Seed of the Sacred Fig: A Movie in Secret
Mohammad Rasoulof is now an exile because he made The Seed of the Sacred Fig. The Iranian director was the talk of the Cannes...
The Best Lead Performances of 2024
I’m afraid I owe this column to the L.A. wildfires, which put off the announcement of the Oscar nominations and gave me some extra...
Hard Truths: Diary of a Mad Black Woman
In Hard Truths, Pansy Deacon (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is checking out of a supermarket in suburban London when she suddenly attacks the cashier (Ashna Rabheru):...
Grand Theft Hamlet: Player Kings
I just ran my list of the best documentary films of last year, and while Grand Theft Hamlet arrives too late to merit consideration...
Brutalist: Big Blocks
Of all the Oscar contenders in play this awards season, The Brutalist is unquestionably the longest. We’re talking three hours and 35 minutes, which...
The Best Supporting Performances of 2024
I’m trying something different this year. The end of this article contains a mention of movies with terrific ensemble casts. I think that’s worth...
Better Man: Hey Hey, It’s the Monkey!
“What’s with the monkey?” asks Robbie Williams in the trailer of Better Man, a movie based on his life. The film is in many...
The Best Filmmaking Debuts of 2024
Need hope for the upcoming year? Writing up this feature always gives me that, as I look forward to the movies these first-time directors...
Complete Unknown: What About Bob?
Yet another music biopic that feels about as deep as a children’s picture book, A Complete Unknown is based on Elijah Wald’s history Dylan...
The Best Movie Dialogue of 2024
They say that blog posts are all audio and visual content now, and that the written word is becoming an afterthought. Maybe that’s true,...
