MEGALOPOLIS’s proposed worldview may be naive, sometimes presented immaturely, and have enough minor embellishments and subplots in the narrative to border on the incoherent, but their expression certainly doesn’t lack sincerity and optimism.
FOLIE Á DEUX may mean this iteration of the Joker leaves cinemas with a whimper, but at least it finally had something to say with its dying breath. Jim Ross reviews.
A picturesque chronicle of a young man’s life and the long shadow cast from whence he came, SUJO represents another assured piece of work from the creators of IDENTIFYING FEATURES.
Coralie Fargeat’s THE SUBSTANCE is a delirium-inducing concoction of numerous body horror films and literary influences, further combining an askew glance at fame and a gaudy gore aesthetic to an eye-catching effect.
DUNE: PART TWO improves on its predecessor in some crucial ways, but the reliance on spectacle leaves gaps in the storytelling and a frustratingly ephemeral interest in the most interesting ideas the film brings forward.
THE IRON CLAW is a familiar arena for Sean Durkin in terms of themes. Still, it has its own signature moves and an emotional core in Efron that will wrestle empathy from even the most outwardly macho soul.
AMERICAN FICTION never feels as cutting as it could be with its commentary, but Cord Jefferson’s debut feature is witty, with sharp characters, and engaging performances from Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown are the best vehicles for the script’s funnier and more keenly observed moments
A beautifully touching central performance from Andrew Scott elevates ALL OF US STRANGERS to stirring levels, and Andrew Haigh’s directorial gift for eliciting emotional sincerity remains undimmed.
Never meet your heroes, the saying goes. Sofia Coppola’s PRISCILLA would posit that neither should you marry them, have a kid with them, or agree to live in their gilded cage.
Christos Nikou’s second feature doesn’t quite reach memorable comic and painful heights, but does have something to say about modernity’s continual perversion of the human experience and the need to dissect, categorise, and package it. Romance is far from dead, but FINGERNAILS takes a forlorn look at what might kill it.
