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Nick Robinson and Amandla Stenberg have an undeniable chemistry in the charming YA adaptation Everything, Everything directed by Stella Meghie.

Nick Robinson and Amandla Stenberg have an undeniable chemistry in the charming YA adaptation Everything, Everything directed by Stella Meghie.

Everything, Everything (2017) by Stella Meghie

May 22, 2017

Review by Jessica Carr

It’s OKAY to let yourself enjoy a charming YA romance, especially if it means women like Amandla Stenberg get more lead roles.

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Michalina Olszanska stars as one of the mermaids in Agnieszka Smoczynska's The Lure.

Michalina Olszanska stars as one of the mermaids in Agnieszka Smoczynska's The Lure.

The Lure (2017) by Agnieszka Smoczynska

April 25, 2017

Review by Lydia Creech

David Ehrlich from IndieWire called it “The Best Goth Musical About Man-Eating Mermaids Ever Made” in his review, and maybe that tagline is enough to sell you (it sold me). If not, uhm, what’s wrong with you?

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Brie Larson stars in director Ben Wheatley's Free Fire

Brie Larson stars in director Ben Wheatley's Free Fire

Free Fire (2017) by Ben Wheatley

April 23, 2017

Review by Lydia Creech

Ben Wheatley populates his films with aggressively shitty, stupid people, then puts them in hermetically sealed environments and lets them be aggressively shitty and stupid to each other until there’s only one left standing. I am fine with this.

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Garance Marillier stars in the cannibal coming-of-age thriller Raw, the debut film for French director Julia Ducournau.

Garance Marillier stars in the cannibal coming-of-age thriller Raw, the debut film for French director Julia Ducournau.

Raw (2017) by Julia Ducournau

April 17, 2017

Review by Jessica Carr

I just survived a French cannibal movie, and I ACTUALLY LIKED IT.

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Makoto Shinkai's Your Name broke the anime box office record previously set by Spirited Away

Makoto Shinkai's Your Name broke the anime box office record previously set by Spirited Away

Your Name. (2017) by Makoto Shinkai

April 15, 2017

Review by Andrew Swafford

Your Name. is doing the unthinkable: finding extraordinary success solely due to its quality as a good story, expertly told by a visionary filmmaker.  Am I dreaming?

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Aaron Poole stars in The Void, a new horror film by directors Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski

Aaron Poole stars in The Void, a new horror film by directors Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski

The Void (2017) by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski

April 13, 2017

Review by Jordan Collier

The Void is another horror film marketed as a throwback to the horror golden age of the 80s, when the genre wasn't afraid to be absolutely off-the-wall batshit crazy whether in idea or execution.  It’s not going to be remembered for its characters or its plot, but I have a hard time believing it ever would have been.

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Cinematary Canon #5: Non-Ghibli Anime Films

April 12, 2017

This list features writing by Andrew Swafford, Lydia Creech, Jessica Carr, and John McAmis

Click below to see the full list!

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Justin Long and Emily Rossum star in director Sam Esmail's feature debut Comet

Justin Long and Emily Rossum star in director Sam Esmail's feature debut Comet

Comet (2014) by Sam Esmail

March 29, 2017

Retro Review by Paige Taylor

If you're scanning through reviews to see if you want to watch this movie, don't watch it just yet. Now's not a good time. If you want to truly appreciate this movie, wait for a day when your mind is clear.

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Zoey Deutch stars in director Ry Russo-Young's Before I Fall

Zoey Deutch stars in director Ry Russo-Young's Before I Fall

Before I Fall (2017) by Ry Russo-Young

March 10, 2017

Review by Andrew Swafford

Before I Fall stylishly explores the repetitive nature of routine adolescent life in a way that isn’t being appreciated enough.

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Annette Bennin, Elle Fanning, and Greta Gerwig star in director Mike Mills's 20th Century Women

Annette Bennin, Elle Fanning, and Greta Gerwig star in director Mike Mills's 20th Century Women

20th Century Women (2016) by Mike Mills

February 26, 2017

Review by Lydia Creech

The three women at the heart of 20th Century Women relatable and flawed and funny and beautiful, and, frankly, aspirational.

