Gretel & Hansel is conceptually a clever spin on a story we all know, but when that spin fails at generating scares or digging up much in the way of completely novel insight, it’s hard to know what to get out of the experience.
For a movie like And Then We Danced, so steeped in the traditional culture of Georgian dance, to embrace its taboo subject matter is defiance, artistically rendered.
Idealism can be a tough sell, but Ironbark sells the hell out of it nevertheless, remaining firmly committed to its compassion for individuals caught up in the iron grip of history.
On paper this movie may sound like a delicious recipe for some good old fashioned fun, but Richard Stanley’s Color Out of Space ultimately ends up stuck in a losing battle.
With Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Eliza Hittman has crafted an important piece of cinema, which demands a lot from its audience, but also has an enormous amount to give back.
Shinkai’s Weathering With You is more than content to face the onslaught with the naive fantasies of youth. He’s unabashed about giving himself over to them totally.