One of the pleasures of being a critic is getting assigned to review a film you might not otherwise have seen. 2021’s “The Dry” was one of those, a taut moody drama/thriller based on Jane Harper’s best-selling novel (the first in a series). It starred Eric Bana as Melbourne cop …

“It was a convenient place to stay.”—Prince Andrew, BBC Newsnight interview, November, 2019 It seems, frankly, unbelievable that Prince Andrew would agree to be interviewed by the BBC in such an open-ended way, and it’s even more incredible that he thought it went well! What kind of a bubble do …

Olivia Colman plays Edith, a woman still cowering under the control of her parents (Timothy Spall and Gemma Jones). They are Christian, although they don’t seem very happy about it. Poor Edith is forced to write Bible verses over and over when she does something her father doesn’t like. Everything …

Ambiguity and extreme emotional states occur simultaneously in Jessica Hausner’s films, where what “is” is not a simple question, and what we should take from all of it is equally obscured. Her characters are in extremis, and their emotional or spiritual states create a separate reality. The everyday business of …

“Players” is about a gang of friends living in New York City, all single, all of whom spend their off-hours “running plays” on potential hook-ups. They name all the different plays (“The Betsy Ross,” “Drip Drop”), and work them together, tag-teaming around their unsuspecting prey. These plays are sometimes very …

This philosophical standpoint sounds rather grandiose when written down, but it’s soothing and intriguing in Davos’ approach. “Here” is experiential rather than story-driven. The big things happen not in the words, but through gestures, physical and emotional. Gestures like showing someone something. Pointing at something you want them to see. …

“The Promised Land” is about ten movies in one. It’s a history lesson with a central figure driven by an impossible quest. There are bands of outlaws, sadistic aristocrats, and downtrodden peasants. There’s a little romance, a lot of torture, as well as a feisty runaway child. Historical epics like …

Fran (Daisy Ridley) is the central character of “Sometimes I Think About Dying”. She doesn’t speak until 22 minutes in. Not one word. The first thing she says is matter-of-fact to an extreme: “I’m Fran. I like cottage cheese.” There’s no mystery behind why she says it. She’s at an …

Roger Ebert began his review of the 1993 film “Alive” with “There are some stories you simply can’t tell. The story of the Andes survivors may be one of them.” He may have been right. The crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes mountains on October 13 …

“May December” starts with a flurry of confusing activity in two different locations. A glamorous woman (Natalie Portman) checks into a boutique hotel, murmuring into her Bluetooth. Another woman (Julianne Moore) is in the final stages of planning a get-together at her waterfront home. She opens the fridge and stares …

“birth/rebirth” has some “body horror” tropes and some straight horror tropes, but it’s not really a monster story. It’s more of a medical thriller, helmed by two twisted conspirators, both operating from a place of desperation and trauma. The tone Moss establishes makes the events seem almost plausible. What if …

The film was collectively conceived and written by Gladstone, Maltz, editor Vanara Taing, and Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, who appears in the film (and also produced). Gladstone interacts with people playing either a version of themselves or themselves outright. When Tana stops off to visit her cousin (Lainey Shangreaux), she is …