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Video Librarian Magazine

Video Librarian Magazine is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Ally Ham, Caroline Madden, Kathy Fennessy, Susan Granger.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
4/5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 (2024) Kathy Fennessy Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 is an enlightening, overwhelming document--if taken in all at one sitting--of a turbulent, complicated relationship that doubles as a tribute to the journalistic field, which has faced challenges of its own.
Posted Dec 01, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Reflection in a Dead Diamond (2025) Kathy Fennessy If they [the actors] never wink at the audience, the filmmakers and steadfast editor Bernard Beets do just that with their clever juxtapositions, ensuring that things never get too heavy no matter how close they dance to the edge.
Posted Nov 17, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
Witness (1985) Kathy Fennessy In 2023, the year he announced his retirement, Peter Weir received an Honorary Oscar in recognition of his four nominations for Best Director... Witness was the film where he proved he could infuse Hollywood filmmaking with restraint and romanticism.
Posted Nov 13, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Mabel, Mabel, Tiger Trainer (2016) Tom Keogh As a pioneer in a job once unavailable to women, Stark is certainly unique in her contributions and toughness.
Posted Nov 05, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Out (2024) Kathy Fennessy Jefferson Yaw Frempong-Manson and the rest of the cast are very good, but Bas Keizer is a real standout. He does a lot of acting using his eyes and body language, and it's always clear what he's feeling.
Posted Oct 21, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Jimmy in Saigon (2022) Kathy Fennessy Peter ends by saying that he feels he has helped his family to heal... We can't know for certain that this is true, but it does seem to have brought him closer to his mother, and to a sense of peace, knowing that Jimmy might have been a kindred spirit.
Posted Oct 04, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
The Warriors (1979) Kathy Fennessy If Walter Hill's 1979 comic book-style turfwar thriller The Warriors received mixed reviews upon its initial release--Pauline Kael praised it and Roger Ebert panned it--time has made it iconic.
Posted Sep 12, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Tish (2023) Kathy Fennessy Tish is a fine documentary about an empathetic artist who deserved to be better known, especially in her own country. Her work functions as part of a continuum with the kitchen sink dramas filmmakers like Tony Richardson and Ken Loach made in the 1960s.
Posted Sep 05, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
Ways to Traverse a Territory (2024) Kathy Fennessy Ways to Traverse a Territory infuses the ethnographic documentary with artistic flair to present women who live in harmony with nature. Gabriela Domínguez Ruvalcaba always treats her subjects with respect, admiration—and even a little awe.
Posted Aug 01, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Once Again (For the Very First Time) (2025) Kathy Fennessy If the narrative proves frustrating--especially in its early stages--since it takes so long to figure out who's who and how they relate to each other, Once Again (For the Very First Time) benefits from two charismatic performers [and] appealing music.
Posted Jul 14, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
The Cat and the Canary (1927) Kathy Fennessy Eminently enjoyable, wildly influential picture that marked the start of [Paul Leni's] brief, but brilliant English-language career.
Posted Jun 29, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Born for You (2024) Kathy Fennessy What could have played like a made-for-television movie proves more complicated and involving. Despite the satisfying outcome, however, the end credits make it clear that married heterosexual couples still have the edge when it comes to adoption in Italy.
Posted Jun 09, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Bernadette Lafont, and God Created the Free Woman (2016) Kathy Fennessy It’s hard to come away from this portrait without admiration for the adventurous films she made and the rich life she lived. To quote Jean-Pierre Kalfon, “She started out as a princess and became a queen.”
Posted May 14, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Endless Summer Syndrome (2024) Kathy Fennessy Daneshmand’s assured direction marks him as a filmmaker to watch. His beautifully crafted debut avoids heavy-handed moralizing while addressing a taboo subject with sensitivity and compassion.
Posted May 06, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Eat the Night (2024) Kathy Fennessy The parts of the film, which range from the grittiness of the provincial environment to the vibrant stylization of the game, don't always fit together as well as they should, though the avatars become more realistic with time.
Posted May 02, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Julie Keeps Quiet (2024) Kathy Fennessy Leonardo van Dijl's elliptical direction recalls the work of Belgian filmmakers Jean and Luc Dardenne, who coproduced Julie Keeps Quiet, and Tessa Van den Broeck's performance recalls that of Julia Garner in The Assistant.
