HER: Buy A Ticket – Tetrabytes of Love From Spike Jonze HER, which was presented at the AFI Film Festival before opening in theatres next month, is the first film Spike Jonze has directed from his own original script, and although its inventiveness recalls Being John Malkovich and Adaptation., the projects on which he collaborated […]
A year ago, the idea of a “virtual film festival” would have seemed extremely far-fetched, but it’s become a regular practice in pandemic times. The latest festival to take this path is Sundance, which in some ways is well-suited for this new normal, since it’s less built around starry galas than others. (And there’s […]
THE FIRST TIME may be too lovable for its own good. Jonathan Kasdan’s teen romance, which premiered in the Dramatic Competition at Sundance, couldn’t be more straightforward: in its opening minutes, it introduces the adorable Dave (Dylan O’Brien) and Aubrey (Britt Robertson), two hyper-articulate sweethearts who meet outside a suburban LA party neither of […]
EDEN (IFC): release date unscheduled – Watch It At Home Notwithstanding its subtitles, the genre of Mia Hanson-Love’s EDEN, which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, isn’t unfamiliar to American eyes: the rise and fall of a musical genre, as reflected through a group of friends who are involved with it. […]
HEROES REBORN: Thursday 8PM on NBC, starting September 24 This year, for the first time, the Toronto Film Festival has included a slate of television productions from around the world in its line-up, formalizing the degree to which the status of TV has changed in the last few years. That’s completely logical. What […]
The director Denis Villenueve has been staking out some interesting Hollywood territory for himself. His new SICARIO, which debuted at Cannes and screened at the Toronto Film Festival prior to arriving in theatres next week, is, like his previous Prisoners, a serious adult thriller that demands audience attention and doesn’t compromise its dramatic principles, […]
THE NEST (no distrib): Sean Durkin’s first feature since 2011’s Martha Marcy May Marlene presents its emotions with such high-intensity beams that it often feels as though the film is going to slip into the thriller or even horror genre, but it’s actually just a family drama. Set in the Thatcher-era 1980s, its plot […]
THE POWER OF THE DOG (Netflix – theatrical release Nov 17, streaming Dec 1): Jane Campion’s first feature in a dozen years is a powerhouse that won’t be to all tastes. It’s a western that sets out to subvert the genre’s conventions, a slow-burn psychological thriller that eventually explodes, and in the end, somewhat […]