Spiderhead is pure algorithm “art,” an empty bad-tech tale that delivers nothing new or exciting. You’d be forgiven for getting excited for a mid-budget, talent-driven, non-IP-based…
Jerry and Marge Go Large presents its larger-than-life tale with restraint and sincerity, imbuing its caper framework with the tenderness of a Christmas comedy. If you’ve…
Clytaemnestra is compelling matched to its adapted text and its defining power dynamics, but is also a remarkably dry, frequently enervating work of stifled rhythms. What…
Official Competition is a decidedly strange film — formally impressive, off-kilter in its humor, and often incisive with its observations of the state of cinema. If…
Cha Cha Real Smooth aims to hit viewers squarely in the feels, and even if will be too nicecore for some, Raiff’s brand of earnestness succeeds…
Father of the Bride ticks off the requisite boxes for a film of its ilk, and with some savvy, but its essential shallowness if troubled by…
Brian and Charles is so lightweight as to risk blowing over at any moment, but is also a wholly endearing affair that will charm more viewers…
Mad God is a profoundly unique work from Phil Tippett’s frenzied mind, a troubled, personal, and wholly original statement of the aching human heart. More famously…
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is the kind of frictionless non-starter destined to be watched at half-attention. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, or so…
Tahara isn’t a subtle film — formally or thematically — but it is an exceptionally executed one, striking a impressive balance between emotional realism and…
Lost Illusions is a lush, ravishing work that avoids the lethargy and empty aesthetics of so many literary adaptions and fully embodies the spectacle of…
Moneyboys looks good to the eye but sees nothing new, regurgitating the more inspired reveries of erotic ennui that directors like Tsai Ming-liang effortlessly dream…
Offseason is an undeniably slick film, but one too encumbered by bad aesthetic impulses and a too-shabby framework. Thirty minutes into Offseason, Marie Aldrich (Jocelin Donahue)…
Jurassic World Dominion is at least better than the franchise’s last entry, but its reliance on legacy callbacks and a miscalculated primary plot thread leaves too…
The Righteous is a compelling forgery, often beautiful to look at but not nearly as profound as it believes itself to be. The Righteous, the debut…
All My Puny Sorrows builds a striking purgatorial atmosphere that transcends any by-the-number grief narrative, but the film is burdened by an unwieldly and overly verbose…
White Elephant might satiate devoted JVJ fans but will feel warmed-over for other DTV action heads. Even the best filmmakers have a few stumbles in them.…
Hustle is middlebrow inspo cinema that fails to channel the best of either Sandler’s juvenalia comedy or his dramatic talent — just one giant cliché…
Terence Davies’ Benediction is beautifully melancholic work, one that bursts benevolently onto the screen with immense feeling. The cinema of veteran English auteur Terence Davies…
Ayuma Watanabe’s latest anime is both bland and loathsome, dull when its not offending and contemptible the rest of the time. Let’s not beat around…
Interceptor makes enough of its modest scale to please DTV action junkies until the next low-budget blaster comes along. DTV action lovers will have a…