Tag: U.S. Indie Film Review
Jakob’s Wife [Video Review]
The Pastor and the Master: Stevens Enjoyably Re-Vamps Domestic Distress in Grisly Black Comedy
Behind every man is a diminished woman, or so goes the...
Honeydew [Video Review]
When Life Gives You Melons: Millburn Sows Agricultural Horror in Creepy Debut
We are what we eat, alas. And we’ve come to reap the tainted...
Giants Being Lonely | Review
Two Heads Are Better Than One: Patterson Paints a Teenage Wasteland in Striking Debut
In the realm of arthouse cinema, the coming-of-age melodrama is but...
Every Breath You Take [Video Review]
Don’t Hold Your Breath: Stein Strains Plausibility in B Thriller
Unfolding with all the believability of a science fiction film set in a parallel universe,...
Shoplifters of the World | Review
In the Mood for Morrissey: Kijak Languishes in Eighties Angst
Documentarian Stephen Kijak returns to narrative filmmaking for the first time since his 1996 debut...
City of Lies [Video Review]
L.A. Controversial: Furman Revisits the Wallace Murder in Mediocre Adaptation
Whatever the likely combination of reasons for the three-year delay in its US theatrical release,...
The Inheritance | Review
Activism Fission: Asili Gets Godardian in Expressive Personal/Political Homage
A unique marriage of the vintage and modern, topical and archaic, personal and political, pretentious and...
Boogie | Review
More Love & Basketball: Huang’s Debut Goes Through the Motions
Eddie Huang, producer of “Fresh Off the Boat,” makes his directorial debut with Boogie, a...
Joe Bell | Review
Walking & Talking: Green Dons Didactic in Heartfelt, Sentimental Social Issue Drama
Representation of thought processes and progressive epiphanies are the necessary conjunction with diversity,...
The World to Come | Review
Pitch Rider to Perdition: Fastvold Fans Flames of Forbidden Desire in Masterful Period Drama
Few and far between are cinematic narratives which attempt to, much...
Nomadland | Review
Ballad of a Rolling Stone: Zhao Basks in the Beatitude of America’s Heartland
Director Chloé Zhao follows up her critically acclaimed 2018 sophomore feature The...
Land | Review
Sentimental Divide: Wright Weds Wilderness in Compassionate Debut on Grief
“Things do not change; we change,” is one of many eloquent statements from Thoreau’s eternal...
French Exit | Review
You’ll Like My Mother: Jacobs Finds Pfeiffer in Eccentric Dangerous Liaison
Director Azazel Jacobs presents his most lavish offering to date with fourth feature French...
R#J | 2021 Sundance Film Festival Review
A Plague on Both Your Collab Houses: Carey Williams’ No Fear Shakespeare
Carey Williams’ R#J is a sleek, inspired, refreshingly cheesy Gen-Z spin on Romeo...
Bliss [Video Review]
Come On, Get Happy: Cahill Finds Love in a Phoney Place with Simulation Sci-Fi
Director Mike Cahill has depended upon a higher degree of suspension...
Malcolm & Marie | Review
Charge of the Gaslight Brigade: Levinson Gilds the Surface of Solipsism in Schizophrenic Drama
There’s really nothing black and white about the revolving histrionics between...
Prisoners of the Ghostland | 2021 Sundance Film Festival Review
Alas, Poor Yorick: Sono’s English Language Debut a Fallow, Gonzo Spectacle
What happens when a cult actor meets a cult filmmaker? Well, sometimes they just...
Pieces of a Woman | Review
Brink of Life: Mundruczó Hunts for the Grace in Grief with English Language Debut
One of Hungary’s most prolific arthouse auteurs of the last decade...
Sylvie’s Love [Video Review]
Sylvie & Gold: Ashe Formats an Affair to Remember in Warm Retro Melodrama
Utilizing the once familiar template of the studio staples referred to as...
One Night in Miami | Review
One Night Only: King Bespeaks Intention in Compelling, Recuperative Debut
A night-time commiseration between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown is the...
Promising Young Woman [Video Review]
If There Be Scorn: Fennell’s Debut a Stellar Portrait of Rape Trauma’s Rippling Effects
Heretofore, the rape revenge thriller has been something of a problematic...
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom [Video Review]
It’s Rainey’s Men: Wolfe Wows with Ardent Adaptation of Eloquent Wilson Play
August Wilson, arguably the most notable and influential Black playwright lionized for his...
Wander Darkly [Video Review]
Collision Visions: Miele Taps Miller for Fractured Memory Exercise
For her fourth feature, director Tara Miele draws upon a traumatic event from her own past...
Black Bear [Video Review]
Husband and Wives and Bears, Oh My!: Levine’s Dark Dream an Ambiguous, Playful Psychodrama
The crux of our innate creative necessities might require something beyond...
