“‘Anne at 13,000 Ft.’s Plummeting Breakdown Might Rob You of Breath

13,000 is, and I’m getting really technical here, a whole lot of goddamn feet to be at. Continue reading →

“‘Pig’: Nic Cage Does Sad ‘John Wick’-Style Revenge As If It Were Directed By Kelly Reichardt”

Other acceptable director comparison: Hal Ashby. Continue reading →

“‘The Killing of Two Lovers’ Shoots Its Hollow Heartbreak Beautifully”

Hang on a second there – two lovers? In THIS ec– Continue reading →

“‘Vitalina Varela’ Grieves in Shadow”

You’re locked inside, the movies you want to see aren’t getting VOD releases, and you’ve probably watched the ones that have. Maybe try something way off your radar next! Continue reading →

“‘Young Ahmed’ Needs Time To Grow Up”

Hey, did you know that a new Dardennes movie just came out less than a month ago? Bet you didn’t. I bet even the Dardennes didn’t! Continue reading →

“‘Saint Frances’ Casts Aside Judgment for Compassion”

Andy makes a crediting boo-boo, but it’s okay. Continue reading →

“Rashaad Ernesto Green’s ‘Premature’ Is Right on Time”

Sometimes love finds people too young. Sometimes bad, punny headers find unprepared readers. It happens. Continue reading →

“The Power of ‘Three Christs’ Will Not Compel You”

That heaving noise you hear is the sound of Andy laughing too hard for too long at his own incredibly dumb joke. Continue reading →

“Baumbach’s Marriage Story Mines Both Truth And Excess”

“It’s tough being the one guy with an unflattering take on the movie everyone loves,” said the one guy with an unflattering take on the movie everyone loves, finding the strength to move on against all odds. Continue reading →

“Trey Edward Shults on Making ‘Waves'”

In which Trey and Andy go for the turkey and talk about Trey’s third movie. Never let it be said that critics don’t have their favorites. Continue reading →

“Peanut Butter and Honey: Shia LaBeouf’s Tonic for Toxic Masculinity”

My editor came up with a really good title for this piece, and I’m very mad I didn’t figure it out for myself first. At least the piece itself isn’t too bad! Continue reading →

“In Synonyms, the Search for Identity Does Not Lead to the Same Destination as the Search for Happiness”

Quick, find a word that means something similar to “this is a real gosh darn good movie.” Continue reading →

Review: The Souvenir, 2019, dir. Joanna Hogg

One of the most under-appreciated filmmakers in the world has released what’s already looking like her most-appreciated film, and Andy has mixed thoughts. (On the reaction to the film, not the film itself.) Continue reading →

Review: Capernaum, 2019, dir. Nadine Labaki

A film about a starving boy scrapping by to survive in Beirut isn’t the kind of film anyone’s happy to criticize. On the flip side, if you make that movie and you don’t want to be criticized, make a better movie. Continue reading →

Review: The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, 2019, dir. Henry Dunham

Seven men. Six innocent. One guilty. One location. One night to sort it all out. One really long movie title. But hey, it gets the point across! Continue reading →

Review: Cold War, 2018, dir. Pawel Pawlikowski

I did, four years ago, write a review of Pawel Pawlikowski’s post-war masterpiece Ida, but I’m not certain it’s still online or if I ever even shared it on this website; that’s too bad, because it’d be nice to revisit my words for context for Cold War, Pawlikowski’s new film, which I imagine years from now I’ll also … Continue reading →

Review: Shoplifters, 2018, dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda

Two Hirokazu Kore-eda movies! In one year! What a gift to all of humanity, Shoplifters in particular, this humane but knotty and deeply complicated movie; good though The Third Murder may be, it simply isn’t Shoplifters, the best “family is what you make it” movie of 2018 (and “family is what you make it” is indeed a surprising sub-theme … Continue reading →

“Creed II Review: It’s An Even Better Version Of Rocky IV”

I liked Creed. I have Feelings™ about Rocky IV. It stands to reason that I’d feel at least minor trepidation about a Creed movie that addresses the events of Rocky IV, even though down the line the Creed chapters in the Rocky franchise would need to address Rocky IV out of continuity necessity.  So consider it a Thanksgiving miracle that Creed II, which opens today, the … Continue reading →

“Robert Redford’s Last Role Is A Dazzling Film With A Simple Message: Do What Makes You Happy”

Minor note about The Old Man & the Gun: As of now, David Lowery is 2 for 4 with me, having won me over with Pete’s Dragon and lost me on both Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and A Ghost Story*. The Old Man & the Gun reads like a snow globe, a capsule containing every sort of movie Lowery grew … Continue reading →

Review: Lizzie, 2018, dir. Craig William Macneill

Nothing clever here: Just a blunt-ass takedown of a really, really bad movie. I’m not sure if Lizzie thinks it’s higher class than it is, or…wait, yes I am. It’s a Lizzie Borden biopic that skimps way the hell out on murder, saving the best known part of the Borden legend until somewhere close to the … Continue reading →