Festival Reports
Joachim Trier's best movie to date? Richard Linklater's love letter to Godard and Truffaut? Peak Panahi? Read on.
Weekly Digest
Classics 🎞
How Akira Kurosawa’s classic film became the model for truthiness as a cinematic and cultural point of view. (From the WaPo)
New Movies
One of the best movies of the year -- and two that aren't.
Film Festivals
Some second thoughts on Spike Lee's latest, and a baker's dozen of my most anticipated Toronto Film Festival screenings
Weekly Digest
Some gloomy thoughts on the future of film criticism and film critics + two recommendations and two new reviews.
New Movies
This week: A solo Coen joint and a tight little New York noir
New Movies
Some jaundiced thoughts on the field in which I've spent my working life. Plus a few movie recommendations.
New Movies
Spike Lee's reunion with Denzel Washington ain't Kurosawa, but it ain't bad.
A guide to movies in theaters and on demand, plus pop culture observations, from a film critic with 40 years in the business.
A sweet sleeper of a Georgian movie; plus: a bonkers fascist artifact from Depression-era Hollywood, two fine new streaming releases, and a ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reminder.
Japanese Cinema 101, a Hollywood classic revisited, new reviews and more
Three-quarters of a century on, Billy Wilder's classic is still a bitter, bitter pill
A stunning new horror film, a congenially plastic Disney sequel and a music doc that swoons a bit too much.
Jia Zhangke's latest is a literal career summary. Also: You have to pick ten movies to represent Japanese cinema to newcomers. Quick: what do you choose?
A quiet week this week. It happens.
This week: A kinda brilliant new horror-comedy, a better-than-expected reboot and Norwegians with sled dogs.
Jean Arthur stars in a great, underrated screwball comedy from director Mitchell Leisen.
Two new comedies about love and criminal behavior. One zings, the other doesn't.
Something (streaming) for everyone: "40 Acres," "Materialists," "Drop," "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl," "The Shrouds" and "Peking Opera Blues"
Plus: Brief reviews of new releases "Sorry, Baby" and "Oh, Hi!" and a heads-up on hard-to-find classics.
For Watch List newcomers: The most popular movies on demand recommended by this newsletter since its inception in 2021. (Plus a bonus for paid subs.)
