Reviews

The Northman is nothing you haven't already seen. The Scandavian setting makes this seem like a brand new style of movie, but don't let it fool you. It's every cliche warrior movie, just based in the mysterious "north". The cast makes the price of admission worth it though, in my opinion.

Trust me, the first half or even the first 3/4 you might not get this movie. You're going to want to withdraw, but you have to make it to the end to piece it all together. It's a stunningly beautiful movie with some great messages about mother/daughter and husband/wife relationship dynamics... but you have to go with the flow to get there.

The trailer led me to believe this might've been a different movie... I do recommend this for old-school horror fans, but go in with an open mind to this style of filmmaking. You definitely can't go wrong with A24 as well.

I don't want to say too much about Los Fuertes, instead I beg that you do yourself a favor and see it. Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo has an immaculate eye for cinematic detail, and each frame in this film was a total masterpiece!

"Cicada" isn't anything you haven't seen before. A quiet and grounded examination of a complicated LGBTQ relationship. The script could've been a bit stronger, since I guessed a lot of the storyline as it played out. Sometimes I was a bit confused about the genre... the comedic moments felt a bit out of place amongst the plot. Overall, I think this film was a really strong effort! There's loads of potential for the director and cast to springboard off of.

Jump, Darling tackles familiar contemporary issues such as LGBTQ topics and the trials and tribulations of aging, but makes the two correlate in way that makes sense. The plot's stakes are never set too high, but this movie does an excellent job at unlocking the deep, sentimental feelings you locked up awhile ago... and then some! I also thought it was beautifully shot and grounded in reality.

The chemistry that new-time director Phil Connell was able to achieve from this cast was astounding, and he certainly awards the legend Chloris Leachman a proper exit! I definitely recommend this little gem.

"The Novice" had some intense moments that played out well. I'm not sure if this was a story that needed to be told, as it seems to weave between genres and confuses the audience a bit. A lot of interesting close-ups that capture the moodiness of it, and give it a specific type of appeal.

I'm not a horror movie person, but every once in awhile there's a good dramatic metaphor that's covered up with a horror film mask. This was Antlers. It's genuinely a good movie, and sort of plays on psychological topics a bit. The darkness of the visuals add to the tone, but never do you feel scared by it.

I've been following the director Scott Cooper for a while after "Out Of The Furnace". He has some hit and misses, but I believe he has serious potential to really hit one out of the park. If you enjoy really muted, atmospheric films I would try Antlers! It has some quirks and charm that are worth watching for.

This movie was made so well technically and visually, it's worth a watch for that reason alone! Dev Patel soars as Sir Gawain in this spin on the events of King Arthur's court. It does jump around a bit and sometimes there are issues when following the storyline, but otherwise I really enjoyed "The Green Knight".

"Wolf" was super pretentious, and tries it's hardest to wiggle it's way to cult-classic status. Lily-Rose Depp does the most with this role however. There was potential to be something that a wider audience could accept and appreciate, but I think the director, Nathalie Biancheri, tries to outsmart her everyone who watches it.

The film is ultimately untranslatable to an everyday filmgoer, but there might be a small few who take something away from the concepts that are presented.

Nothing about this film makes much sense, and you can tell from the synopsis alone. Old Hollywood favorite Chloe Grace Moretz plays a WWII pilot who experiences a sinister presence when on a cargo flight. You can imagine how the film plays out.

"Shadow In The Cloud" is jam-packed with unrealistic action sequences, over-the-top performances, and some of the most wonky storytelling I've ever seen. You're here, and then you're there, and most times you have no idea what's going on. If you do happen to know what's going on, you don't know what for.

This works as a summer howler for teenagers, and nothing more.

I felt like this movie got a little lost in itself, and its identity. "Pixie" tries really hard to find out what genre it's supposed to be and what lesson it's supposed to teach.

If you're into some possibly dark humor and try-hard Tarantino-esque movie, this might be one to try! I'm hoping someone else can explain the plot to me.

Many of the indie films I've been catching up on from the past year have featured a character with Dementia. I feel like this is increasingly hard for a film to portray now, since there have been so many previous versions that set the bar too high.

Supernova has an interesting spin on the story set-up, featuring two amazing actors (Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth) as a gay couple who now face the trials and tribulations of Dementia. As you can imagine, the acting is superb and the film is well-written. It blends perfectly into the social climate of today, choosing to focus on a brain-ravaging disease instead of the hardships of being two men in a relationship.

There are several really touching moments, and the film will certainly tug at your heart-strings, however when all is said and done, it's nothing you haven't seen before.

I will watch anything Tilda Swinton does, and this is no exception. The script definitely follows all of the familiar art house patterns for filmmaking, but I enjoyed the subtlety of it all.

