Retro Review by Dylan Moore
Brando jabs at a reporter when they say, "You know this is, uh--this is sort of your whole personality in a capsule...not to believe--" with, "How do you know what my personality is?" and they respond, "well, because I have met you and yo-you radiate your personality." Brando responds with a reflective "really?"
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Hailee Steinfeld stars as Mattie Ross in the Coens' True Grit
Retro Review by Lydia Creech
I would not call the Coen’s True Grit revisionist, but I am happy to see them place the story back on the female lead and that they address some of the rah-rah religiosity and violence of traditional Westerns in their usual thoughtful way.
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Helen Mirren stars in director Gavin Hood's Eye in the Sky
Review by Zach Dennis
The fear in Eye in the Sky is less what the weapons attached to the buttons can do, but rather, the ease that the person pressing it has to make that decision.
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Logan Marshall Green stars in director Karyn Kusama's The Invitation
Review by Andrew Swafford
I began watching The Invitation fully expecting to have my little mind blown by the hyped-up surprises it was sure to have in store--I have good news and bad news.
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Laurie Anderson's Rat Terrier Lolabelle is the central focus of Anderson's documentary Heart of a Dog
Review by Andrew Swafford
Heart of a Dog isn’t just a film by a musician for fans of that musician—it’s a proper film in every sense of the word, with breathtaking editing and camerawork, great poignancy and insight, and a unique approach to storytelling that radiates the brilliance of Laurie Anderson’s sensibilities as an artist in any medium.
Read MoreJoel Edgerton, Michael Shannon, Jaeden Liegerher, and Kirsten Dunst star in Jeff Nichols's Midnight Special
Review by Zach Dennis
Midnight Special has moments of greatness, but forgets that its characters need fleshing out to be truly realized in this fantastical journey.
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Nicole Kidman stars in director Jonathan Glazer's Birth
Retro Review by Andrew Swafford
Critics were quick to sing the praises of Glazer’s breakout film Under the Skin for its deliberate pace, its stunning visuals, and its unorthodox story, but few have dug into Glazer’s back catalog to find Birth, which has all of the same strengths.
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Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Goodman star in director Dan Trachtenberg's '10 Cloverfield Lane'
Review by Andrew Swafford
10 Cloverfield Lane is a tightly written, performed, and contained monster movie that uses the modern phenomenon of doomsday prepping as its primary subject, but is really all about communicating the experience of living under the roof of an abusive parent.
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Anya Taylor-Joy stars in director Robert Eggers's The Witch
Review by Andrew Swafford
The Witch is a movie that seems to be getting scoffed at a little bit by mainstream audiences due to not only the linguistic complexity, but also the expectations of it’s genre—it has almost no actual scares or explicitly gory moments.
Read MoreBen Affleck and Henry Cavill star in director Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Review by Zach Dennis
The spectacle of superhero movies is nice, but the most successful action movies show us that we need a story, set of characters, and drive to keep us engaged. Batman v Superman lacks all of that and should take a long look at what they really want to do with this perceived universe before progressing any further with their proposed future.
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