This film is Alessandra Lacorazza’s directorial debut. It won the US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, so it is no surprise that it looks and feels more like a… Continue reading "In the Summers (Lacorazza, 2024)"
Rule Breakers is a tough film to criticize without sounding like a grinch or a jerk. Nevertheless… The Afghan Girls Robotics Team or Afghan Dreamerz would, one thinks, be a… Continue reading "Rule Breakers (Guttentag, 2025)"
The false flag in the new Captain America film turns out to be the word “Brave.” It is as safe and nondescript as a film about a mentally unhinged American… Continue reading "Captain America: Brave New World (Onah, 2025)"
Is the fact that its subtitles are too small a legitimate reason for downvoting a film? If I had seen this film at a festival or in a test screening,… Continue reading "The Night is Dark and Colder than the Day (Friedrich, 2025)"
In Stephen Frears’s adaptation of High Fidelity, the hapless but somehow affable protagonist, Rob, lists his dream jobs, with “architect” coming in at #5. Eventually, after some pushback from his… Continue reading "2025 Top Ten"
One belief that I have developed over twenty-some years as a film critic is that there are more talented people in the industry than there are projects able to showcase… Continue reading "Cash for Gold (Enriquez and Puette, 2024)"
You Are Cordially Invited strives to find comedy somewhere outside of sitcom misunderstandings. It finds a little in farce — wrestling an alligator — but not enough to differentiate itself… Continue reading "You Are Cordially Invited (Stoller, 2025)"
I admired and respected September 5 as a work of art, but I confess that my interpretation of it seemed so out of step with those I saw it with… Continue reading "September 5 (Fenbaum, 2024)"
Celebration (Proslava) is one of those films that one wants to grade on a curve. It has a serious topic — the rise of fascism in Croatia. It is competently… Continue reading "Celebration (Anković, 2024)"
“Did I seem like a different person,” asks Arthur Fleck at his murder trial, “or was I the same old Joker?” This line from Joker: Folie à Deux (or FaD… Continue reading "Apologia Pro Vita Joker"