Posted May 02, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Matt and Mara (2024) Kathy Fennessy Though some viewers might find the characters off-putting as they dance around their desires, anyone who’s ever been in—or witnessed—a similar situation is likely to be more forgiving. Plus, there are only so many films about male-female friendships.
Posted May 01, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
Black Box Diaries (2024) Kathy Fennessy Though [Shiori] Itô's experience was specific to Japan, the ways in which powerful men abuse their positions remains a universal problem, though other victims, both in and outside of Japan, may have more options in the wake of her bravery and resilience.
Posted Apr 30, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Mother, Couch (2023) Kathy Fennessy Niclas Larsson’s first feature, after several shorts, isn’t a complete misfire, but it’s mainly for devoted Ewan McGregor fans, since none of the other characters register as strongly—not even the mother on the couch.
Posted Apr 28, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
The Sales Girl (2022) Kathy Fennessy Janchivdorj Sengedorj's 14th feature offers a drily amusing introduction to life in modern Ulaanbaatar with an appealingly off-kilter tone that recalls the work of Finland's Aki Kaurismäki and New Zealand's Taika Waititi.
Posted Apr 26, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Sisi & I (2023) Kathy Fennessy The director, who wrote the screenplay with her husband, Swiss author Christian Kracht, avoids period music in favor of 20th-century tracks from female-led acts, like Nico and Portishead, aligning it with Sofia Coppola's anachronistic Marie Antoinette...
Posted Apr 24, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
20,000 Species of Bees (2023) Kathy Fennessy All told, 20,000 Species of Bees has been the recipient of over three dozen awards, including three Goyas, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars, a testament to the sensitivity and skill Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren brought to this touching narrative.
Posted Apr 14, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
The Desperate Hours (1955) Kathy Fennessy Though Bogart, March, and Wyler had a string of hits behind them, the film proved more popular with critics than audiences, possibly because the leads were considered past their prime, though Wyler and March had plenty of gas left in the tank.
Posted Apr 14, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
Hugo (2011) Kathy Fennessy Though it didn't exactly storm the box office, it's truly one of the finest family films ever made.
Posted Mar 27, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
In the Rearview (2023) Kathy Fennessy There's nothing overtly political about this or any of the images in the film, but [Maciek] Hamela's stance is clear: these people don't deserve what happened to them. He was just one person doing what he could to help.
Posted Mar 11, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
Poetry (2010) Kathy Fennessy Poetry serves as an indictment of a society that sweeps sexual assault under the rug, the better to coddle the perpetrators at the expense of the victims, and to keep the cycle going in perpetuity. Lee wrote the central part for the radiant Yun Jeong-hie.
Posted Mar 07, 2025  Edit critic review
2/5
Uncanny Me (2022) Ally Ham Lale’s perspective, while valuable, is a limited one. The documentary doesn’t pull in enough experts to expand on that perspective, leaving us with a puny understanding of cloning technology.
Posted Nov 02, 2024  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Carlito's Way (1993) Kathy Fennessy The film proved that the director hadn't lost his touch, despite controversy that he had cast an Italian-American--and not for the first time--as a Latino character. Unsteady accent aside, Pacino's heartfelt performance helped to win over many skeptics
Posted Oct 18, 2024  Edit critic review
3/5
Coma (2022) Kathy Fennessy The filmmaker has described Coma as the third feature in a youth trilogy...and when viewed from that perspective, it gains in stature as part of a larger project involving political activism, generational trauma, and changing times.
Posted Oct 17, 2024  Edit critic review
200 Meters (2020) Ally Ham Mustafa's journey in an unoccupied country would only have involved a simple drive–and, in a perfect world, would never have needed to be told. As it is, however, Ameen Nayfeh’s 200 Meters is a necessary, uncontrived, and moving Palestinian film drama.
Posted Oct 08, 2024  Edit critic review
Shelter in Place (2009) Ally Ham First released in 2009, Zed Nelson’s educational documentary Shelter in Place–about environmental racism and unregulated emissions from Texas refineries—is as relevant as ever.
Posted Oct 07, 2024  Edit critic review
A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting (2021) Ally Ham A beautiful tribute for the victims of that fateful day.
Posted Oct 07, 2024  Edit critic review
El Houb (2022) Ally Ham El Houb makes compelling observations about silence, shame, family, and love.
