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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
C
7 Keys (2024) Lynn Venhaus This had potential but lacked follow-through. With their relatable spark, Postlethwaite’s and McDonald’s sheer force in creating credible characters deserved better. T
Posted Jan 26, 2026  Edit critic review
The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025) Sarah Ward A thoughtful delight that stirs the soul and lingers in the mind like a gorgeous tune.
Posted Jan 23, 2026  Edit critic review
It Was Just an Accident (2025) Diane Carson After a car accident, former Iranian prisoner Vahid believes he found his torturer. To confirm identification, he enlists fellow detainees. Debates include slapstick humor as the group confronts the serious ethical dilemma of revenge.
Posted Jan 21, 2026  Edit critic review
Dead Man's Wire (2025) Diane Carson Based on a true story beginning February 8, 1977, in Indianapolis, Gus Van Sant thrusts audiences immediately into startling events. Though it lacks satisfying intellectual complexity. it benefits from its dire emotional ordeal amidst tense suspense.
Posted Jan 21, 2026  Edit critic review
Is This Thing On? (2025) Diane Carson Alex and Tess Novak find their emotional distance from each other perplexing and complex, so they separate. Adapting a perceptive, poignant story, Bradley Cooper makes sure the vulnerable and uncomfortable details dictate every scene.
Posted Jan 21, 2026  Edit critic review
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Sarah Ward A film to worship... Rare is a series’ fourth entry, let alone a film helmed by a new director after two prior triumphs by one of its originators, that understands so firmly what made its previous outstanding entries such marvels.
Posted Jan 19, 2026  Edit critic review
No Other Choice (2025) Sarah Ward Reflecting reality with sparkling clarity doesn’t make Park Chan-wook’s black comedy any less sharp or savage, the latter in a so-truthful-it-cuts-to-the-bone fashion.
Posted Jan 19, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Rosemead (2025) Lynn Venhaus While difficult, the film’s intensity gives it an urgency about mental health issues overall, and especially in the AAPI community. Grim but gripping,...Liu’s shattering performance lingers.
Posted Jan 15, 2026  Edit critic review
Resurrection (2025) Diane Carson Chronicling one hundred plus years of cinema’s history, including multiple genres and the unique stylistic signature for each, Chinese director Bi Gan’s "Resurrection" astonishes with its imaginative flourishes and sustained engagement.
Posted Jan 12, 2026  Edit critic review
The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) Diane Carson Set in the eighteenth century, director Mona Fastvold’s "The Testament of Ann Lee" delivers an animated musical interpretation of the catalyst for and realization of Shakers’ fervor. A fine tribute, it incorporates song, dance, and religious euphoria.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
The Secret Agent (2025) Diane Carson Set in 1977 Brazil, academic leftist and technology expert Armando retreats to his home town of Recife to reunite with his son, hoping also to elude violent retaliation perpetrated under General Ernesto Geisel’s military dictatorship.
Posted Jan 04, 2026  Edit critic review
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo (2025) Diane Carson Chilean writer/director Diego Céspedes’ profiles an isolated drag queen community living in a 1982 remote mining town. Amusing and dramatic, the story presents a serious, metaphorical commentary on a tragic misunderstanding of the AIDS epidemic.
Posted Jan 04, 2026  Edit critic review
We Bury the Dead (2024) Sarah Ward Hilditch’s movie is so assured, so certain of its place in multiple canons, so patently its own and so effective.
Posted Dec 22, 2025  Edit critic review
B+
Breakdown: 1975 (2025) Lynn Venhaus However, this is an insightful, engaging retrospective that had me at the reel-to-reel tapes of The Conversation while Donna Summer was singing her breakthrough hit Love to Love You Baby.
Posted Dec 22, 2025  Edit critic review
Kokuho (2025) Sarah Ward Captivating, all-consuming, resplendent and affecting ... while subtlety is among the movie’s plentiful strengths, there’s no masking its emotion, artistry, beauty or impact, with every ounce of passion rewardingly on display.
