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Listen Up Philip
(2014)
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Jose SolÃs
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A fascinating study of the mythical American belief of achieving genius.
Posted May 07, 2020
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Güeros
(2014)
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Elissa Suh
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Draining the color in service of the disillusioned youth may initially seem detrimental to the depiction of Mexico, but the gorgeous and striking cinematography emits its own radiance, capturing every gradient of silver.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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I Dream Too Much
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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I Dream Too Much faces its own muddle, between an outright coming-of-age indie and a more nuanced tale of postgrad upheaval.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden
(2014)
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Elissa Suh
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The film builds tension slowly and steadily and shows the stuff of true crime in an exotic land. The directors resist sensationalizing, and instead mete out the story in thorough--perhaps too thorough-- details.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Saint Laurent
(2014)
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Elissa Suh
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Saint Laurent, a vibrant, buzzy biopic of the visionary French designer, plays like an extended high fashion ad campaign, prioritizing corporeal movement aided and abetted by shiny textures, music, and distant gazes.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
(2014)
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Elissa Suh
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Who is the man inside the feathered suit? David LaMattina and Chad N. Walker's straightforward documentary I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story explores just that, giving a face to man behind the bird since its inception.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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A Hard Day
(2014)
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Elissa Suh
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Kim Seong-hun's unique humor is usually droll and deadpan. He doesn't overemphasize objects like a remote-controlled soldier or other marks of inventiveness better unspoiled.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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The Mend
(2014)
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Elissa Suh
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The Mend lacks true mayhem or insight, resulting in a repeating scherzo without a coda.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Miss You Already
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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The harder you might try to enjoy Miss You Already, the more it feels forced-something the best of friendships never are.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Jason and Shirley
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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The film is more whimsical than hard hitting, and in some ways the jocular tone betrays the seriousness of its subject, but it is in the end still a fascinating piece of cinema.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Noma, My Perfect Storm
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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Deschamp's restraint and preponderance for stripping away words and explanation renders My Perfect Storm an elusive documentary with snobbish airs.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Christmas, Again
(2014)
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Elissa Suh
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Christmas, Again is categorically not a romance. Poekel defuses that thought early on, as she comes and goes, but what he captures is better: kinship and hope with home-spun warmth. What better tidings than these?
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Youth
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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Full of confidence, Sorrentino's direction never wavers and he sees the film through to the end.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Entertainment
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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Part Lynchian hallucination, part deadpan comedy, part existential musing, Rick Alverson's unique vision is fully realized, and even ugly, but demands to be watched.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Son of Saul
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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Son of Saul is a film of considerable virtuosity, a harrowing film like no other before it.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Sweet Bean
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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Sweet Bean is sentimental fare for sure, but sometimes familiar tastes prove quite a comfort.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Bleak Street
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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Ripstein has a careful, benign hand, free of caricature and sentimentality. His feat is in the storytelling; the stripped down version of the preposterous story reinforces its tragedy.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Always Shine
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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There is not a beat to miss or a beat amiss in Sophia Takal's standout second feature, Always Shine.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Adult Life Skills
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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Tunnard elevates an age old tale with a new setting and a smooth script, frequently hilarious, making her a filmmaker to watch.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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The Clan
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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...these tricks become uninspired as they continue through the film, forgettable if not for its real life basis, and the truly confounding acts of the Puccio family.
Posted Mar 16, 2020
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Old Stone
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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The film, astutely un-glamorous, has a neo-realist bent that strips him not only of the charisma afforded a Hollywood actor playing self-righteous do-gooder but also saves him from becoming a pitiable hyperbole of impoverishment.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Slack Bay
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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Watching Slack Bay is like listening to a stranger's overlong joke.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Toni Erdmann
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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The actors test each other in this splendid chamber piece with a seamless narrative in which Ade lets the characters run wild.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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My Life as a Zucchini
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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With red frosted noses, sleepy bobble eyes, and oversize, oblong heads, the stop-motion munchkins of My Life as a Zucchini are figures approached with curious affection.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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The lack of technical talk or analysis of his music seems not only a discredit to the legendary man and his craft, but a disappointment to longtime fans and neophytes, eager to learn more about him.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Bad Rap
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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[It] expounds on a nearly niche subject, coaxing out a vibrant story of four such rappers on the come up...
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Nerdland
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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The A-list actors and well known cast -- with the exception of Hannibal Buress -- can't save the jokes, the astounding sourness of which suppresses any trace of wit.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Don't Think Twice
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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Don't Think Twice, Mike Birbiglia's second feature film, stands taller than his previous feature, a slender work.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Cash Only
(2015)
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Elissa Suh
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Talk about a notable accomplishment of storytelling.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Hunt for the Wilderpeople
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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The always funny Rhys Darby makes a third act appearance as Hunt for the Wilderpeople treks deeper into the unrestrained realm of adventure comedy with absurd glee.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Spa Night
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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[It] takes its time letting his desires to build up, reminding us that this is more than a coming-out coming-of-age story as it alternates and intermixes the struggles of immigrant life, and the particular condemnations of nontraditional masculinity.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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The Wailing
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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The Wailing is worth every second of its 156 minute run time.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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Moonlight
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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Jenkins boils a life down to its decisive moments; a life in three parts is an eloquent and acute summation with Nicholas Britell's heart-rending music underlining.
Posted Mar 13, 2020
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The Big Sick
(2017)
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Elissa Suh
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...a universality that should prove broad enough for even the most close-minded of viewers...
Posted Mar 12, 2020
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False Confessions
(2016)
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Elissa Suh
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This rendition loses something perhaps in substance and style; the beauty and weight of Marivaux's language obviously to the non French-speaker, but also any meta-reflexive commentary that might be gleaned from the film's setting...
Posted Mar 12, 2020
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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
(2017)
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Elissa Suh
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Perhaps it takes an outsider like McDonagh to get it right, but by picture's end, a few wrenches of plot unite the deplorable with Mildred and lend him a contrived sympathy.
Posted Mar 12, 2020
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Beatriz at Dinner
(2017)
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Elissa Suh
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Beatriz's shock comes neither from the guests' wealth nor their off-color comments, but the cruelty and callous indifference that so often accompanies them.
Posted Mar 12, 2020
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Wonderstruck
(2017)
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Elissa Suh
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Always one to dabble in genres and the visionary Haynes applies his handiwork to the silent era capably crafting an homage with perfect stern embouchures, silent screams and protrusive pointed fingers...
Posted Mar 12, 2020
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Angels Wear White
(2017)
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Elissa Suh
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Angels Wear White unravels with the vague trappings of a crime thriller or mystery, but it is more than a detective story inflected with social justice themes.
Posted Mar 12, 2020
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