Posted Oct 07, 2024  Edit critic review
3.5/5
In Our Day (2023) Kathy Fennessy The actors, who have all worked with Hong [Sang-soo] before or will do so again, give engaging, naturalistic performances, and it's hard not to detect some autobiography, particularly in Uiju's character.
Posted Sep 27, 2024  Edit critic review
4/5
Lourdes (2009) Kathy Fennessy Though never an outright comedy, Jessica Hausner draws a gently humorous tale out of mystery and ambiguity. There are many ways films about faith can go wrong, but Lourdes always, and admirably stays on the right side of that equation.
Posted Sep 25, 2024  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Oasis (2002) Kathy Fennessy Lee Chang-dong has only directed six features since 1997 with nary a disappointment among the lot. Though Oasis is hardly an easy watch, it's invaluable as an empowering and uniquely romantic narrative about disabled individuals.
Posted Sep 25, 2024  Edit critic review
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code (2019) Ally Ham Helfand’s documentary and its accompanying teacher’s guide argue convincingly for a more layered view of so-called “natural” disasters: one that considers poverty and race as underlying factors to thousands of unnecessary deaths each year.
Posted Aug 11, 2024  Edit critic review
Theaters of War (2022) Ally Ham A cohesive and well-researched deep dive into the problem of military influence in the film industry and Hollywood’s self-censorship.
Posted Aug 11, 2024  Edit critic review
3.5/5
Twisters (2024) Caroline Madden While the ride may be similar, you still get swept away by Twisters. It is an exhilarating popcorn flick that feels so rare in the current movie landscape.
Posted Aug 08, 2024  Edit critic review
Young Plato (2021) Ally Ham Set in the Ardoyne district in Belfast, Northern Ireland against the historical backdrop of the 2001 Holy Cross dispute... Young Plato grounds us in this tense sociopolitical context, peeling back the layers of hate and prejudice these boys face every day
Posted Aug 06, 2024  Edit critic review
Queen of Glory (2021) Ally Ham The quiet beauty in Queen of Glory lies in its nuanced picture of selfhood and identity.
Posted Aug 06, 2024  Edit critic review
4/5
White on White (2019) Ally Ham Cruelty brims just under the surface—or more accurately, just outside of the frame—in this period drama indicting the brutality of South America’s European colonizers.
Posted Aug 06, 2024  Edit critic review
4/5
Fire and Ice (1961) Kathy Fennessy French filmmaker Alain Cavalier's 1962 directorial debut melds a political allegory with a love triangle to powerful effect. Le Combat dans L'ile ("The Fight on the Island") also predicted Bernardo Bertolucci's classic 1970 film The Conformist.
Posted Jul 31, 2024  Edit critic review
Fly So Far (2021) Ally Ham A compelling and detailed portrait of patriarchal oppression in El Salvador.
Posted Jul 24, 2024  Edit critic review
Playground (2021) Ally Ham Playground crystallizes the cruelty, the poetry, the life-and-death largeness of childhood.
Posted Jul 24, 2024  Edit critic review
3/4
Once Upon a River (2019) Kathy Fennessy If Margo isn't the most expressive character, it ends with the possibility that a resourceful orphan can make a new life for herself away from the repressive forces of her past, a trajectory it shares with Debra Granik's Winter's Bone and Leave No Trace.
Posted Jul 22, 2024  Edit critic review
A Sexplanation (2021) Ally Ham Contrary to the usual humorless and awkward tone of “the sex talk,” Liu breaks down questions and misconceptions about sex with a refreshingly irreverent and witty approach.
Posted Jul 21, 2024  Edit critic review
Mother Schmuckers (2021) Ally Ham Where tonally-similar films succeed in subtle comedic presentation, Mother Schmuckers stares its viewers in the face as it drops over-the-top and obscene jokes, waiting for the laughs that will never come.
Posted Jul 21, 2024  Edit critic review
The Calm After the Storm (2020) Ally Ham Intimate and brave, if somewhat meandering, The Calm After the Storm is a meaningful feminist debut for Jaramillo and a relevant watch for those with a longtime interest in Victor Gaviria.
Posted Jul 21, 2024  Edit critic review
3/5
Crossroads Stories (2021) Ally Ham For such a short film, Crossroads offers a strong foundation for beginning to explore race relations in the context of a small, predominantly White town.
Posted Jul 21, 2024  Edit critic review
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