Shelby Oaks
“Shelby Oaks” is a film that plays like a checklist of clichés, a movie that so aggressively employs techniques we’ve seen work better elsewhere that it becomes almost numbing.
Festivals & Awards
CIFF 2025: Silent Friend, Calle Malaga, Belén
On three of this year’s international dramas from the Chicago International Film Festival.
CIFF 2025: The Stranger, Franz, Kontinental ’25
On new films from three international masters: Ozon, Holland, and Jude.
Black Phone 2
“Black Phone 2” is messed up in ways that big-budget movies from major studios are rarely allowed to be.
After the Hunt
Sometimes, we should be made uncomfortable. And that is, in the end, what “After the Hunt” attempts and mostly succeeds in.
NYFF 25: The Currents, Gavagai, Is This Thing On?
On three films from NYFF, including the latest from Bradley Cooper.
NYFF 2025: The 63rd Edition Comes to a Close
A look back at this year’s event, including detailed thoughts on Jafar Panahi’s latest from the expert in Iranian cinema.
NYFF 2025: Late Fame, What Does That Nature Say to You, Barrio Triste
On three films out of the New York Film Festival.
A House of Dynamite
Bigelow’s ability to take a series of hypotheticals and render them into narrative actuality has never been more pinpoint accurate or merciless.
Roofman
A slick but incurious film that is so preoccupied with showing the what of Manchester’s story that it doesn’t bother to examine the why.
Vicious
Despite a strong premise, Bertino struggles to define what he’s trying to say with the piece, falling back on way too many loud noises and jump scares.
Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost
As we learn more about three generations of Stillers, the film takes the shape of a family therapy session that just happens to be lovingly crafted into a feature documentary.
The Smashing Machine
While sports films are known for pulling you in, this one actively pushes you away, something that even feels true about the meta casting of its leading man.
Anemone
Ronan Day-Lewis’s feature debut “Anemone” is an ambitious and expressionistic family drama about brothers and fathers, but its obtuse nature leaves the audience feeling estranged.
NYFF 2025: The 63rd New York Film Festival Centers Film and Poetry
A preview of this year’s event with critical thoughts on Late Fame, Peter Hujar’s Day, and The Mastermind.
Fantastic Fest 2025: CAMP, Bad Haircut, Theater is Dead
A final dispatch from Fantastic Fest on three very different films from three promising directors.
