Driver - Tribeca Documentary Review

‘DRIVER’ Documentary Review: A Compelling Look at Reality for Women Truck Drivers

Wide shots of roads with purplish skies over them. We see that mainly during the sunsets, as Nesa Azimi’s cameras portray. She takes us on a journey throughout the United States railroads and gas stations alongside the female truckers in business. In the first minute of DRIVER, the director introduces …

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Horizon - An American Saga Chapter One Movie Review

‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’ Review: Costner’s Riveting Epic (Cannes)

There was one movie at this year’s Cannes Film Festival which was a passion project for the director that got all the attention: Megalopolis. But there was another movie, a passion project for the director, that also played Cannes, albeit not in competition: Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. This …

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The Count of Monte Cristo Film Review

‘The Count of Monte-Cristo’ Review: An Expert Movie Adaptation of the Dumas Novel

Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo is kind of the ur-text for the modern adventure story. Published in 1844, it has it all: treachery, sword-fighting, injustice, long cons, false identities requiring elaborate disguises, secret children, hidden treasure, beautiful ladies, villains becoming heroes, heroes becoming villains, and revenge served …

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Eric Netflix Series Review

‘Eric’ Series Review: A Career Best for Benedict Cumberbatch

Limited series are becoming a new favorite medium for streaming. They last between six and eight hours and feel like an extended film. Such length allows the story to carry a deep emotional complexity. This complexity has attracted prominent actors to this limited series format. Netflix has championed this medium …

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Star Wars - The Acolyte Premiere Review copy

‘The Acolyte’ Premiere Review: A Refreshing Star Wars Conspiracy Thriller

The Acolyte is the latest Star Wars show to arrive on the back of something of a mixed reception for the franchise of late, with underwhelming ventures for Ahsoka and the latest season of The Mandalorian, but with stellar outings for Andor. Thankfully, The Acolyte is more in the Andor …

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The Shameless Movie Review - Cannes

‘The Shameless’ Review: When Love May Not Be Enough (Cannes)

Any description of The Shameless could make it sound like the most exploitative trash, so it’s stunning to realize that despite the grim setting, the exceptionally troubled characters, and the hopelessness of their situation, that it isn’t. This is a testament to the skill of writer-director (and Bulgarian-American) Konstantin Bojanov, …

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Grand Tour Movie Review

‘Grand Tour’ Review: A Compulsively Strange Must-See Movie (Cannes)

Miguel Gomes won the Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for Grand Tour, which he co-wrote with Telmo Churro, Maureen Fazendeiro, and Mariana Ricardo, because it is an impossible film. It’s an epic pan-Asian journey best described as a mash-up of Wisconsin Death Trip and Apocalypse Now, …

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Doctor Who Dot and Bubble Review

Doctor Who: ‘Dot and Bubble’ Review – Season 1 Episode 5

Holding a mirror up to society is typical of science fiction. For the last decade or so, it’s been a little less common in Doctor Who, as the show has taken a less allegorical path, with episodes like Rosa, which tackled segregation with a literal Rosa Parks refusing to sit …

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Hit Man Movie Review

‘Hit Man’ Cements Glen Powell’s Movie Star Status

In Hit Man, Richard Linklater’s latest film, the beloved director teams up with his star Glen Powell to write a script loosely based on a stranger-than-fiction news feature by legendary Texas Monthly reporter Skip Hollandsworth. It should be stressed that the real story, while remarkably gripping, does not go quite …

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Emilia Perez Movie Review banner

‘Emilia Pérez’ Review: Four Performances of Note (Cannes)

In an unprecedented move, the Cannes Film Festival jury awarded the Best Actress prize this year to the four actresses of Emilia Pérez – Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz. This is almost as startling as French writer-director Jacques Audiard making a primarily Spanish-language musical about …

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