David Robb

Plunging headlong into the murk of exploitative missionary work and environmentally destructive capitalism, Transamazonia is a film with undeniable import and sociopolitical urgency, which its muddled narrative can’t completely dampen.

As Dracula wears on, its lack of focus starts to grate, while Radu Jude’s deployment of profane, disreputable dialogue and imagery starts to resemble a stylistic tic more than a genuine affront to his audience’s sensibilities.

Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s film is unwilling to really sit with the peculiarity of its protagonists’ unique psyches.

The film half-heartedly teeters between a kinetic action thriller and something a little more low-key.

Onur Tukel’s film doesn’t live up to the promise of this fleet-footed opening.

Ultimately, Henry Johnson’s cynical assertions about society and human nature are the only aspects that end up resonating, for better or worse.

The possibility of relating to the characters is constantly hindered by the struggle to make sense of the story’s messily sketched dystopia.

Its bizarre mismatch of form and content mostly saps it of life, tamping down the tension and frequently suggesting an accidentally distributed proof of concept for a project that never managed to secure funding.

The film’s insistence on keeping the stakes low throughout is probably its key strength.

The film lacks for the empathy, curiosity, and sense of humor that are the defining characteristics of the Smiths’s music.

George Clooney’s and Julia Roberts’s undimmed charisma brings enough grace notes to Ticket to Paradise that you could easily be taken in by its low-stakes frivolity.

In a way, the film feels like a true heir to the petulant, low-budget horror cinema of the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Only cheap shock value can be gleaned from the film’s cavalcade of blood, semen, animal carcasses, dick pics, and erotic toothbrushing.

The film evinces neither the visceral pleasures of noir nor the precision to uncover deeper thematic resonances.

The film portrays mental illness with all the nuance and insight of Jared Leto in Suicide Squad.

Even at its most confrontational, the film maintains a carefully controlled deadpan tone.

This is subject matter that might sound heavy, but the difficult feelings dredged up never overwhelm the film’s gentle, character-driven approach.