‘The Smashing Machine’ Review: Benny Safdie’s Cautious Fighter Drama Pulls its Punches [C] Venice
Some films don’t know what they want to be – and that’s certainly the case with Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, a film that continuously... Read More
Reviews
‘Jay Kelly’ Review: Fame Comes at a Reflective, Personal Price in Noah Baumbach’s Newest Masterpiece [A-] Telluride
“All my memories are movies” says the titular Jay Kelly (George Clooney) to his mentor, veteran director Peter Schneider (Jim Broadbent) as they stand in... Read More
Telluride Dispatch #3: Dad Mode with ‘Sentimental Value,’ ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Frankenstein’
Day three of the 52nd Telluride Film Festival has revealed a striking theme woven through its lineup: imperfect fathers. Across many of the films I... Read More
‘Rose of Nevada’ Review: George MacKay and Callum Turner Get Spooked in Mark Jenkin’s Ghostly Fisherman Fable [A-] Venice
In Rose of Nevada, the sea does not simply serve as a backdrop but as a force of memory and fate. Mark Jenkin returns to... Read More
‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ Review: Amanda Seyfried is Mother (Ann) in Mona Fastvold’s Miraculous Musical Drama [A] Venice
Religious dramas are not really my cup of tea, to use a British expression. I’m a big fan of Ingmar Bergman, but I’m not really... Read More
‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ Review: Scott Cooper’s Uneven Snapshot at The Boss’ Crucial Album Features an Astonishing Jeremy Allen White [C+] Telluride
This musical biopic can be a tricky thing to get right, especially for a fan of the artist being portrayed in the film. The growing... Read More
‘Below the Clouds’ Review: Gianfranco Rosi’s Volcano Doc Erupts with Humanity [B+] Venice
Since the start of humanity, mankind has always been fascinated with the concept of time. The notion of past, present, future has often been analyzed... Read More
‘Hamnet’ Review: Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal Will Break Your Heart in Chloé Zhao’s Timeless Tale of Profound Loss and Boundless Love [A] Telluride
“All that lives must die,/Passing through nature to eternity.” -Hamlet Act One, Scene 2 Early in Chloé Zhao’s staggering Shakespearean fairytale, Hamnet, Agnes (Jessie Buckley)... Read More
‘Tuner’ Review: Dustin Hoffman’s Piano Lesson is so Tightly Wound it Plays Entirely Off Key [D] Telluride
In the new film Tuner, an aging piano tuner and his young apprentice and assistant trapeze around the Tri-State area fine tuning pianos mostly for... Read More
Telluride Dispatch #2: Parties Galore, ‘Bugonia’ and ‘Jay Kelly’
Yesterday was an easygoing two-film day, bookended by parties. I kicked things off at the Focus Features event, where Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal dropped... Read More
‘Jay Kelly,’ ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Pluribus,’ ‘Task’ and More on AFI’s Top 10 Films and Television of 2025 Lists 
‘Frankenstein’ to Receive Visionary Honor from Palm Springs International Film Awards 
Robert Yeoman to be Honored with American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award 
National Board of Review: ‘One Battle After Another’ Tops in Film, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor; Netflix Lands Four in Top 10