‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Review: Wes Anderson’s Latest Explores the Meaning of Legacy and Features a Superb Breakthrough Performance from Mia Threapleton [A-] Cannes
Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Phoenician Scheme, starts off with a bang. No literally it does, as we find Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro),... Read More
Film Reviews
‘Love Letters’ Review: A Quietly Powerful Portrait of Queer Motherhood [B] Cannes
Love Letters opens with a broadcast reporting France has legalised same-sex marriage; it’s a national celebration, but for Céline (Ella Rumpf), there is still unfinished... Read More
‘A Useful Ghost’ Review: Vacuum Cleaner Love Story Doesn’t Suck [C+] Cannes
You won’t find a better elevator pitch at Cannes this year than the premise for the Thai Critics’ Week title A Useful Ghost, a supernatural... Read More
‘Sirāt’ Review: Óliver Laxe Takes Us on a Sisyphean Journey of Sound and Fury Road [A-] Cannes
Perhaps the most mesmerising Competition entry thus far, Óliver Laxe’s Sirāt takes us to a world of desert raves where the promise of salvation still... Read More
‘Sound of Falling’ Review: What It Feels Like For a Girl [A-] Cannes
Early in Mascha Schilinski’s sophomore feature, Sound of Falling, Alma (Hanna Heckt) and her sisters play a prank on one of the maids. They know... Read More
‘Two Prosecutors’ Review: Sergei Loznitsa’s Brooding, Minimalistic Procedural Exposes Soviet Corruption [B+] Cannes
The grim iron gates of a Soviet prison open up as director Sergei Loznitsa begins his exploration of Soviet state repression, told through the lens... Read More
‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Review: Tom Cruise Takes Ethan Hunt to the Ends of the Earth and Back
“Our lives are the sum of our choices.” Though the words were first said to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in the penultimate quest, Mission: Impossible... Read More
‘A Little Prayer’ Review: Angus MacLachlan’s Gentle Family Drama Finds Beauty in the Seemingly Unremarkable [B] | Chicago Critics Film Festival
It’s been said that life doesn’t always make sense until examined in retrospect. The idea of waiting until a later point in one’s existence to... Read More
‘Thunderbolts*’ Review: A Fledgling Band of Avenger Misfits Disappear Into the MCU Void [C]
It wasn’t that long ago that the MCU was releasing critically acclaimed billion dollar event movies. A lot of digital ink has been devoted to... Read More
‘Sinners’ Review: Ryan Coogler’s Survive-the-Night Vampire Epic Carries the Pulpy Ambition of an Assured Filmmaker [B+]
It’s often remarked how the rise of the superhero industrial complex over the past 15 years has robbed audiences of more varied roles from some... Read More
‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ Review: Amanda Seyfried is Mother (Ann) in Mona Fastvold’s Miraculous Musical Drama [A] 
With ‘Song Sung Blue,’ Craig Brewer Pays Tribute to Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman, Joy Amongst Sadness, and the Creation of Art [VIDEO INTERVIEW] 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 131 – ‘High Life’ (Claire Denis, 2019) 
Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ): ‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘Hamnet’ Lead