Barry Levitt

Seven Veils feels like Egoyan struggling under his own expectations, just like Jeanine begins to crumble under hers.

Riefenstahl is a crushing exposé, and its most impressive trick is peeling back the layers of a very private woman to show a petulant child who can’t believe people haven’t gotten over the atrocities she willingly helped create.

There’s something damning that comes through watching Separated—the idea that things happened and were allowed to happen because of ambition. To advance in their careers, people were willing to enact laws that would cause unspeakable and irreversible harm.

This is not the film you may have expected, but this is a film you can cherish. Its characters bursting with life, its music playful, its visuals astonishing, its plot inviting, and its heart is open. All you have to do is listen.

It repeats the same joke over and over (and over again). And just when you think Wolfs might be interested in moving onto fresh new material, it attempts the same punchline again, in its 400th variation.

What it does present is a powerfully told, tightly wound, and riveting story of an American sports broadcasting team on a single day reporting on a major event in world history. It’s entirely apolitical in scope.

This film is monumental. It’s thrilling and emotional, quiet and observant, loud and furious. Corbet’s film is a provocative portrait of the pursuit of the American dream.

Kurosawa creates such an eerie atmosphere in the first hour of Cloud that watching it crumble into more generic action territory is challenging, and feels like a miscalculation. It doesn’t help that much of the action in the second half isn’t particularly interesting.

Babygirl is an exhilarating thriller that’s piercingly funny. Its real radicalism comes in its bracingly honest approach to sex, power, and discovering what makes you tick.

Maria is a swirling, fragmented recollection of Callas’ life, one that leaves things frustratingly on the surface.

While Beetlejuice Beetlejuice doesn’t quite capture the irresistible magic of the original, it’s full of stylistic wonder and fun characters.

Solo celebrates love within the queer community, and it does so beautifully. But what's even lovelier about Solo is that it's a film about finding that love within yourself first.

While there are some quality jokes about how hard it is to maintain authenticity, it’s all frustratingly—if unsurprisingly—surface-level. Thankfully, the film is often funny, and it's best when leaning into the absurdity that fuels Hess and Wang’s other work.

As the horrors of The Royal Hotel unfold, the film shifts from a terse thriller into a full-on horror, assisted by appropriately and effectively eerie cinematography from Michael Latham.

It does wind up playing things too safe, and too conventionally, but Rustin still remains a valuable portrait of how an everyday person can do extraordinary things in the face of staggering adversity.

Next Goal Wins feels like it's made by a director out of ideas — it's a film made up of lazy, visually vacant, and soulless filmmaking.

The Holdovers is proof that we need more thoughtful, studied, loving, and irresistible human stories on screen. It certainly helps, however, when Alexander Payne is at the helm.

For a story as surprising and unpredictable as the true GameStop story was, it's frustrating to see Dumb Money follow such a familiar structure. What it does do especially well is its exploration of the community aspect of the situation.

Though Chuck Chuck Baby treads familiar plot beats and offers little surprise, it's something of a feat to turn such familiar British film territory into something prominently LGBT+. Its innate understanding of queerness and female bonds allows the lesbian relationship to never feel like window dressing.

Though I had a feeling Strays could be special, I'm still pretty floored by just how hilarious it is. Perrault's script finds an excellent balance of wince-worthy humor and genuine heart, and the voice acting is more than spirited enough to make up for the inevitable issues with trying to make animals emote like humans.

While Pretty Red Dress might be a bit too ambitious and it spends too much time delivering its message, this is a thoughtful, charming study of masculinity and gender expression, anchored by some brilliant performances. Its great musical energy keeps the pacing strong, and it's an exciting new take on the family drama.

Mánver is astonishing as Cruz. The film gives the accomplished actress plenty of opportunities to shine. It's such a committed and warm performance, and a willingness to really dive deep into the psyche of her character means you won't be able to get her out of your head.

It's a story that feels equal parts ludicrous and lived-in, and it's a promising debut for Ebo, and I hope we'll be hearing plenty more from her in the future. If you're still looking for evidence that Regina Hall is one of our finest working actors, look no further.

Saint Omer is an intelligent, absorbing drama that had me under its intoxicating spell.

Rodeo is a daring and impressive debut feature that accomplishes something wonderful about movies: it explores a world that few know with a bracing intimacy and genuine respect for the subject. While it typically succeeds, it's thin plot and weak characters outside of Julia, as well as a reliance on repetition, prevent the film from being truly brilliant.

This is Ira Sach's best film in years, a magnetic, emotional, and hugely watchable exploration of love and sex in the modern age. Those of us who've been following Rogowski for a while have been ready for this, and "Passages" might just be the film that makes him a superstar.

Despite a villain that does everything possible to elevate The Amazing Maurice, this is a forgettable movie. I think kids will have a decent time with it. Adults won't be as fortunate, and it'll take a lot of restraint to not stare at their watches.

While the atmosphere, visual effects, and camerawork keep tensions high, the plot begins to wear thin.

Blaze is bold, striking, visionary cinema that makes for an astonishing debut. Its magnificent blend of puppetry, animation, and visual effects allows it to stand out from the crowd, but it also allows for an impressive interrogation of the human mind, delivered with tremendous empathy.