Bradley Gibson

Speed of Life reminds us that the art of our idols, the fire, and the passion, survive the artist and that their immortality is you keeping that fire burning.

Perrier is an undeniable talent and as a first outing, Jezebel is a powerful statement.

This is war as a First Person Shooter, and it’s incredibly effective at putting the viewer in the moment.

Haynes carefully navigates the risky terrain of presenting real people (who are still among us) and facts in a scripted feature film, artfully blurring the lines between documentary and drama.

Call this “Film meh” instead of Film Noir. The only way it could be more pretentious is if it was in black and white. These characters are so unlikeable, you may find yourself hoping Margaret and Henry both get the shit kicked out of them for their arrogance and stupidity.

The mafia murder images are stomach turning, viewers take note. Letizia talks about her life at great length and some of it is redundant, but she is always charming and inspirational, living as a strong, independent woman in a crushing patriarchy.

Her responses and her journey, set alongside her own art, give a unique perspective on that meditation as well as to the crucial importance of art to document our time, to share experiences, and to enhance the quality of life.

Director May El-Toukhy paints an engaging, uncompromising film in bold strokes, never looking away or shrinking from Anne’s boldness to act on her desires, or her willingness to remorselessly do whatever she must to restore the status quo of her life.

For fans of Breaking Bad, it’s a satisfying return to and continuation of the story.

It’s tempting to talk about Making Waves as being educational, but it is not dryly academic, though it does introduce the subject in some detail. This is a fun film to watch, with the interviews and graphics illustrating how the sound comes together, the doc is an exciting behind-the-scenes look at the effort and skill required to create movie sound artfully.

Benjamin Naishtat directs with a steady hand and a strong vision. Pedro Sotero’s cinematography reveals the place and time in a respectful style that captures the period without satirizing it. This is a film that satisfies on every level and bears repeated viewings.

Cash’s film is reflective and accomplished, showing the world through the eyes of a young woman challenged by a painful childhood and by the culture of her times, finding her own way through the chaos around her to a functional adult life.

The dark comedy is subtle, but hilarious. Serious topics bubble up from masterful situational humor.

Overall the pace is a little slow and the film is too quiet, but it’s definitely a notch above typical low-budget fare and entertaining to watch.

The Irish humor and setting make for a lovely time with the film as we get a droll glimpse of daily life in Ireland, and things that are lost and found again.

Yardie is a ripping classic gangster tale done right, but that’s only part of the appeal. It goes beyond the narrative into full cultural immersion with music as the window into a time and place.

The film runs long. Director Rick Alverson could have wrapped up this disturbing meditation in less time and still been as effective at painting his precisely beautiful dark image.

Featuring a mix of fiction and real life, Touch Me Not explores intimacy in an experimental feature film that manages to make sex seem unlikely and tiresome.

There is humor, drama, and sexual indiscretion, with entertaining and sometimes insightful moments, but the themes are so narratively ill-defined that it never gels.

The characters are compelling, but I would like to have known more about how Peter came to this place in his life.

Scheinert adroitly conveys both the pathos and the humor of the situation. As dumb as the main characters are, the film itself is very clever.

Films promoting self-improvement are suspect as they are prone to being preachy. To succeed, the filmmaker must create an experience so overwhelmingly entertaining the viewer forgets he/she is being improved upon. This film misses that mark, despite some engaging moments in the attempt.

Bruce Thierry Cheung adapted this story from a novel by Dean Bakopoulos, brilliantly changing the setting from Michigan to the California desert. The film is light on dialog and heavy on brutally beautiful cinematography painting the mood.

What We Started achieves the directors stated goal of being an impressively comprehensive history of EDM. So much so that the film drags: unless one is a truly deep aficionado, 90 densely packed minutes of info about EDM is too much. It would work better with more music and less detail.

As with all dramatized stories of real lives, artistic license hammers messy reality into a watchable film. Dramas are not documentaries. The essential emotions of Freddie’s life and the history of the band are here. There’s nothing unexpected in the structure of the movie. It’s a visit with some old mates you’ve not seen in a long time.

Superb acting by all the leads and supporting players populate the desolate landscape with human dramas large and small in a place where people scrape a living out of harsh conditions.

This is a fantastic film. Imagine any John Hughes film as a drug-fueled drama.

Hardy and Nachman’s film is the uncommon near-perfect documentary: the filmic elements fade, done so well the viewer focuses on the dogs and their journey. All of this leads up to the tremendous joy of freedom and partnership for those whose lives are transformed by their new guide dogs.

Lough has attempted impartiality by showing both sides without overtly stating a position. Either side could interpret the film as presenting evidence supporting their ideology. This both works and does not.

It still has everything a viewer could want from a movie experience.

As great as the script and cinematography are (they are both unassailable), the real magic of Unforgiven is in the performances.

The film can be enjoyed on many levels, including getting just interplanetary on your favorite substance and waiting for the plethora of quotable lines.

The story is set in real world Mexico, not a cleaned-up movie world simulacrum.