film reviews
Explore a range of experiences, from Hollywood blockbusters to art films and indie gems. We offer thoughtful insights, in-depth analysis, and curated suggestions to help you discover both new favorites and enduring timeless classics.
Review by Aaron Jones | Jan 18, 2025
In the near future where emotions have become a threat, Gabrielle finally decides to purify her DNA in a machine that will immerse her in her past lives and rid her of any strong feelings. She then meets Louis and feels a powerful connection, as if she had known him forever. The Beast had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival as part of the official competition.
Review by James Carneiro | Jan 08, 2025
Bruno Stroszek is released from prison and warned to stop drinking. He has few skills and fewer expectations: with a glockenspiel and an accordion, he ekes out a living as a street musician. He befriends Eva, a prostitute down on her luck and they join his neighbor, Scheitz, an elderly eccentric, when he leaves Germany to live in Wisconsin. In 2002, Roger Ebert called it "one of the oddest films ever made" when including it as one of his "Great Movies".
Review by Aaron Jones | Dec 28, 2024
In the region of North Ossetia in Russia a young woman named Ada lives with her family in a remote former mining town. Being the only woman in the household, Ada lives with her patriarchal father and two brothers. This dynamic soon reveals a dysfunctional family clinging together in severely unhealthy ways, with the controlling father at the center of the dysfunction and codependency stemming from a past trauma that still haunts their daily lives. The Film won the Un Certain Regard award at the 2021 Cannes Festival.
Review by James Carneiro | Dec 22, 2024
A 1993 British black comedy drama film starring David Thewlis as Johnny, a loquacious intellectual, philosopher and conspiracy theorist. The film won several awards, including best director and best actor at Cannes. Naked marked a new career high for Mike Leigh as a director and made the then-unknown Thewlis an internationally recognized star. For his astonishing performance, David Thewlis won Best Actor award at Cannes Film Festival.
Review by Aaron Jones | Dec 14, 2024
A young woman, Janice, is living with her conservative, working-class parents, who become concerned at her rebellious behaviour, and are shocked when she becomes pregnant. At a time when pregnancy when unmarried was widely considered shameful, they insist she has an abortion, but this has terrible emotional and mental effects on her. The film won FIPRESCI Prize at Berlin International Film Festival.
Review by James Carneiro | Dec 07, 2024
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. It premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or. Anora was named one of the top 10 films of 2024 by both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.
Review by Aaron Jones | Nov 29, 2024
A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader. Kinds of Kindness had its world premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where Plemons won the Best Actor award.
Review by Aaron Jones | Nov 18, 2024
The pain of growing up, as seen by three Turkish youths: Ömer, the son of the local imam, who wishes the death of his father; his best friend, Yakup, who's enamored with the village schoolteacher; and Yildiz, who is forced to balance her studies with the needs of her demanding mother. It won the Best Turkish Film of the Year Award at the Istanbul Film Festival.
Review by Aaron Jones | Nov 06, 2024
Anais is thirty and broke. She has a lover, but she’s not sure she loves him anymore. She meets Daniel, who immediately falls for her. But Daniel lives with Emilie – whom Anais also falls for. This is the story of a restless young woman, and the story of a profound desire. The film was shown in the Critics' Week section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.