Review: “Summerland”

“Summerland” is a period piece that is exactly as pleasant as it looks and sounds. But by injecting a rather traditional and sentimental narrative with a more contemporary attitude, and through Gemma Arterton’s winning performance, writer and director Jessica Swale’s debut feature is a sumptuous treat. Set during World War II, “Summerland” stars Arterton as […]

Review: “The Rental”

You may think twice about booking that weekend at someone’s Airbnb after watching “The Rental,” the thriller that’s Dave Franco’s directorial debut. The film, which is co-written by Franco and Joe Swanberg, follows two couples: Michelle (Alison Brie) and Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Charlie’s brother Josh (Jeremy Allen White) and his girlfriend Mina (Shelia Vand). […]

Review: “The Painted Bird”

Toward the beginning of “The Painted Bird,” we see the nameless young protagonist (played by Petr Kotlár) watch Lekh (Lech Dyblik), the bird breeder he is staying with, paint the wings of a small bird he has captured before releasing it to rejoin its flock. But because the painted bird is different from the rest, […]

Review: “First Cow”

In her 2010 western “Meek’s Cutoff,” director Kelly Reichardt explored a group of pioneers trying to survive on the frontier in 19th century Oregon. Reichardt returns to that time and place with her new drama, “First Cow,” which she also co-wrote along with frequent collaborator Jonathan Raymond (who also penned the novel The Half Life […]

Review: “Relic”

The scariest aspect of “Relic” isn’t the unseen presence supposedly lurking in the rural Australian home of elderly Edna (Robyn Nevin). Rather, it’s something that many people have experienced within their own families: watching dementia or an illness such as Alzheimer’s overtake an older relative until they no longer know who you are. They’re still […]

Streaming Movie Recap: June 2020

June was a pretty busy month for movies released on streaming platforms, particularly as several films originally intended for theatrical release made their debut on demand or on streaming services like Disney Plus instead due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve already reviewed some of those films (and I’ve linked my reviews below), but you can […]

Cinema Classics: “In This Our Life” (1942)

Hattie McDaniel has indirectly been in the news quite a bit in the last month or so. The first time was for “Gone with the Wind,” the 1939 drama in which she played the smart and sassy Mammy and for which she became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award. That film was […]