The Inventor
SimilarBen-Hur (1959), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Metropolis (1927), Princess Mononoke (1997), Schindler's List (1993), Titanic (1997), Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005),
Watch afterAquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023),
Barbie (2023) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022),
StudioHBO Documentary Films,
The Inventor is an odd little film. It is a mess throughout, and there are many instances where I got the sense that writer/co-director Jim Capbianco did not know what kind of story he was trying to tell or who his audience was. And yet it possesses an undeniable charm, one that sticks with you. Continue Reading →
Biosphere
Biosphere hums along through its initial 30 minutes. With focused interplay from the only two actors in the film, Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown, the sci-fi buddy comedy creates laughter simply with the leads’ chemistry. But, the tone of the film shifts leading into its second act, taking a concept and stretching it until it’s about to break. That tonal and dramatic change engineers a tenderness that seems unlikely considering the twists of the plot. Continue Reading →
Good Night Oppy
Watch afterBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Top Gun: Maverick (2022),
Ryan White’s Good Night Oppy is a documentary about one of the technological marvels of our time, but it's less interested in science than its subject matter would suggest. It throws several elements into its mix—archival footage, contemporary talking-head interviews, voiceover narration from a big star (Angela Bassett in this case), and long sections of CGI recreations of moments not caught on camera. But instead of using them to edify viewers about the genuinely amazing accomplishments being achieved (the kind that might encourage younger viewers to get interested in science), White seems more inclined to deploy them in a manner meant to suggest a (mostly) live-action version of a Pixar film. Continue Reading →
Everything Everywhere All at Once
SimilarBatman Begins (2005), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Zatoichi (2003),
Watch afterThe Whale (2022),
StarringKe Huy Quan,
StudioA24,
Everything Everywhere All at Once is glorious. Continue Reading →
To Leslie
Andrea Riseborough and Marc Maron shine in a study of a one-time lottery winner years after her life has gone bust.
(This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 South by Southwest Festival)
To Leslie tells a story of painful loss and possible redemption as familiar as the ones recounted in the country songs born out of its West Texas setting. In the case of Michael Morris’s feature debut, familiarity does not breed contempt. What To Leslie lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in terms of its craft and very impressive central performances from Andrea Riseborough and Marc Maron. Continue Reading →
Call Jane
(This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 Sundance Festival) Continue Reading →
The Souvenir: Part II
SimilarA Real Young Girl (1976), Copying Beethoven (2006), I Stand Alone (1998),
Watch afterLicorice Pizza (2021),
StudioBBC Film,
With her abuser out of her life, one would think it’d be easier for Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) to move from day to day. In some ways, it is; she’s no longer directly in the clutches of Anthony’s (Tom Burke) patterns of insults, flattery, and disposal. He’s now dead as a result of his drug addiction. She, however, still lives with his memory. She discusses him with her psychologist (Gail Ferguson) just as often as others refer to his passing as a “loss.” But he’s still there: in her mind, in her health, in her art. Now, in The Souvenir Part II, Julie is finalizing her graduation film for school, repurposing and compartmentalizing her emotions into her work. Continue Reading →
Elizabeth Is Missing
SimilarCaché (2005), Klute (1971), Memento (2000), Twelve Monkeys (1995),
Based on the novel of the same name by Emma Healey, the new-to-American-TV-movie Elizabeth is Missing seems at the surface like yet another in the seemingly endless parade of missing women in television and film. We’ve seen lost women from trains and in windows, what more can there be? Written by Andrea Gibb and directed by Aisling Walsh, Elizabeth is Missing is less a story about an actual missing person and more a story about loss, aging, and the slippery movement of memory. Continue Reading →