Tove disrupts standard biopic conventions and mines meaning from its language-heavy approach. In a 1946 letter to her love Vivica Bandler, Swedish writer and artist Tove…
Scarecrow Something incredible is brewing in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). Over the last twenty years, this large yet sparsely-populated territory situated in the far-flung and…
In the Heights isn’t going to save the theatrical experience, but at 143 minutes, will help kill some time. In development since the musical made…
In the cinema of the filmmaker Christian Petzold, it’s not hard to notice a motif of water that stands out across his work and often…
Caleb Michael Johnson’s sophomore feature amounts to little more than a clumsy attempt at intellectual horror. We open on a shot of a dog’s wagging…
Bad Tales certainly tries hard but comes off mostly like an artfully-directed after-school special. The stink of desperation wafts heavily from Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo’s…
IFFR returns this week, a short couple months after its last iteration. As a response to the pandemic, IFFR 2021 decided to split itself a…
Caveat teases potential and boasts an impressive setup, but ultimately loses its thread after this initial stretch. One of the challenges of the modern horror…
All Light, Everywhere is a Herculean effort meriting praise, but one in which the parts prove more impressive than the whole. If it hadn’t already…
Kala azar is an obvious, stultifying, and facile lecture masquerading as art cinema. Kala-azar is the Indian name for Black Fever, a potentially fatal parasitic disease,…
This latest Conjuring effort displays a bit more awareness of precisely where its strengths lie, resulting in a lot of dumb fun for those happy…
Slow Machine introduces a directing duo happy to noodle and experiment with various modes, but who aren’t yet refined or cogent enough in purpose. Jacques…
Ghost Lab works as a bit of weirdo fun for a while, but the film’s playful tone is obliterated halfway through and never recovers. At…
Deliver Us from Evil fails in both its attempts at severe drama and action spectacle, proving an equal opportunity offender in the process. If the title…
Plan B has its heart and messaging in the right place, but frequently undercuts its intent with one-step-forward-two-steps-back developments. At first glance, director Natalie Morales’s Plan…
RK/RKAY plays like something of a witty, warm riff on the absurdist stylings of early Charlie Kaufman, and pulls it off. Anybody who has tackled a…
Given its gimmicky genesis, Dementia Part II surprises as a bit of legitimate, over-the-top fun. At only 66 minutes — and that includes the opening credits…
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit has plenty of heart and restraint, but viewers will likely wish for a bit more ambition. Based on the semi-autobiographical children’s…
Endangered Species is a lean, mostly successful little thriller that proves director Bassett’s legitimate genre chops. It’s difficult to remember now, but the last decades of…
Benny Loves You is nothing if not a passion project, but one likely to be loved only by its creator. Murderous toys are nothing new to…
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…