Bradley Gibson

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

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

Marty Supreme is a rare film that will become a watershed moment in cinematic history, in the same way that Taxi Driver and Pulp Fiction did. It will be spoken of in reverent tones in years to come, and will be endlessly studied and then copied by lesser filmmakers.

The film is a monumental achievement, rolling in like distant thunder and lightning seen through the treeline.

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

Trier has created a masterwork, with layers of human drama and frailty (on a budget of less than $8M), soaring to the heights of unearned optimism only to crash into the inevitably of mortality.

Neither the meals depicted nor the viewing experience should be rushed. Time is needed for the ingredients of the film to achieve a simmered state of perfection. Your patience will be rewarded.

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

The Friend’s House is Here provides an instructive window into the challenges of life in Tehran, as well as an opportunity for Westerners to share these moments and empathize with the people there.

Mapantsula is timely and relevant 35 years later.

American Doctor is a horrifying film to watch, but that’s the point.

The film explores dark territory but treats the subjects with emotional intelligence and sensitivity.

Yogi brings us close to Masao’s personal tragedy while at the same time pulling back to see life and death at a cosmic level. The movie delves into the cycle of life and death enough so that that audience members can understand and accept the beauty of the process.

Lacôte’s second directorial feature, Night of the Kings, is an epically ambitious undertaking, roaring along on several parallel tracks, with a dizzying number of sub-stories to track. The world inside MACA prison is a complex, layered cultural and political system.

This film, this artist, this music, this story: all rare gems…see this film.

It is a short jump from laughing to screaming. There is no safe space. Cregger has a refined sensibility for identifying the core irritations in ordinary life and amplifying them into anxiety, escalating to terror.

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.

Miller has hinted that this may be the last adventure set in the wasteland, and if that’s true, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a powerful swan song to Furiosa, Max, and all the denizens of that blasted, delightful place.

With Garland crafting the script and DeCosta at the wheel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a winner on all fronts. It is wildly entertaining, never predictable, and explores the clash between superstition and tradition versus hard science.

The filmmaker educates and entertains with a profoundly human story about the life of a young woman. Viewers will become invested in what happens to Di and learn about the Hmong tradition along the way.

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.

For those who don’t care as much about the moral of the story, there are many ways to enjoy this film. It’s a good time, and one can easily just vibe on the music and color palette, the goofy humor, and an amusing nostalgic catalog of Mattel toys and accessories without investing too much brain power into the social justice commentary.

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

The film moves deliberately as we visit, in turn, the struggles of each character and then zoom back out to see the results impacting the family as a whole. The performances are flawless, each actor holding back their character’s inner turmoil tightly, to be revealed gradually as slight tell on the surface.

The animation is beautifully done, with striking color and simplicity.

Camilleri captures the beauty of Malta in Luzzu. He shows us the island, the sea, the colorful traditional boats with faces painted on the front, and the glamour of sunset over the ocean. He also shows us life there can be destructively difficult for people trying to make it on the low end, as they struggle to maintain their traditions and pride while the world changes around them.

Anyone seeking motivation, or just looking for inspiration, will marvel at the life story of Valerie Taylor, her sharks, and her love of the sea. She is a treasure, as is Sally Aitken for bringing her story to the screen.

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