Unlike Her Music ‘I Am: Céline Dion’ Is Not a Mournful Drama
Unlike how her subject’s music can be, Irene Taylor’s biography I Am: Céline Dion is not a mournful drama. That doesn’t mean it’s easy.
film review
Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinematic Melodrama: ‘Victims of Sin’
In Emilio Fernández’s Victims of Sin, a galaxy of important Mexican film and music artists collaborate on a tale of mambo music, martyred mothers, and melodrama.
‘Bad Shabbos’ Revels in Its Black Comedic Soul
A dead body adds to the lively mix of family dysfunction and the pressure of making a good impression in Dan Robbins’ affable black comedy, Bad Shabbos.
Familial Neurosis in ‘Never Open That Door’ Film-Noirs
The family is the source of neurosis, and any hint of an allegedly happy ending in these three film-noirs must happen over someone’s dead body.
Department Q Film ‘Boundless’ Unravels
Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q crime thriller The Hanging Girl unravels in its 2024 film adaptation by Ole Christian Madsen, Boundless.
‘Nothing But a Man’ Is an Unflinching Drama of Marriage and Racism
Nothing But a Man is about battling discrimination on an uneven playing field but also about tenaciously preserving friendships and families.
Detective Fantasy ‘You Never Can Tell’ Spoofs Film Noir
Fantasy, comedy, romance, reincarnation, animals and murder are ingredients for You Never Can Tell, a whimsical story with spoofs of film noir.
‘Sometimes I Think About Dying’ Keeps the Popcorn in the Bucket
Rachel Lambert’s sensitive and observant comedy drama Sometimes I Think About Dying isn’t a film that will turn popcorn into projectiles.
Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War’ Refuses Righteousness
Alex Garland’s Civil War refuses righteousness. Instead, it takes a hard, unflinching look at the true costs of war for everybody and everything it touches.
Hell and Limbo Are Reimagined in Sci-Fi Horror ‘Desert Road’
The same lack of control and uncertainty that hounds Kafka’s Josef. K haunts the lost protagonist in Shannon Triplett’s sci-fi horror Desert Road.
‘Robot Dreams’ Quietly Encourages You Not to Be Afraid
Pablo Berger’s animated Robot Dreams is a near-perfect marvel of silent cinema nearly a century after talkies ended the silent era.
Kore-eda Hirokazu’s ‘Monster’ Falls Short of Its Literary Ambitions
Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Monster has striking moments, but casually skips over details, reducing its characters to incomplete fragments.