Review: “The Zone of Interest”

The following review contains some spoilers for the ending of The Zone of Interest. Any time a filmmaker holds on a shot for a length of time, the audience becomes aware of their role as voyeurs. We’re yanked out of the most likely reason why we’re watching the movie in the first place— to escape, […]

Home Video Review: “Fremont”

“Now is a good time to explore.” As the camera moves about the interior of a fortune cookie factory, meditatively observing the employees at work, perfectly in tune to the rhythms of the machinery and the sounds (that obnoxiously noisy crinkle of wrappers), it lands on a small slip of paper with that statement printed […]

Best Movies of 2023

As 2023 winds down and another banner year for cinema comes to a close, I’m recounting my favorite films released over the last 365 days, from new auteur-driven projects to anime, from romantic comedies to Godzilla. Click the links in the titles to read my full review of each movie where applicable. And thank you […]

Review: “Maestro”

“Great gowns, beautiful gowns.” The comment thrown by Aretha Franklin in reference to Taylor Swift in a 2014 interview that has often been read as god-tier shade is the first reaction that popped into my head as the credits rolled on Bradley Cooper’s sophomore feature, Maestro. Cooper’s portrait of legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein […]

Review: “Eileen”

When we first meet Eileen Dunlop (Thomasin McKenzie), she’s sitting in her car by the chilly New England seaside, shoving a handful of snow down her skirt after witnessing a couple making out in another car parked nearby. Later, at her job at a local corrections facility, she fantasizes about the attractive guard on duty, […]

Review: “May December”

Most cinematic retellings of true stories traffic in impersonation. And we, as a culture, reward that. Praise isn’t necessarily heaped on an actor for the soulfulness and honesty of their performance, but for how closely they arrive at an approximation of what we perceive to be real. Think about how so many of the most […]

Review: “Saltburn”

Gloomy atmosphere, haunted castles, grotesque characters, cursed families, doomed romances— these elements and more have come to define the gothic genre, the first entry into which is generally considered to be English writer Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto. Walpole’s tale of the lord of a manor and his family was inspired by […]

SLIFF Review: “La Chimera”

The most recognizable definition of a chimera comes from Greek mythology, in reference to a female creature made up of several different animals: a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. But the word can alternately be used as a noun to refer to something one hopes for, but is impossible to ever […]

SLIFF Review: “The Holdovers”

In a lengthy pre-film discussion and post-film Q&A with director Alexander Payne at a screening of his new film The Holdovers at the St. Louis International Film Festival, several films and filmmakers came up in reference to his work, from Billy Wilder to Leo McCarey’s devastating 1937 drama about aging, Make Way for Tomorrow. But […]

Home Video Review: “The Unknown Country”

The snow crunches beneath her feet as Tana (Lily Gladstone) steps into her car. She pauses as she glances at the handicapped tag hanging on the rearview mirror before quietly removing it. A voice on the radio details the perilous weather conditions, but as night turns to day and the snow becomes blindingly white, Tana […]