Much like the man at its center, State Funeral is an inscrutable, complex work. Josef Stalin died on March 5th, 1953, at his Kuntsevo…
El Planeta This year, New Directors/New Films opens with Amalia Ulman’s debut feature film El Planeta, a cool choice for MoMA and Film at…
It’s not mind-blowing or overly deep, but The Outside Story is pleasant enough, especially in the performance of lead Brian Tyree Henry. Depending on…
Grear Patterson’s debut leaves much to be desired in the portrayal of adolescence and budding identity. Set amidst the waning adolescence of two baseball…
Following in the vein of prolific mockumentarian Christopher Guest, YouthMin manages to poke fun at an easily laughable topic without grabbing only the low-hanging fruit. Micro-budget…
With Brewmance, director Christo Brock gives a quick but entertaining introduction to the world of home and small-batch brewing. Craft beer gets a bad rap…
Golden Arm is a surprising example of cliché done right, bringing a female perspective to a silly topic without making gender the punchline. New high-concept…
Murder Bury Win is overlong and overconfident, with impressive technical aspects that can’t save a losing game. In building its story around three crowd-funding board…
While The Mitchells vs. the Machines doesn’t live up to obvious touchstone The Incredibles, it rides its own humorous and referential wavelength to mild success.…
Separation is yet another slog from director William Brent Bell, a logic-less and unscary bit of low-bar horror filmmaking. Director William Brent Bell has…
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…
Things Heard and Seen might not thrill horror purists, but its terror-flecked study of domesticity and religion both recalls genre giants and remains mostly…
Berlin Alexanderplatz fails to build to any climax that would justify its length, instead spinning out into infinity and confusing circuity for world-building. If…
Sharrock’s middlebrow approach and sitcom-ready style undermines much of Limbo’s potential power. About a decade ago, Serge Daney’s then recently-translated essay “The Tracking Shot…
Without Remorse is a delicious throwback to a time when a sturdy shoot-em-up was its own reward. Streaming services have absolutely become a pipeline…
It’s been only a short four months since the postponed 2020 edition of New Directors/New Films wrapped up, but the fest is back on…
Four Good Days occasionally flirts with authenticity and pathos, but is mostly content to crank up the melodrama and hammy acting to deadening effect.…
About Endlessness is a gentler than usual work from Roy Andersson, one that reflects humanity’s ability to create both great beauty and profound suffering. Those…