The scene where Marion is washing dishes and giving Lady Bird the silent treatment even though she’s begging her to talk to her is one of the most upsetting scenes in the history of cinema and resembles FAR too many agonizing experiences from my own adolescence and I’m HURT
The Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems is a chaotic and cacophonous cinematic anxiety attack that brilliantly balances its technical tricks alongside its sharply structured screenplay and Adam Sandler’s live-wire lead performance to tailor a tumultuous theatrical test for all.
At 35 and 33, respectively, Josh and Benny Safdie may be stand apart from the directorial pack due to their youth, but this has not prevented them from ascending to the status of full-blown auteurs only over a decade. Simply put, when…
Hm.
Alright.
This is a tough one.
I’ve been intrigued by Waves ever since Trey Edward Shults’ third film was announced, but when those raves came out of Telluride... well, to quote Calvin Candie, “You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.”
To put it simply, I’ve been voraciously devouring every inch of this film’s ad campaign, and the radiantly realized trailers (spectacularly set to Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed”) sent my anticipation through the roof. After seeing (and loving)…
Matt says it best.
One star for Robert. One star for Willem.
I’m sorry guys.
(UPDATE: I don’t have it in me to do a full review for this and tear apart a movie that so many are clearly loving but I will simply say that, in spite of the two insanely committed lead performances, this movie just rehashes age-old themes of isolation and masculinity - among others - with absolutely nothing new or interesting to say or add to…
Above all else, The Farewell is an exercise in empathy - a raw, cinematic experiment that humanizes every character, rationalizes every perspective, and villainizes no individual’s beliefs in any respect. This emotionally effective narrative - while still being effortlessly culturally specific - manages to give electric expression to the inexpressible concepts of death and suffering, and it then further unexpectedly transcends its seemingly small-scale trappings to strike a greater, humane chord with every viewer of every background.
When I initially…
The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an immaculate, meticulously well-realized portrait of a specific time and place, a thoughtful, resonant analysis into the wide-reaching effects of gentrification, and a validation to the heartbreaking veracity behind the statement that “you can’t go home again”.
As the film opens on an imioned, instantly immersive tracking sequence that showcases our lead characters - Jimmie and Montgomery - traveling from their downtrodden neighborhood to the wealthier estates of the white inhabitants of…
Similar to the intense turmoil experienced by the couple at the core of Midsommar, my own experience with the film can only be properly described as a rollercoaster ride of mixed and ever-shifting emotions.
Midsommar is a gory, gritty, and grimy acid trip through the atrocities of inhumanity, unrelenting in its graphic depiction of unsalvageable physical and emotional pain. Immediately after the film ended, I felt both breathless and speechless, unable to make full sense of the striking imagery I…
Like an ionately intimate scrapbook, The Souvenir assembles a kaleidoscope of memories over the course of a doomed relationship to heart wrenching effect, bolstered by the ceaselessly compelling chemistry between newcomer Honor Swinton Byrne and Tom Burke.
Inspired by a relationship from writer-director Joanna Hogg’s youth, The Souvenir feels wholly involving and honest right from the first frame. The plot revolves around Swinton Byrne’s Julie, a young film student who helplessly falls for an older, secretive man by the name…