The Half of it is a modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac that explores sexuality, identity, friendship, and growing up queer Quick cut: The Half of it is a melancholy, but an ultimately joyful, exploration of growing up and exploring your identity told through a thoughtful, meditative, and heartwarming story. ★★★★★ To steal a term…
Shirley follows a young couple staying with famed novelist Shirley Jackson and her husband as she tries to break through writer's block Quick cut: Shirley is a haunting and devilishly entertaining look at the famed writer anchored by an electrifying performance by Elizabeth Moss. ★★★★ In the opening scene of Josephine Decker’s Shirley, Rose (Odessa…
Dunkirk is a thrilling and emotional war movie that is singular in its form and a high-point in Christopher Nolan's already impressive career Quick cut: Though it is infused with the cinematic innovation that's synonymous with Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk also finds him at his most human. The action, visuals, and disorienting story make it a cinematic…
True History of the Kelly Gang is a fictional punk rock western about the Australian bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang of outlaws Quick review: True History of the Kelly Gang is a punky auteurist vision of adrenaline that makes the already chaotic story disorienting, and, most importantly, unrelenting. ★★★★ “Nothing you’re about to see…
Beautiful Boy has a story worth telling, but the way it's told doesn't do justice to its subjects as it avoids the real pain of addiction. 30-second review: Beautiful Boy has an incredible true story worth telling at its center, but the way director Felix Van Groeningen presents that story zaps any impact that it could…
Columbus is a charming and romantic movie in the vein of Before Sunrise that features stellar performances by Haley Lu Richardson and John Cho ★★★★★ Quick review: Anchored by two Oscar-worthy performances, Columbus is perhaps one of the great romances of the decade. Columbus, a small city located in southeastern Indiana, is a juxtaposition. Even though it's located…
We're marathoning every single Best Picture winner starting with Fred Zinneman's 1953 war film From Here to Eternity Quick review: From Here to Eternity is the kind of old-school Hollywood melodrama that you can't help but fall for. And while it only occasionally hits greatness, the performances by Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift, Deborah…
The Carnivores follows Alice, whose strain with her long-term girlfriend Bret is being manifested in her sick dog causing increasingly odd cravings Quick review: The Carnivores for better or worse is uncategorizable with elements of drama, psychological thriller, horror, and even comedy — and I was happy to be confused. With SXSW 2020 canceled, I’m…
Jess is thrilled to be the surrogate for her best friend and his husband, but when a prenatal test comes back, it creates a moral dilemma that threatens their friendship. Quick review: The Surrogate has an important story to tell and forces us to face our own decisions in a moral dilemma — but it leaves…
Big Time Adolescence follows the friendship between a stoner burnout and a high school student whose debaucherous Quick review: Big Time Adolescence is a surprisingly sweet character study about growing up and not growing up. Big Time Adolescence is the perfect vehicle for a comedy star like Pete Davidson to make the jump to film.…
