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Chris says: “Tsai Ming-liang’s a filmmaker who tends to make the same kind of picture over and over, like Yasujiro Ozu (to name one of his precursors) or Hong Sang-Soo (a contemporary.) This isn’t a deterrent, for nearly three decades

Chris says: “‘I’m bored with people my own age,’ notes Suzanne Lindon’s self-named teenaged protagonist; in her first feature, which she wrote, directed and starred in (at age *19*), you can see why. Gawky and plainspoken (resembling a young Charlotte

Chris says: “Enjoyed this a little more than THE WITCH–it’s just as silly, but Eggers’ Lynch/Maddin pretensions are finely tuned and wrought, and a sense of encroaching madness forever drives things forward. DaFoe/Pattinson is also an inspired pairing, and where

Chris says: “Crazier than FITZCARRALDO. The less one knows going in, the better. Last act meanders a bit, but this is highly recommended for fans of apocalyptic art cinema, Mica Levi scores and Julianne Nicholson. 4 cats“

Chris says: “A fascinating story (based on actual events) told adequately; it wants to be ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, but Keira Knightley lacks the presence of a Hoffman and the ease of a Redford. It’s even more noticeable in her

Chris says: “Asghar Fahardi’s latest is his least essential feature to date, but only when you consider his exceptional track record. If you’ve already seen A SEPARATION, THE PAST and all the rest, you could do much worse than this

Chris says: “After a few stabs at making biopics (HOWL, LOVELACE), veteran nonfiction filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman return to form with a slick but affecting documentary about one of the greatest vocalists of her generation. While not held

Chris says: “Apart from her debut feature LA CIENAGA, all of Lucrecia Martel’s films have left me cold and damn if I can pinpoint why. As a big fan of stuff like Tarkovsky’s STALKER, it’s not like I abhor slow

Chris says: “Leave it to Claire Denis to open her latest by saddling Juliette Binoche with one heck of a blowhard beau and close it on an extended conversation between Binoche and Gerard Depardieu, decidedly *not* her beau (his actual

Chris says: “Less the Gen-Z GHOST WORLD it wants to be than a distaff, sillier, low-budget SUPERBAD. Upped half a notch for inspired use of a certain Michael Bolton song. Camila Morrone, however, is nearly as good as a young

Chris says: “As a 19-year-old student in her native Singapore, Sandi Tan wrote and starred in an independent feature film she made with her friends and her much older male mentor, but it was never finished, as said mentor absconded

Chris says: “Further proof that one can make a movie about *anything*–in this case, twenty-plus pound swamp rats (technical name: nutria) infesting coastal Louisiana and beyond. Fun, educational (Wendell Pierce should narrate everything) and not for the squeamish. 3 cats“

Chris says: “Not to diminish all the great moon-landing footage, what stuck with me most here was the first half-hour: a fascinating time capsule of what this country and its people looked like fifty years ago, restored to appear as

Chris says: “Ephemeral but heartfelt and engaging, particularly whenever it shows the dialogue occurring organically between the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Cuban musicians (it spends a little too much time telling us about it.)”

Chris says: “Jia Zhangke’s last film, MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART is my favorite of his assessments of how much China has evolved in his lifetime; although this repeats many of that film’s tropes (plus sneaks in a callback to STILL LIFE,

Chris says: “Rest assured, Claire Denis’ first English-language feature is no sellout or concession to a more commercial cinema; on the contrary, it’s possibly her most enigmatic effort since THE INTRUDER. It centers on Monte (Robert Pattinson, further distancing himself

Chris says: “I totally get Satanism as a rejection against ‘straight’ society, but how ’bout as activism to *protect* separation of church and state? My skepticism, however, gradually broke down–as she conveyed with her last doc NUTS!, director Penny Lane

Chris says: “The Radical Monarchs are an Oakland-based alternative scouting troop for young girls of color–instead of learning about making crafts or developing camping skills (though they do a little of both), they’re taught about social justice: how to take

Chris says: “Given his tragic death in a freak accident at age 27, there’s no away a documentary about Russian born, LA-raised actor Anton Yelchin can avoid being sentimental; still, once you get past all the childhood home movies, homemade

Brett says: “Equal parts messy and well-crafted, out of this year’s many films to feature the trials and pitfalls of singer stardom, this one will takes the prize for most unique and likely the most authentic. This particular film carries

Chris says: “Since it plays like a clunky SNL sketch at times, I wasn’t expecting to like this odd little film in the end, but I kinda did. I only appreciated what it was attempting once I realized Mabel Todd’s

Chris says: “Herzog Meets Gorbachev should be a monumental summit, and although the director never downplays his admiration for his subject, the subject, for all he accomplished (and Herzog certainly makes the case for him as one of the most

Chris says: “Lucio Castro’s first feature kicks off with ten-to-fifteen dialogue-free minutes; it may well put some viewers to sleep (like the man sitting behind me in the theater, barely two minutes in!), but as I adjusted to its unusual

Chris says: “What the heck is WIG? A look at the 2018 revival of drag-fest Wigstock after a 17-year hiatus? An oral history of this annual grassroots event from its punk, mid-80s Tompkins Square Park origins to its 90s, mainstream-courting

Chris says: “North Adams, a depressed former mill town in far Northwestern Massachusetts is as unlikely a place for a contemporary art museum as one could imagine; MUSEUM TOWN is an in-depth study of how MassMOCA came to inhabit former

Chris says: “ECHO IN THE CANYON POWER RANKINGS: Tom Petty’s last interview and his infectious fandom for the subject at hand. Man, what a loss. Any vintage recording studio footage, esp. The Mamas and The Papas’ immense choral sound. Elderly

Chris says: “A genuinely inspiring story on its own, MAIDEN is further enhanced by its subject, Tracy Edwards, whom through considerable determination, chutzpah and luck managed to conceive of and lead the first all-female team to participate in the Whitbread

Chris says: “Given the copious bodily fluids on display throughout, I can see why A24 was sheepish to give this a wider release. David Robert Mitchell’s (IT FOLLOWS) only real flaw here is that he made a film that simply

Chris says: “Jessie Buckley is so damn good she altogether shreds and transcends this film’s standard “I wanna be a star” trajectory; almost as impressive is how the film itself nearly does the same with its not-entirely-expected, somewhat corny but

Chris says: “If a deep dive into the obscure world of 1960s industrial musicals doesn’t at least pique your interest, then this is not a documentary for you. If it at all does, however, you won’t mind spending ninety minutes

Chris says: “Lynn Shelton’s first feature in five years (she’s directed a lot of TV in the interim) might be her best. Cynthia (Jillian Bell) and her partner Mary (Michaela Watkins) return to the former’s hometown of Birmingham, Alabama to

Brett says: “This piece is a sort of ‘Hitchcock re-imagined’ film that slowly burns away at the viewer’s sensitivities and perceptions. At the center of the film is a hint of a love triangle among a part-time delivery boy Jong-su, an

Chris says: “Charming Icelandic drama about two sheep-herding brothers who, having been estranged (yet still neighbors) for 40 years must work together when illness effects both of their flocks. Pulls off the neat trick of convincing you it’s about one

Chris says: “Not sure if this will get any kind of distribution, but this IFFBoston title blew me away with its intensity, neorealism, and nuanced approach to its subject matter. It concerns a storefront Pentecostal church in Memphis and a

Chris says: “A half-forgotten pop culture figure you probably never thought the world needed a documentary feature about, mid-century black comedienne Moms Mabley actually proves ideal for the format. Her career trajectory (playing to mostly black audiences until finding mainstream