Drama 4/9

Jul 20, 2020
4 min

The Truth ★★★

There's a mechanical quality that can make it difficult to become involved. To the extent that’s not the case, credit the superb acting.

2filmcritics

Jul 10, 2020
3 min

Bacurau ★★★1/2

Bacurau is not a simple Manichean melodrama, but a trenchant commentary on surprisingly themes: blatant racism & government disintegration.

2filmcritics

Jun 29, 2020
5 min

Da 5 Bloods ★★1/2

Derivative, unfocused, politically superficial, and sometimes silly, “Da 5 Bloods” isn’t the epic Lee thought he was making.

2filmcritics

Jun 20, 2020
2 min

“Beanpole” ★★★★

At the center of this compelling drama are two women, each damaged and traumatized by the war and its aftermath.

2filmcritics

Jun 14, 2020
3 min

“Tommaso” ★★

As a whole, “Tommaso” is not captivating, not seductive, barely worth watching. Ferrara’s latest suffers from an overdose of causation.

2filmcritics

Jun 9, 2020
3 min

L'Innocente ("The Innocent") ★★1/2

"L'Innocente" wallows in excesses of decadent aristocrats: a surfeit of wealth, of hedonism, of moralizing, of color, and of over-acting.

2filmcritics

May 22, 2020
3 min

Bad Education ★★1/2

Hugh Jackman (playing against type as a closeted gay man) and Allison Janney may be just too good at playing bad guys.

Until the Birds Return (En attendant les hirondelles) ★★★

2filmcritics

May 10, 2020
3 min

Until the Birds Return (En attendant les hirondelles) ★★★

Full of stories & actions that could have consequences but don't. Some will find it worthwhile; others—like some characters—will be bored.

2filmcritics

May 1, 2020
3 min

The Two Popes ★★★

Powerful performances by Anthony Hopkins Jonathan Pryce make it an entertaining film but one that skims the surface of moral issues.

2filmcritics

Apr 22, 2020
3 min

The Lighthouse ★★★

Will appeal to moviegoers who enjoy the intimacy and confinement of the setting--and who don’t mind a journey to the edge of horror.

2filmcritics

Apr 13, 2020
3 min

Never Rarely Sometimes Always ★★★1/2

Two small-town girls in the big city—without much money, knowledge, or adult support—avoids the “will she/won’t she” abortion dilemma.

2filmcritics

Apr 6, 2020
4 min

Midsommar ★★

"Midsommar" is not enough of a horror film. At times it's horrific. Mostly just horrible.

2filmcritics

Mar 30, 2020
4 min

Ford v Ferrari ★★★1/2

This historical drama of the individual and bureaucracy is as good as Hollywood gets, with multiple riveting races.

2filmcritics

Mar 13, 2020
3 min

First Cow ★★★1/2

"First Cow" is a charming, poignant, even poetic meditation on male friendship, complete with a caper, involving a cow.

2filmcritics

Mar 9, 2020
2 min

Seberg ★★

A better title for this biopic of Jean Seberg, an icon of French New Wave cinema in Jean Luc-Godard’s 1960 “Breathless,” is "Seberg and Me."

2filmcritics

Mar 5, 2020
2 min

Ordinary Love ★★1/2

Love in the time of cancer. Liam Neeson & Lesley Manville authentically portray older love; but the film loses itself in the medical system.

2filmcritics

Feb 21, 2020
3 min

Portrait of a Lady on Fire ★★★1/2

"Portrait of a Lady on Fire" is a beautiful and compelling love story, impeccably crafted and narrated, exquisitely acted.

2filmcritics

Feb 12, 2020
3 min

The Traitor (Il Traditore) ★★★1/2

A nuanced psychological portrait of Italy's most famous Mafia informant - he's proud, vain, and claims to have dignity.

2filmcritics

Feb 11, 2020
3 min

Uncut Gems ★★

While Adam Sandler's acting is admirable, "Uncut Gems" is an irritating mess: not only an unlikeable character, but an unlikeable film.

2filmcritics

Feb 6, 2020
4 min

Les Miserables ★★★1/2

“Battle of Algiers” meets “Lord of the Flies.” Exciting, scary, tragic, riveting. Won Cannes Jury Prize; nominee Best International Feature

A Chiara

Happening (L'Événement)

The Northman

King Richard

A Hero (Ghahreman)

CODA

Flee (Flugt)

Parallel Mothers (Madres paraleles)

Nightmare Alley

The Worst Person in the World

Drive My Car

Spencer

Licorice Pizza

Petite Maman

INTERVIEW with Warren Beatty’s Reds historical consultant, Robert A. Rosenstone

Bergman Island

Passing

The Lost Daughter

Belfast

tick, tick...BOOM!

The Power of the Dog

Pig

The French Dispatch

Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez

The Souvenir (Part One)

Dune

Black Bear

No Time to Die

Acasă, My Home (“Acasă”)

No Sudden Move

Quo Vadis, Aida?