Posted Dec 21, 2025  Edit critic review
Hamnet (2025) Diane Carson Chloé Zhao imagines the death of William Shakespeare’s young son Hamnet as the catalyst for the play "Hamlet." Foregrounding delirious joy and heartbreaking grief, she dramatizes the volatile collision of ecstasy with anguish.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
Daughter's Daughter (2024) Diane Carson Aixia Jin learns of daughter Zuer Fan and Zuer’s partner’s deaths, must determine the fate of an IVF embryo, and confront Emma, who first learns of her half-sister. Viewers are invited to contemplate values and the moral choices they dictate.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
2/5
Atropia (2025) Nadine Whitney Atropia doesn’t push hard enough to have real bite… Hailey Gates misses most of her marks.
Posted Dec 14, 2025  Edit critic review
Train Dreams (2025) Leslie Combemale A haunting meditation on life, grief, and living with authenticity, shown through the eyes of one simple man. It feels like the pulse of your own heart.
Posted Dec 09, 2025  Edit critic review
Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter (2025) Sarah Ward Powter was her own biggest asset when she made the leap from teaching aerobics classes to media domination; at its most resonant and insightful, she’s the same for Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
C-
100 Nights of Hero (2025) Lynn Venhaus However, as a unifying anthem, the film waited too long to make a bold statement– and while motivation is always welcome, why dilly-dally instead of starting the rallying cry early?
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025) Diane Carson This straightforward, difficult confrontation with familial trauma and mental illness presents the complexity and brilliance of Springsteen who fought to come out the other side of darkness, navigating the journey through his artistic genius.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
Nuremberg (2025) Diane Carson Another fictionalized but vital chapter in Nazi history, "Nuremberg" follows WWII psychiatrist/U.S. Army Major Douglas Kelley. Despite its flaws, this is a powerful, important reminder of the evil that has and still remains within our world.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
Sentimental Value (2025) Diane Carson Joachim Trier's "Sentimental Value" adds a poignant chapter through the deeply problematic relationship of sisters Nora and Agnes with their formerly absent father Gustav, an aging film director, as the trio wrestles with the past in an unsettled present.
Posted Nov 29, 2025  Edit critic review
Nouvelle Vague (1990) Diane Carson With its commitment to authenticity from the visual look to costumes and art direction, with the choice of a film memorable to this day, Linklater’s "Nouvelle Vague" offers a wonderful immersion in film history in a humorous and illuminating production.
Posted Nov 29, 2025  Edit critic review
Hedda (2025) Diane Carson Writer/director Nia DaCosta undertakes the daunting challenge of radically reimagining Henri Ibsen’s iconic play of Hedda Gabler’s restrictive, resented life in 19th century Norway altering the power dynamics through racial and sexual transformations.
Posted Nov 29, 2025  Edit critic review
Rental Family (2025) Diane Carson Japanese director/co-writer Hikari effectively dramatizes renting actors in "Rental Family" as unemployed American Phillip Vandarpleog (Brendan Fraser), living in contemporary Tokyo, must scramble for a job, landing work from a human rental agency.
Posted Nov 29, 2025  Edit critic review
Luv Ya, Bum! (2025) T.J. Callahan LUV YA, BUM kicks the "sumbitch" in.
Posted Nov 25, 2025  Edit critic review
Eternity (2025) T.J. Callahan It’s a love triangle of heavenly proportions. The script is sweet, sentimental and silly. It examines different types of endearmen passionate, comfortable, progressive. It’s nostalgic. ETERNITY is the whole package.
Posted Nov 23, 2025  Edit critic review
Jay Kelly (2025) T.J. Callahan Famous actor Jay Kelly asks after filming a scene, "Can I go again?" That question takes on new meaning in Noah Baumbach’s character study of an aging star having second thoughts about his choices in life.
Posted Nov 23, 2025  Edit critic review
Teenage Wasteland (2025) Sarah Ward Moss and McBaine are no strangers to inspiring others themselves ... Teenage Wasteland heartily and winningly continues the trend.
Posted Nov 20, 2025  Edit critic review
B
Wicked: For Good (2025) Susan Kamyab Wicked: For Good may not be as captivating as the first film, but audiences have been changed for the better to have seen an iconic cast and crew bring to life a beautiful and moving adventure.
Posted Nov 19, 2025  Edit critic review
9/10
Wicked: For Good (2025) T.J. Callahan The sisterhood between Grande and Erivo, both on and off the screen, that makes WICKED FOR GOOD wicked good.
