Makis Papdimitriou, Panos Koronis, and many other middle-aged Greek men star in director Athina Rachel Tsangari's Chevalier
Review by John McAmis
Themes and stigmas of masculinity run rampant in Chevalier, and for good reason. With outstanding direction by Tsangari, the film exists to call attention to the toxic ways in which men determine the “manliness” of other men. The contest itself has its roots in this question, though by the end of the film, the activities on the yacht run amok and the question is no longer Who will win? but What will be the breaking point for each contestant?
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Madina Nalwanga and Lupita Nyong'o star in Queen of Katwe
Review by Zach Dennis
Queen of Katwe recognizes where it comes from, but I would be ashamed and disgusted to hear someone say they didn’t at least remotely enjoy this sweet film. Nair doesn’t craft the film with the multi-layers that something like Monsoon Wedding had, but she allows it to become a story that includes its own levels of satisfying richness.
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in Snowden
Review by Zach Dennis
Snowden is a deeply flawed film. The movie runs long and falls into cliches in order to evoke the emotions of the audience, but it succeeds in at least posing the question of whether or not Snowden is a true patriot for what he did.
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is one of the many high-profile interviewees in director Ava DuVernay's documentary 13th
Review by Andrew Swafford
Ava DuVernay’s documentary about mass incarceration is a voice singing out clear, loud, and true. 13th presents the facts, unembellished by drama or sensationalist pathos, and the truth alone is enough to ring in the ears of the American consciousness unbearably until meaningful change provides us with a different world.
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This list features writing by Zach Dennis, Andrew Swafford, Lydia Creech, Ben Shull, Jessica Alice Carr, and John McAmis
Click below to see the full list!
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Visionary German director Werner Herzog turns his camera on many internet experts with Lo and Behold
Review by Andrew Swafford
Lo And Behold by Werner Herzog is an incredibly fascinating podcast--providing unique perspectives that inspire curiosity and skepticism, posing questions and exploring ideas that don’t necessarily add up to any larger conclusions.
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Wes Robinson, Callie Hernandez, Valorie Curry, and Brandon Scott star in Blair Witch
Review by Zach Dennis
Blair Witch is another in a long line of modern horror films aimed at giving the audience what it wants — a few scares over the course of 90 minutes — and nothing more. It is disappointing to relegate a genre to its most banal features and be satisfied with that, but it seems like it is where we are with horror today in the mainstream.
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Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander star in The Light Between Oceans
Review by Zach Dennis
The Light Between Oceans is never poor because of its narrative choices, but it loses its punch about halfway through and never finds it again.
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Retro Review by John McAmis
Fantastic Planet, set in an odd world where plants gurgle and statues dance, holds a great deal of truth about humans, and we see a version of our own society through giant red eyes.
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Jane Levy stars in director Fede Alvarez's Don't Breathe
Review by Andrew Swafford
By flipping the script on a standard horror narrative, Don’t Breathe sets itself up as an extremely compelling genre exercise, with stakes that matter, a world you understand, and characters you identify with on both sides of the conflict...and it’s great while it lasts.
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Ralph Fiennes and Art Parkinson star in Kubo and the Two Strings
Personal Essay / Review by Jessica Carr
(Read original review by Andrew Swafford here)
When I was sitting next to my parents watching Kubo and the Two Strings play out, I couldn’t help but let the tears fall from the corners of my eyes. This was a story that resonated with me so closely.
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This list features writing by Zach Dennis, Andrew Swafford, Jessica Carr, John McAmis, Lydia Creech, and Ben Shull
Click below to see the full list!
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King Neptune and his feathered friends star in Vorkapich and Hoffman's Moods of the Sea
Retro Review by Dylan Moore
It is easy to forget or take for granted the effectiveness of a piece of music to inform the editing rhythms of a film...it can feel like background noise, but the swells and crashing of waves in Moods amplified by the music and woven together from fragments of footage gives an active vision of the the sea.
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Art Parkinson and Charlize Theron star in director Travis Knight's Kubo and the Two Strings, developed by LAIKA Studios
Review by Andrew Swafford
Kubo is a story about storytelling, but it wisely understands that we don’t just tell stories to escape into fantasy or to entertain ourselves; stories are the voices that link generations and allow the presently living to learn from past lives.
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Mike Birbiglia, Kate Micucci, Chris Gethard, Gillian Jacobs, Keegan Michael-Key, and Tami Sagher star in Don't Think Twice
Review by Zach Dennis
I don’t think Don’t Think Twice cured my dislike for improv, but it gave me more understanding. We are all on the ride of life and whether or not the highs and lows of that ride coincide with where we want them to be is completely up to chance. And despite its cringe-inducing characters, Don’t Think Twice succeeds at making you reflect on that — regardless of what step you’re on.
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Kodi Smit-McPhee voices Norman in ParaNorman
Retro Review by Zach Dennis
The plot of ParaNorman seems better suited for 2016 than its actual release in 2012, but that is because it harps on a breath of clarity that is much needed in a world marked by shootings, tyrannical politics, and targeted aggression.
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Royalty Hightower stars in director Anna Rose Holmer's The Fits
Review by John McAmis
With little dialogue, a smoothly tracking camera that moves up and over the sides of pools and railings, and an eerie score of a solitary, screeching clarinet, Holmer paints a quiet picture with miles of anxious subtext.
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Oakes Fegley stars in Pete's Dragon
Review by Zach Dennis
In a time when many seem to be striving to recapture American values, this heartwarming film from writer/director David Lowery accomplishes the goal and all while working within a format that has been wrought with uniformity for so long.
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Julian Dennison and Sam Neill star in Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Review by Jessica Carr
At the end of the day, Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a feel good film. Taika Waititi gives us loveable characters with flaws and over the course of the film, we have the opportunity to see them grow into better people.
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Robert DeNiro stars in Taxi Driver
Retro Review by Zach Dennis
The trick of Taxi Driver is not in the lengths Travis goes to break from his loneliness, but how it is able to visualize something so absolutely foreign to so many people — the sick mental state.
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