Director Apichatpong Weerasethakult blends fantasy visuals and audio in a really unique way that was meant to be experienced with surround sound. It gives me a similar feeling as "Under The Skin" did from several years back.

Stunning cinematography, especially for fans of classic Italian cinema! The Hand Of God has this dream-like quality that gives this coming-of-age tale most of it's charm.

As sentimental as the subject matter is, there was a lot of humor to be found here. (I'm Jewish, and most people are aware that Italians and Jewish families are cut from the same cloth.) Fabietto's journey to understanding himself and his place within his family is a familiar cinematic trope. Sometimes the movie does feel a little long-winded and shapeless.

Sorrentino elevates everything with his visuals, and for many people, this is what counts.

Ham On Rye flew right under the radar and it's such a shame! This film deserves a lot more press than it got. It reminds me of the same sort of thrill I got when i first discovered "Mulholland Drive", back when it was more indie and Naomi Watts wasn't yet, well, "Naomi Watts".

This is a film for a pretty niche audience, but for those it was made for, boy will you be happy you found it. Very obscure, oddball, muted acid-trip type of cinema. You will know this film in a couple of years as memes from it make their way around social media. If you're in the mood for something weird and a bit of a mind-bend, put this on!

I've been a fan of Sean Baker since The Florida Project, so I was excited to see him coming out with something else. Red Rocket has all of the same grounded, middle-America charm that we're used to from him.

I know Baker isn't into telling tales of moral things, but the subject matter in this film can easily turn audiences off... even more so than "The Florida Project". There will surely be moments where you cringe, but I do think that Baker has a knack for softening the inappropriate content for your digestion. There's something beautiful in the little relationship between Strawberry and Mikey, once you can get over your initial disgust.

Realistic portrayals by all of the actors involved, and once again a great example of Sean's supremely innovative and smart filmmaking.

I was unfamiliar with director Florian Zeller before I saw The Father, but he won my heart with this. It was heartbreaking to watch as someone who has dementia run in my family, so do not walk into this expecting anything other than tears.

It's a very realistic portrayal, with just the right visual tone told delicately through the eyes of the Olivia Coleman's character Anne. Its safe to say you can't go wrong with Olivia Coleman or Anthony Hopkins in your film, but I want to shout from the rooftops how amazing it is to see some fresh filmmaking talent break the traditional Hollywood barriers. This was fantastic all around!

I'm a harsh judge of horror movies, and originally didn't want to try this one. I feel like the genre is overdone and so cliche that it's hard to watch. I watched this one twice to find some sort of metaphor or meaning, but there really wasn't one. I am familiar with David Bruckner through "The Ritual" on Netflix, and I recall liking that. There's some great performances and pacing with the editing that give it some watchable charm, albeit a bit slow.

Call me a hater, but this wasn't for me. I'm still searching for the storyline.

I saw this one at TIFF. I thought director Kazik Radwanski was brilliant in this specific genre. It's sort of a muted cerebral piece with a lot of genuine close-up shots, but this is where he seems to shine!

I do agree with some others that Anne's journey as a character was a bit contrived. I like the messiness of her psychology though, and I think it lends itself to the story nicely. This one is definitely for the people interested in cinematography.

First, this film is beautiful to look at. They really got this film's tone to look and feel just right, and it showcases the story perfectly.

I am a huge fan of grounded film-work that is rooted in reality as much as possible. Director Céline Sciamma accomplishes this without question, but this may be the first time I say that it's accomplished a little too well. The script and the actors were so enchanting that they kept me invested, but I can imagine that certain audiences might find themselves falling asleep if they didn't know what they were in for.

I highly recommend that anyone give this movie a watch so they can form their own opinions. There's definitely a little something for everyone here.

It definitely has that grounded and gritty feeling about it, which I really like in films. I can see it was meant to be darker or feel more impactful in someway, but it misses the mark.

The Killing Of Two Lovers loses it's way in the way that it displays relationships between common people. There's good acting here, but the depiction of the father/daughter dynamic is a little skewed.

This director has a lot of potential, however, and I'm interested to see where he goes from here.

I thought that this was a stunning little indie. Totally on par with the times as well which made it more touching. It's been on my list for awhile, and I read somewhere that this was accidental? As in, the film was made before the pandemic.

It is a little predictable, I will admit. I think the two leads had good chemistry that made this a hit for me, personally.

I definitely admit I liked this more than I thought that I would. Without spoiling anything, this film is a lot different than you'd expect. It's got some twists and turns!

Nic Cage has a sense of humor about himself and his career that's admirable, so I will give it to him.