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: May 15, 2020
Wide (United States)
None
2020 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Deerskin
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
How to Build a Girl
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
True History of the Kelly Gang
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Arkansas
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: It’s a fairly simple and modest crime film that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Arkansas
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Arkansas is thus a series of trust exercises between idiots, the fearful, and the [over-confident]. Hemsworth and Duke are therefore the perfect team: brawny and scrawny.
Bad Education
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Monetary fraud and the subsequent cover-up could have been dry material but it’s presented with a healthy dose of levity. This is quite a feat because there’s nothing inherently funny about what happened.
Blood Quantum
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: Blood Quantum is a relatively bare bones zombie flick with undercooked drama that doesn’t totally do justice to its rich ideas. However, it contains enough excitement and action to satisfy fans of the genre.
Bull
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Instead of sending her leads down a road that’ll change their circumstances, Silverstein provides each a crucial confidante to silently endure the unavoidable pain with them.
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Josh Taylor @ www.forgetfulfilmcritic.com
- Excerpt: Capital in the Twenty-First Century is a brilliant translation of Piketty’s ideas to a visual medium. It is required viewing for anyone who wants to understand how things came to be this way and how we can change our situation for the better.
Capone
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: I’m not totally convinced that Capone adds up to all that much, but there is not a single dull moment. It’s a relentlessly nasty, weird, bewildering, and immensely entertaining experience from start to finish.
Capone
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: A “Twilight Zone” riff on the “This is Your Life” template wherein the subject is transported through a Jacob’s Ladder-esque hole towards oblivion.
Circus of Books
Karl Delossantos @ Smash Cut Reviews
- Excerpt: Where the Circus of Books lacks focus, it makes up for in pure heart and a touching personal story that gives hope to a community.
Clementine
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Clementine never relinquishes its quiet drama to [possible suspense]. The focus remains on Karen, Lana, and their futures away from their respective manipulators.
Diablo Rojo PTY
Brent McKnight @ The Last Thing I See
- Excerpt: A strange, dark, witch-infested descent into hell.
Disappearance at Clifton Hill
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Music and mood are among the movie’s few, albeit considerable, strengths.
The Half of It
Karl Delossantos @ Smash Cut Reviews
- Excerpt: The Half of it is a melancholy, but an ultimately joyful, exploration of growing up and exploring your identity told through a thoughtful, meditative, and heartwarming story.
The Half of It
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: I was charmed by the characters, found myself invested in their quiet and internal journeys of self-discovery. Alice Wu’s filmmaking here is confident, warm, and totally in tune with the feelings of the characters and their sense of longing.
Har Kisse Ke Hisse: Kaamyaab
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: Kaamyaab has its fair share of flaws, but what brings it together is Sanjay Mishra’s performance. He brings a great sense of history, subtlety, and warmth to his performance that makes the film’s lighthearted and occasionally broad approach resonate.
Murder Death Koreatown
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: Your enjoyment of ‘Murder Death Koreatown’ will be linked to your tolerance for watching feature-length shot-on-cellphone vlogs…If you’re willing to overlook the budgetary issues, however, ‘Murder Death Koreatown’ is a solid watch—and if you rate it on a dollars spent to entertainment value curve, it’s off the chart.
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: For those already familiar with her life and work, there isn’t much new to this. However, the doc makes the case that she leaves a strong body of work behind that will stand the test of time that better defines her legacy than her tragic, untimely death.
Pahokee
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: When so many places in America are known for slashing budgets and ignoring public education, Pahokee arrives as an inspirational exception.
Rewind
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Rewind is as much an advertisement for the Child Advocacy Centers created to better protect victims as it is a cathartic look at [his] arduous fight [for] justice.
Soundwave
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: Enough does thankfully come across, however, so we can appreciate what Narang is doing and saying regardless [of the film’s shortcomings].
Spaceship Earth
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: Wolf renders [those bigger and more crucial] truths as bit players in the background of a puff piece about John Allen and the Synergia Ranch.
Vitalina Varela
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: Vitalina Varela isn’t going to be for everyone as a result. It might be slow moving, but it’s emotionally profound.
The Wolf House
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Simply put, this mind blowing, multi media stop motion animation is like nothing you have ever seen before… With their first feature length film, Cociña and León have broken new ground, combining the tale of the Three Little Pigs with psychological breakdown within the little known history of Colonia Dignidad.
