When it’s all said and done, however, the whole thing just feels a little tired.

The biting commentary on modern business never really makes an imprint.

McCraney may be the closest thing a totalizing directional presence like Soderbergh has had to a true co-author in years.

It’s a film full of interesting ideas, all wrapped up in messy, even shoddy methods, and an undeniably sincere and rather astonishing performance from Sam Elliott, who doesn’t seem to give a hoot whether he’s hunting Bugs Bunny or the Oscar gold–he’s just going to go for it, dammit.

Lords of Chaos the film ultimately could care less about the music when the psychology of this scene’s progenitors is what intrigues. So those expecting to learn about the genre will be sorely disappointed. This is about aesthetic, notoriety, and paranoia.

The story inside Official Secrets is one worth telling, but perhaps it would be better to read the book.

As the fun hits a brick wall, the film doesn’t quite have the pathos of other coming-of-age stories like The Edge of Seventeen, more focused on selling the amiable, Superbad-esque hang out vibe that is so attuned to Davidson’s brand of comedy, but when it is time for some comeuppance, it’s easy to feel for both Mo and Zeke.

Clemency is a thoroughly draining experience as if we’re placed in purgatory with no means of escape, but it’s ultimately powerful in the ways it shows how the death penalty has consequences for everyone involved.

Them That Follow has a compelling hook, but what’s left is nothing but an unfortunately wasted opportunity.

Fighting with My Family doesn’t pull too many unexpected punches, but as someone who has never watched a split-second of wrestling in their life, the fact that I was engaged with this underdog story is a testament to the success of Merchant’s first solo directing effort.

It may have moments where it feels unwieldy—like a runaway train gone off its tracks—but it never flags for one second. A movie this bold doesn’t dare lose momentum.

Thoroughly engrossing ... The way the directors are able to provide a portrait of empathy on all sides is astounding.

Were it not for Mother’s telegenic exo-skeleton, which whirrs with every little maneuver, the film would be little more than a talky, over-stuffed mess of tropes better exercised elsewhere.

Has a compelling hook ... but the follow-through leaves something to be desired.

Brittany Runs a Marathon mostly succeeds, and it’s all thanks to Bell. That Colaizzo is trying to do something more is icing on the cake.

[It] deftly mines morose, intelligent drama from its entirely real scenario.

Hogg’s earlier films are striking in their picturesque abstractness as we sit in on conversations from a distance, but the ambition and warmth on display in The Souvenir makes this her greatest achievement.

While Burns is certainly damning of the forces that let these tactics be utilized, the message of the film is ultimately more about coming clean as a nation for one’s mistakes and the oversight needed between branches to have a government of integrity.

Throughout Photograph, Batra shows a sensitive touch and a patient eye for the subtle rhythms of human connection

Despite a few key emotional moments, there’s not enough in the performance to fully engage from beginning to end.

The viscerality will surely leave one shaken, though they may question if the unceasing sadistic acts on display are worth the experience.

This film, ultimately, is a major work of contemporary American cinema: complex, beguiling, and full of meaty discussion points that will challenge audiences throughout 2019 and beyond.

Those going into Paul Harrill’s second feature looking for frights will be rewarded with something more substantial: an experience rich with atmosphere and humanity, and drama ultimately more enlightening than the cheap thrills that pervade the dime-a-dozen ghost stories we’ve seen before.

When Thompson and Kaling are playing off each other, Late Night sings. That so much of it is focused elsewhere feels like a miscalculation.

The subject matter is immediate and engaging. But the structure of this film is languid to the point of aggravation.

Rachel Lears’ Knock Down the House is a fun, emotionally powerful, inspiring look at the incredible wave of would-be politicians that sought, in 2018, to challenge status quo Democrats and enact meaningful change.

Whether intentionally intended or not, this earnest endeavor does wonders to enact sympathy and overturn any negative public perception of his outbursts, even if it can feel more like self-therapy than a fully-formed film.

Once the film wrestles itself from the confines of its spiritual predecessor [Hereditary], The Lodge is able to chew on some truly mind-bending ambiguities that kept me guessing—suspended in relatively effective tension—on what was actually happening.