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Sandra Hüller stars in director Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann

Sandra Hüller stars in director Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann

Toni Erdmann (2016) by Maren Ade

February 20, 2017

Review by Jessica Carr

With Toni Erdmann, German writer/director Maren Ade creates a film that explores father-daughter relationships, the meaning of life and depression all while creating a comedic experience that had me laughing until my sides ached.

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Samuel Jackson reads the words of James Baldwin (above) in director Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro

Samuel Jackson reads the words of James Baldwin (above) in director Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro

I Am Not Your Negro (2017) by Raoul Peck

February 16, 2017

Review by Lydia Creech

I can’t stress enough how important it is that other voices be heard and listened to, especially in today’s political climate.  The effect of hearing Baldwin speak is quite different from the talking head documentary styles of 13th and OJ; I Am Not Your Negro feels more lyrical and associative.

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Riccardo Scamarcio and Ruby Rose costar beside Keanu Reeves in director Chad Stahelski’s John Wick: Chapter 2

Riccardo Scamarcio and Ruby Rose costar beside Keanu Reeves in director Chad Stahelski’s John Wick: Chapter 2

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) by Chad Stahelski

February 12, 2017

Review by Andrew Swafford

Can we talk about violence in the John Wick series?  Seriously, can we?  Only three years old, this franchise has already become a strange sacred cow for cinephiles who dig genre fiction.  Yes, these movies are balletic and immaculately captured on film, but they’re also fascinating--if imperfect--from just about every other angle.

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Apu in Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar

Apu in Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar

The Apu Trilogy (1955, 1956, 1959) by Satyajit Ray

February 11, 2017

Review by Zach Dennis

The Apu Trilogy has become so revered because it asks us to grapple with difficult moments in the main character’s life, but also leaves us with emotional touchstones that generate a desire to return to them.

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Best Hidden Gems of 2016

January 30, 2017

This list features writing by Zach Dennis, Andrew Swafford, Jessica Carr, Lydia Creech and John McAmis

Click below to see the full list!

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Best Foreign Films of 2016

January 23, 2017

This list features writing by Zach Dennis, Andrew Swafford, Lydia Creech, Jessica Carr, John McAmis, and Malcolm Baum

Click below to see the full list!

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Best Blockbusters of 2016

January 16, 2017

This list features writing by Zach Dennis, Lydia Creech, Jessica Carr, Andrew Swafford and John McAmis

Click below to see the full list!

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Best Comedies of 2016

January 8, 2017

This list features writing by  Zach Dennis, Lydia Creech, Andrew Swafford, Malcolm Baum, Jessica Carr and John McAmis

Click below to see the full list!

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Michael Sheen, Jennifer Lawrence, and Chris Pratt star in director Morten Tyldum's Passengers

Michael Sheen, Jennifer Lawrence, and Chris Pratt star in director Morten Tyldum's Passengers

Passengers (2016) by Morten Tyldum

December 29, 2016

Review by Andrew Swafford

I still like the originality of Passengers overall, but the tone of the film always stays on this side of “safe,” gutting the film of its potential to be a gutsy, interesting, original studio genre effort.

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Ryan Gosling, along with Emma Stone, stars in director Damien Chazelle's La La Land

Ryan Gosling, along with Emma Stone, stars in director Damien Chazelle's La La Land

La La Land (2016) by Damien Chazelle

December 27, 2016

Review by Andrew Swafford

La La Land is more ambitious than Whiplash in every conceivable way: it is longer, it has a more complicated plot, it doubles the number of artist-protagonists, it upgrades musical performance to musical theater, and it poses significantly more ethical dilemmas about art to wrestle with.  I’m going to ignore the film’s obvious cinematic qualities in order to focus on the ethical side—because I’m not sure Chazelle has much to say this time around.  

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