Venice review: Isabelle Huppert rivets in this razor-sharp political drama, ‘Promises (Les promesses)’ [Grade B+]
Isabelle Huppert battles to keep her place in the mayoral office in Thomas Kruithof’s Les Promesses, also known by its English title Promises. It’s a... Read More
Film Reviews
Venice Review: With ‘The Lost Daughter,’ Maggie Gyllenhaal exposes mother-daughter relations in their vile, discomforting essence [Grade: B]
Leda, a middle-aged comp-lit professor, arrives at a lavish Greek island accompanied solely by her books. Played by an overwrought Olivia Colman, she frets and... Read More
Venice review: Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ is a gripping and visually arresting opener to an exciting universe [Grade: A]
The two most important lines in Dune come at the very beginning and the very end. First, when Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) tells princeling son... Read More
Venice review: Kristen Stewart delivers a career-best performance in a fitting and fantastic look at an accidental revolutionary in ‘Spencer’ [Grade: A]
A spiky icon and a gentle iconoclast, Diana Spencer occupies a place in the public consciousness of Britain and the rest of the world which... Read More
Venice Review: ‘The Hand of God’ is Paolo Sorrentino’s sublime masterpiece [Grade: A]
“Thank you to my sources of inspiration: Federico Fellini, Talking Heads, Martin Scorsese and Diego Armando Maradona.” When Paolo Sorrentino went on stage to accept... Read More
Venice Review: With ‘The Power of the Dog,’ Jane Campion and her cast do justice to a literary masterpiece
“Deliver my soul from the sword. My love from the power of the dog” (Psalms, 22:20, David’s address to God to free him from his... Read More
Venice Review: ‘Parallel Mothers (Madres Paralelas)’ is a powerful portrayal of mothers in Almodóvar’s most political film
No matter how hard we try to escape it, we’re all children of history. It defines the life of a country and, by consequence, that... Read More
Venice review: The road to redemption is a long and rocky one in Paul Schrader’s ‘The Card Counter’ [Grade: A]
“If not for the money, why play?” – “It passes the time,” says professional gambler William Tell (Oscar Isaac) when prompted to justify his string... Read More
‘Cinderella’ review: Billy Porter soars, Camila Cabello strains in a jukebox musical that lands like a lead slipper
Near the end of the latest film adaptation of tale-as-old-as-time Cinderella, Minnie Driver shudders a deep sigh and witheringly intones, “What fresh hell is this?”... Read More
‘Worth’ review: Michael Keaton delivers in this subtle, harrowing look at the people left behind on September 11th
It’s been twenty years since the horrific events of September 11th, 2001, a day where the United States was shaken to its absolute core. Everyone... 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