Shiva Baby

The Green Knight

White on White

The Truffle Hunters

Zola

In the Heights

Riders of Justice

A Quiet Place Part II

There Is No Evil

Syndrome K

The Forty-Year-Old Version

Judas and the Black Messiah

Crip Camp

The Father

Promising Young Woman

News of the World

Nomadland

Minari

Another Round ("Druk")

Some Kind of Heaven

The White Tiger

One Night in Miami

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Mangrove

Mank

You Never Had It: An Evening with Bukowski

The True Adventures of Wolfboy

The Vast of Night

Martin Eden

Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful

The Wild Goose Lake

Cuties ("Mignonnes")

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

The Assistant

Palm Springs

Sorry We Missed You

The Painted Bird

The Truth

Bacurau

Da 5 Bloods

Beanpole

Tommaso

L'Innocente ("The Innocent")

The Painter and the Thief

Bad Education

Until the Birds Return

The Two Popes

The Lighthouse

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Midsommar

Ford v Ferrari

American Factory

First Cow

Seberg

Ordinary Love

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

The Traitor/Il Traditore

Uncut Gems

Les Misérables

The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Bombshell

1917

Knives Out

Little Women

Marriage Story

Queen & Slim

The Irishman

Cold Brook

Jojo Rabbit

Parasite

Joker

Ad Astra

Pain and Glory

First Love

Downton Abbey

Monos

The Goldfinch

Late Night

Good Boys

The Farewell

Yesterday

Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood

They Shall Not Grow Old

Toy Story 4

Bad Times at the El Royale

Bob Wilson's Life and
Death of Marina
Abramovic

The Sisters Brothers

Gloria Bell

Us

Won't You Be My
Neighbor

Never Look Away

Capernaum

Everybody Knows

Shoplifters

Three Identical Strangers

Minding the Gap

Cold War

The Favourite

Creed II

If Beale Street Could Talk

Roma

Can You Ever Forgive Me

Green Book

The House with a Clock in its Walls

Wildlife

The Kindergarten Teacher

Free Solo

A Star is Born

Museo

Eighth Grade

BlacKkKlansman

Sorry to Bother You

A Ciambra

The First Purge

Piazza Vittorio

Loro 1

My Cousin Rachel

Black Panther

Marshall

Call Me By Your Name

I, Tonya

Mudbound

The Darkest Hour

The Post

The Shape of Water

Indiscretion of an American Wife (Stazione Termini)

Downsizing

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

INTERVIEW with "Blade Runner" Screenwriter Hampton Fancher

Lady Bird

Rome Adventure

Last Flag Flying

Mother!

Blade Runner 2049

Logan Lucky

Wonder Woman

Dunkirk

The Beguiled

Berlin Syndrome

Facing Windows

Baby Driver

Personal Shopper

INTERVIEW with "John Wick" Screenwriter Derek Kolstad

I Am Not Your Negro

Sing

Get Out

The Salesman

Toni Erdmann

Hacksaw Ridge

Hidden Figures

Fences

Arrival

Elle

Lion

La La Land

Hell or High Water

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Doctor Strange

Florence Foster Jenkins

Demon

Mia Madre

Indignation

Captain Fantastic

Weiner

2 FILM CRITICS

Bill and Dianne's Excellent Adventure

Reviewing Films, Together

The Truth ★★★

Bacurau ★★★1/2

Da 5 Bloods ★★1/2

“Beanpole” ★★★★

“Tommaso” ★★

L'Innocente ("The Innocent") ★★1/2

Bad Education ★★1/2

Until the Birds Return (En attendant les hirondelles) ★★★

The Two Popes ★★★

The Lighthouse ★★★

Never Rarely Sometimes Always ★★★1/2

Midsommar ★★

Ford v Ferrari ★★★1/2

First Cow ★★★1/2

Seberg ★★

Ordinary Love ★★1/2

Portrait of a Lady on Fire ★★★1/2

The Traitor (Il Traditore) ★★★1/2

Uncut Gems ★★

Les Miserables ★★★1/2

4 STARS

The Truth ★★★

Bacurau ★★★1/2

Da 5 Bloods ★★1/2

“Beanpole” ★★★★

“Tommaso” ★★

L'Innocente ("The Innocent") ★★1/2

Bad Education ★★1/2

Until the Birds Return (En attendant les hirondelles) ★★★

The Two Popes ★★★

The Lighthouse ★★★

Never Rarely Sometimes Always ★★★1/2

Midsommar ★★

Ford v Ferrari ★★★1/2

First Cow ★★★1/2

Seberg ★★

Ordinary Love ★★1/2

Portrait of a Lady on Fire ★★★1/2

The Traitor (Il Traditore) ★★★1/2

Uncut Gems ★★

Les Miserables ★★★1/2

4 STARS

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