Here are some reviews of films coming out at the theater this week as well as others that may be in theaters or newly on home video.
Opening: Aug. 23, 2024
Limited (United States)
Between the Temples
- Excerpt: Nathan Silver’s 1970s-styled throwback Between the Temples is a comedy of people awkwardly fumbling toward purpose, faith, and meaning.
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Nathan Silver led his cast with a ‘scriptment,’ a treatment that allowed the actors to improvise dialogue to scripted situations, something that both allows the cast to sparkle and yet gives the film a loosey goosey, somewhat unfinished quality.
Strange Darling
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: The film is elevated by Fitzgerald and Gallner’s evolving performances and unique dynamic, but also, most surprisingly, by the color coded cinematography by Giovanni Ribisi, the actor moving up to features after having shot several music videos.
2024 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Alien: Romulus
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Challengers
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Civil War
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Cuckoo
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Greatest Hits
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Monkey Man
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Skincare
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Armand
- Excerpt: A gripping psychological drama that teeters between tension and surrealism, anchored by powerful performances.
Bloody Ishq
Kathy Gibson @ Access Bollywood
Blue Sun Palace
- Excerpt: A striking debut that slowly meditates not just on the migrant experience in America but on the importance of connection and community throughout loss.
Caligula: The Ultimate Cut
- Excerpt: Negovan’s version of Caligula is not a masterpiece but it’s certainly a more interesting and less silly film than what Guccione originally released.
A Century in Sound
- Excerpt: Before vinyl bars became the latest trend worldwide, Japan’s kissaten were quietly leading the charge, offering serene musical escapes for a century.
The Clean Up Crew
Allen Almachar @ The MacGuffin
- Excerpt: There was obviously a lot of talented people working here, which makes the lackluster result such a headscratcher.
Close to You
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: The film must exist in that space of spontaneity to be as potent as it is. Page’s performance is a big part of that too, but the real draw is the whole’s ability to deliver the highest of highs and lowest of lows without ever feeling fake.
Coup de Chance
Samuel Castro @ www.elcolombiano.com [Spanish]
Devo
- Excerpt: A dynamic dive into DEVO’s avant-garde legacy, blending music, activism, and art with Chris Smith’s signature flair.
DogMan
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: …sloppy script and wavering tone aside, ‘DogMan’ has just enough crazy energy and gonzo passion to save itself from being a disaster. Any movie with Caleb Landry Jones as a wheelchair-bound, Shakespeare-quoting, asexual drag queen who communicates telepathically with dogs is likely to have at least a little oddball appeal.
Green Border
Samuel Castro @ www.elcolombiano.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: La tienen más difícil Agniezka Holland y las realizadoras que también hicieron trabajo de dirección, Kamila Tarabura y Katarzyna Warzecha, para conmover al posible público latinoamericano de “Frontera verde”, a pesar de las buenas maneras que demuestran en esta película ganadora de la Espiga de Oro en la Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid.
Head South
- Excerpt: A semi-autobiographical journey through late 1970s New Zealand, capturing the angst and music of a transformative era.
Hell Hole
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Cowriter (with daughter Lulu)/directors John Adams and Toby Poser (“Where the Devil Roams”) take a more light-hearted approach to their latest, a creature feature with plenty of gore and tongue-in-cheek homage to B movies that have come before.
In the Rearview
- Excerpt: Most of the time, the camera is focused on the passengers, who talk to each other and directly to the camera about their experiences, where they are going, and what they are leaving behind. Their remarks mix the catastrophic and the prosaic, and seldom does anyone lose their composure, no matter how harrowing the experiences they are relating.
Jim Henson: Idea Man
Samuel Castro @ www.elcolombiano.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: A los genios hay que celebrarlos y recordarlos. Sobre todo cuando su genialidad trajo felicidad y alegría a este mundo. Ron Howard, que ha dedicado buena parte de su trabajo profesional a contar las vidas de personas sobresalientes tanto en ficciones como “Cinderella man” o “A beautiful mind”, en documentales como “Pavarotti” o en la serie “Genius”, que creó y produce, decide esta vez presentarnos a uno de los creadores más importantes de la cultura popular del siglo XX. Y lo hace con lujo de detalles y con un gran respeto por su obra.
Mother of the Bride
Dennis Schwartz @ dennisschwartzeviews
- Excerpt: A shallow escapist pic that I couldn’t escape from until it ended.
My Sunshine
- Excerpt: A nostalgic coming-of-age tale that gracefully explores identity and resilience against the backdrop of a wintry Hokkaido town.
Red Island
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: Campillo’s goal was to tell this tale from a child’s eyes rather than document the events themselves. In many instances the filmmaker is trying to have it both ways only to end up smoothing down the edges.
Rule of Two Walls
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: This film is as much a window into Ukraine as it is an object itself—a manifestation of Ukraine’s soul. The result is a captivating piece that provides a different look at a familiar topic.
Tokyo Cowboy
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
We Were Dangerous
- Excerpt: A powerful exploration of colonialism’s impact on New Zealand’s First Nations through a compelling and disarmingly hopeful narrative.
2023 Films
The Taste of Things
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
A Journey in Spring
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: Even though directly addressed to arthouse fans, “A Journey in Spring” is a competent film that communicates the particular type of dealing with grief and its procedure through a distinctly Taiwanese setting that carries the movie from beginning to end, along with the acting and cinematography.
One Life
Samuel Castro @ www.elcolombiano.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: En uno de los mejores diálogos de “Lazos de vida”, (qué pena que la traducción al español del título arruinó la alusión a “Quien salva una vida, salva al mundo entero”, la frase del Talmud que pronunciaba Stern, el personaje de Ben Kingsley en “La lista de Schindler”) Nicky Winton, el personaje principal, habla de esa gente común y corriente a la que él siente que pertenece, que no hace nada distinto a lo correcto, a pesar de que lo narrado en la película por el equipo dirigido por James Hawes, con tino y con belleza aunque sin ambición de esplendor, es más glorioso que todas esas hazañas de héroes mutantes y espías que vemos en las películas que llenan las salas
The Promised Land
Samuel Castro @ www.elcolombiano.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: En todos los países del mundo hay anécdotas poderosas de su historia que merecerían ser contadas en películas con altos valores de producción, cuidado en los detalles, vestuario de época y paisajes memorables. Pero no en todos los países cuentan con un actor como Mads Mikkelsen para protagonizarlas y eso permite que llegue a nuestras salas una cinta como “El bastardo”, de Nikolaj Arcel.
The Wandering Earth II
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: “The Wandering Earth II” follows the “rules” of the Hollywood blockbuster. It doesn’t stand up to any kind of scrutiny, logic is thrown out of the window, but it is almost constant fun to watch and a film that will definitely satisfy all fans of sci-fi action.
2022 Films
June Zero
- Excerpt: June Zero is an unusual film based on an interesting idea that it doesn’t quite know how to carry out.
Your Lovely Smile
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: “Your Lovely Smile” is a film that will definitely make the people who know what is happening to the (Japanese) indie movie industry laugh, and a title that will definitely appeal to those who enjoy Watanabe’s directorial style.