Let Them All Talk [Video Review]
I Heard the Owl Call My Name: Soderbergh Navigates a Tricky Reunion in Bittersweet Drama
Truman Capote once said, among many things, “All literature is...
I’m Your Woman | Review
Valley of the Molls: Hart and Her Lonely Hunters Find Solace in Unorthodox Crime Drama
Director Julia Hart presents her second feature of 2020 with...
Echo Boomers | Review
Millennium Albatross: Savoy Skirts Surfaces in Glossy Essay on Ills of Capitalism
If you’re looking for an honest portrayal of the widely accepted generational rift...
The Giant | Review
Dream a Little Dream: Raboy Broods on Bruised Memories with Moody, Slender Narrative
Crackling thunder, roiling clouds on a purple sky and electric tendrils of...
The Climb [Video Review]
Such Great Heights: Covino & Marvin Mine the Nexus of Toxic Friendships
Friendships between heterosexual men are already an anomaly in cinema, and representations are...
Fatman [Video Review]
Black Coal, Thin Gag: The Nelms Bros. Stalk Santa in Middling Comedic Thriller
Santa Claus is apparently a federal employee in Fatman, a novel idea...
Jungleland [Video Review]
In Like a Lion: Winkler Traces Boxer on the Struggle Bus in Familiar Melodrama
If you’re going to San Francisco, there might not be anymore...
The Dark and the Wicked [Video Review]
Something Wicked This Way Runs: Bertino Gets Bleak with Rural Horror
Director Bryan Bertino continues an exploration of his sinister fetish with trapping sweetly conceived...
Let Him Go [Video Review]
Gone, Baby, Gone: Bezucha Returns with Poignant Crime Drama
For his first film in nearly a decade, director Thomas Bezucha returns with a spirited character-driven...
Come Play [Video Review]
Only the Lonely: Chase Explores Childhood Traumas in Effective Horror Film
The alienating effects of miscommunication with autistic loved ones is usually the stomping ground...
The Craft: Legacy [Video Review]
Magic, the Gathering: Lister-Jones Misplaces a Mythos with Missed Opportunity Sequel
There’s no inherently proper way to engage in genre, which is what makes the...
The Place of No Words | Review
Words of a Feather: Webber Finds Catharsis Through Fantasy in Mournful Drama
The exploration of death and grief through the eyes of a child lends...
Coming Home Again | Review
The Power of Goodbye: Wang Returns with Heartfelt Portrait of Grief
The famous 1940 novel by Thomas Wolfe gave us the poetic metaphor about...
Synchronic [Video Review]
E.M.Time Machine: Benson & Moorhead Do the Time Warp Again
Designer drugs prove to be a mystical gateway to the past in Synchronic, the fourth...
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm [Video Review]
Bribe on Time: Cohen Resurrects Iconic Satirical Caricature for Shock Commentary
Director Jason Woliner steps in for Larry Charles to helm Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, the...
On the Rocks | Review
Cheat Street: Coppola Presents Familiar Vintage with Lighthearted Filial Dramedy
Fathers and their (sometimes pseudo) daughters have formed the basis for more than one entry...
Bad Hair | Review
Witches Get Stitches: Simien Retrofits Folklore with Contemporary Subtexts in Horror Satire
Justin Simien recuperates a particular time and place with a jaunty but ultimately...
Shithouse | Review
Straight Flush: Raiff Surprises with Poignant, Loquacious Debut
The liberal arts school experience is a right of passage reserved for the privileged, and something which...
Nocturne | Review
Faustabout: Quirke Dances with the Devil in Moody, Familiar Debut
Satan might be one of the most prolific talent scouts in this realm or any...
Evil Eye | Review
Lover Come Back: The Dassani Brothers Explore Obsessive Love Through Genre Veil
For their feature film debut Evil Eye, brothers Elan and Rajeev Dassani straddle...
The Wolf of Snow Hollow | Review
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: Cummings Returns with Cops and Neurotics
When one mentions werewolves, the notion of cinematic innovation seems moot. We’ve our...
The Forty-Year-Old Version | Review
What Happens to a Dream Deferred?: Blank Finds the Beauty of Herself in Striking Debut
Writer/director Radha Blank arrives in the wake of an opulent...
Black Box | Review
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die: Osei-Kuffour Explores Emotional Resonance in Savvy Medical Thriller
Horror and science-fiction have often been stomping grounds for exploring fantastic ideas...
The Lie | Review
Where Is It?: Sud Mines the Ethical Decay of the Privileged in Familiar but Fashionable Debut
Resorting to a continual, if varied tradition of remaking...
Charm City Kings | Review
Ride on Time: Soto Stunts in Summer Streets Lorded by Baltimore Bike Gangs
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, but often real life plays out...
A Rainy Day in New York | Review
I Don’t Like Cities, But I Like New York: Allen’s Shelved Comedy Can’t Shake the Clouds
At one time the immortal city streets of New...