Posted Nov 19, 2025  Edit critic review
Die My Love (2025) Diane Carson Director Lynne Ramsay courageously and perceptively tackles the daunting subject of a woman's mental health illness exhibited erratically and uncontrollably.
Posted Nov 17, 2025  Edit critic review
Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 (2025) Diane Carson Director Raoul Peck’s brilliant, sobering documentary interprets Orwell’s insights into ways authoritarians gain and retain power . . . through a diverse and inclusive selection of archival news and film clips plus a summary of Orwell’s life.
Posted Nov 17, 2025  Edit critic review
Jay Kelly (2025) Diane Carson As always with Baumbach, the film delivers a fast-paced, entertaining narrative with profound insights embedded therein. With George Clooney as Jay, the provocative self-examination of a celebrated professional life gains unparalleled impact.
Posted Nov 17, 2025  Edit critic review
Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere (2025) April Neale Schapiro seems almost mythic in his Zelig-like ability to be present at the turning points of American culture.
Posted Nov 13, 2025  Edit critic review
Trifole (2024) Sarah Ward An absorbing and moving feature that feels as if it too has been unearthed.
Posted Nov 11, 2025  Edit critic review
Riefenstahl (2024) Diane Carson Masterfully presented in director Andres Veiel’s documentary, Riefenstahl, for her entire life post World War II, vociferously proclaimed her complete ignorance of the Holocaust and denied any support of Nazi ideology, revealed here in substantive detail.
Posted Nov 09, 2025  Edit critic review
Where to Land (2025) Diane Carson Director Hal Hartley's two-dimensional characters express their observations directly, without extensive, insightful reflection or challenging complexity. As a result, his films come across more as focused lectures than as irresistible engagement.
Posted Nov 09, 2025  Edit critic review
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025) Diane Carson Iranian director Sepideh Farsi’s film is an important, profound documentary. From April 2024 through April 2025 via internet, Sepideh and 25-year-old Palestinian Fatem Hassona talk about what Fatem sees and hears in northeastern Gaza City.
Posted Nov 09, 2025  Edit critic review
D
Die My Love (2025) Lynn Venhaus For all its fever dream fantasia and moody art aesthetic, this flailing psychological drama is unfortunately an empty vessel...For those who favor solid storytelling and some answers, Die My Love is a challenge to watch at best, and reckless at worst.
Posted Nov 09, 2025  Edit critic review
Rental Family (2025) Leslie Combemale Hikari knows her way around a character arc, building a story centered on the struggle with loneliness and the need for connection that leads to catharsis for the audience without getting sentimental or maudlin.
Posted Nov 07, 2025  Edit critic review
Frankenstein (2025) Valerie Kalfrin marvelous. Grand, sumptuous, and passionate, it’s a heartbreaking vision of hubris and humanity where we least expect it.
Posted Nov 07, 2025  Edit critic review
The Perfect Neighbor (2025) Valerie Kalfrin propulsive with frustration and dread
Posted Nov 07, 2025  Edit critic review
A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE (2025) Valerie Kalfrin a sobering warning about what we take for granted and a grateful tribute to those working under such unknowns.
Posted Nov 07, 2025  Edit critic review
After the Hunt (2025) Valerie Kalfrin raises questions about power and consent, but its execution comes up short.
Posted Nov 07, 2025  Edit critic review
If That Mockingbird Don't Sing (2024) Liz Whittemore <em>If That Mockingbird Don't Sing</em> hits all the right notes. Filmmaker Sadie Bones should team up with Sex Ed classes, because this film should scare the sh*t out of any sensible teen into refusng abuse from a careless, immature partner.
Posted Nov 04, 2025  Edit critic review
Billy Idol Should Be Dead (2025) Sherin Nicole From gorgeously crisp interviews—in rich black and glowing white—to lush but cheeky animated sequences that play out like fever dreams, weaving...its portrait of a man who’s danced with death too many times, yet emerged not just alive but truly living.
Posted Nov 03, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Violent Ends (2025) Nadine Whitney Violent Ends doesn’t often transcend violent and downbeat genre trappings. When it does the spark of John-Michael Powell’s emerging strengths as a filmmaker is evident and that spark is worth paying attention to.
Posted Nov 02, 2025  Edit critic review
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