John Magaro
Past Lives is the epitome of contemplative, meditative cinema. It’s perplexing, but in the way I like my movies to be.
From NYFF, Lee Jutton reviews A Couple and Showing Up, the latest films from Frederick Wiseman and Kelly Reichardt.
Dan Mirvish explores the mystery of the biggest political scandal in history through 18½, an engaging, quick-paced, and wonderfully comedic thriller.
Reichardt once again displays her generous understanding of life on the margins, and the implicit need to create relationships in harsh lands.
The tone of First Cow is warm and fuzzy until the very end that watching it unfolds is like going through a soothing meditation.
While Reichardt seems to be well intentioned here, First Cow falters by being frustratingly empty in both its delivery and narrative focus.
Usually, I’m not a fan of the ‘comedy’ genre of film. I find that ninety-five percent of the time, it’s filled with bland, repetitive plot lines that all crack the same sort of jokes: either helpless characters struggling with awkwardness, or more slapstick physical comedy.