives on both its powerful sense of artifice and brutal reality. Storytelling is at the crux of Philippe Lacôte’s entrancing sophomore feature,…
The Obituary of Tunde Johnson squanders its opportunity to use a time-loop gimmick to meaningfully engage with bigger ideas. Early in The Obituary of Tunde Johnson,…
The Vigil isn’t without its minor grievances, but its willingness to navigate new horror territory is most welcome. Since the birth of the horror genre, especially…
A whopping 13 features deep into their cinematic partnership, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were reaching a new apex of open acrimony in their relationship…
A Ghost Waits is a slight but impressive calling card of a film boasting two genuinely notable performances. An oddball, micro-budget supernatural rom-com, Adam Stovall’s A…
The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a tonal misfire that fails to ever find the fascinating, complex story at its core. Lee Daniels has…
Curtis fans will know what they’re in for, as the director explores familiar themes, expertly utilizes archival footage, and drops needles to exhilarating, depressing effect.…
Sator is a distinctive, genuinely novel and unsettling contribution to the horror genre. Made almost entirely by one person — writer/director/producer Jordan Graham also built his…
The Mimic is nothing more than an maddening ego flex that is far too confident in its own “brilliance.” The Mimic, from writer-director Thomas F. Mazziotti,…
Cowboys abandons nuance and meaningful exploration in favor of cheap sentimentalism and easy moralizing. Queer cinema has always (unfairly) had to walk a very fine line.…
Burn It All is a bona fide bit of exploitation trash, legitimately awful but enthralling in its sheer ineptitude. Contrary to popular belief, exploitation films are…
Body Brokers is littered with fascinating parts, but never manages to pull it all together into a cohesive vision. There are at least four different movies…
I Blame Society is a cutting antihero showcase for director-star Gillian Wallace Horvat. Wickedly funny and sharp enough to draw blood, I Blame Society is the…
Young Hearts is a sweet but ultimately very slight bit of decade-late lite-mumblecore cinema. Sarah and Zachary Ray Sherman‘s young love story Young Hearts (formerly titled Thunderbolt in Mine…
Sacrifice is overly familiar, Lovecraftian knockoff material that’s a slog to get through even at a short 88 minutes. The legacy of H.P. Lovecraft looms large…
The Sinners is bad enough one wishes it veered into absurdist fun. It doesn’t. As far as horror films go, there are a number of avenues…
The World to Come is a narratively austere but emotionally and sociologically potent study of women and love under patriarchy. Set on the frigid expanse of…
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…
JUMBO manages to imbue its tricky material with sensitivity but at the expensive of teasing out much of its considerable potential. It’s not often that object…
Blithe Spirit’s attempts at screwball comedy land with a dull, well-costumed thud. Mounting another film adaptation of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit isn’t a heretical act;…