Talky drama One Minute to Midnight is certainly pleasant, but its not gripping enough to justify inclusion in the Venice Competition.
A Hill of Beans in a Crazy World
Redmond Bacon
Redmond is the editor-in-chief of Journey Into Cinema.
Arrested Memory. Frontal Underload.
Sabu’s Arrested Memory is a weird blend of crime comedy, emotional journey and martial arts movie. None of it really coheres.
Steven Seagal Loves to Wear Your Prom Dress
Steven Seagal is the master of cultural appropriation in Hard to Kill, On Deadly Ground, The Patriot, Belly of the Beast and Today You Die.
Jupiter, Descending
Denis Ménochet lends tremendous gravitas to a Macron-esque president trying to avert nuclear war in Alexandre Smia’s Jupiter, playing in Out Of Competition.
Asphalt Guerrilla. The Paradoxes of AI Punk Filmmaking.
The use of artificial intelligence in Edgar Pêra’s Asphalt Guerrilla may be inspired by good intentions, but it bodes poorly for the future of documentaries.
No Sex Please, We’re American
One Night Only imagines a world where sex is only permissible once a year, splitting the difference between fun comedy and puritanical views on intercourse.
Martha’s Folly
Small yet powerful, Five Years, Four Months takes an almost structuralist approach to grief, showing one mother’s unending journey to find her missing son.
The Kids Are Not Alright
Miroslav Terzić’s follow up to Stitches (2019) is a devastating exploration of the infinity cruelty of children that makes Adolescence look like Bluey.
Truly Cringe
My Friend the Porn Star appears to be curious about the porn industry, but it rarely leaves the rarefied air of very specific Viennese friend groups.
Anyone Can Be a Hero in The Last Chance
In a deeply cynical world, the moral clarity of WW2 escape drama The Last Chance is extremely refreshing.