Film Reviews
Samuel Maoz’s Foxtrot toys with our emotions, but that doesn’t mean it lacks any of its own. This is an energetic and structurally audacious jukebox of sensations, prioritising impulse over precision and thought over action.
Casting, director Nicholas Wackerbarth’s meta tribute to Fassbinder’s 70’s masterpiece The Bitter Tears of Petra Van Kant, is a fantastically cringeworthy comedy in the same vein as Toni Erdmann.
With energetic sports play, a respect for its story and characters, and a slightly heavier final takeaway, The Miracle Season rises above the pitfalls that many feel-good biopics often fall into.
As I flip through my senior year high school yearbook, I see the familiar faces…
It is always a breath of fresh air when a documentary like Skid Row Marathon comes along, which is so heartwarming and heartfelt that you can’t help but be moved emotionally.
Watching Claire’s Camera feels like watching a film being made right in front of you with director Hong laying bare his cinematic style in that he doesn’t know where he’s taking us, but he’s just as interested to find out.
Western is Valeska Grisebach’s homage to the classic genre, focusing on a group of German construction workers in Bulgaria while playing with themes of overt masculinity and identity.
Arlin Golden does a roundup for his second week at San Francisco International Film Festival, including Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, lesser-known documentaries, and more.
With an outstanding return performance from Michelle Pfeiffer, Where is Kyra? may have been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years, but the passage of time hasn’t diluted the sense of thematic urgency.
Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami highlights the unique life of the legendary singer, delving into her personal background and daily activities, and of course showcasing several of her mighty performances.
Though grounded by a strong presence in the young Madison Wolfe, I Kill Giants is often too dreary to be truly engaging, and too under-realized to be an immersive escape into a fantastical world.
Les Gardiennes is another gracefully-directed film by Beauvois, and it gifts the audience with another perfect arrangement from Legrand, three gripping performances from Smet, Bay, and Bry, and plenty of eye-catching imagery to make up for its lagging pace.
Sorry To Bother You is an intelligent, batshit crazy satire that offers plenty of the theater of the absurd, a standout performance from Lakeith Stanfield, the most original script of the past two years, and plenty of laughs and food for thought.
Tully is a return to form for both director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, with this “hipster Mary Poppins” tale feeling like a thematic sequel to their beloved Juno.
Field Guide to Evil will likely please genre aficionados and horror buffs, but on the whole, its lack of tonal cohesion will leave others underwhelmed.