La Cocina uses its kitchen-setting as a springboard for a grand Statement on America. But it ruins the main dish by adding too many flavours.
Too Many Cooks Spoil La Cocina
Tag: review
Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust Won’t Be a Hit. It’s Too Unique For That.
Using an Unreal Game Engine to bold and unsettling effect, Ishan Shukla’s Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust is a truly unique and strange sci-fi vision.
MMXX. Cristi Puiu Revisits his Annus Horribilis Through Lengthy Anthology.
Cristi Puiu’s MMXX revisits the year he whipped up a bunch of coronavirus controversy with a typically austere anthology that lacks the smarts of his best work.
For Night Will Come. The Vampire Genre (Partially) Undone.
The perils of being a vampire in a regular-old world are subtly investigated in For Night Will Come — beating away clichés before eventually succumbing to them.
Stolen Just Keeps Getting Better
Indian movie Stolen levels up scene after scene, moving from a tense, whodunnit to a full-blown, white-knuckle thriller — live from Venice Film Festival.
Critical Zone Fails to Hold Interest
A stoner comedy without the comedy; an arthouse drama without the art; a deep dive into social ills without going too deep; Critical Zone is inessential.
Empty Nets. Empty Catch.
Love fights the forces of economics and corruption in the underwhelming Iranian drama Empty Nets — live from Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
The (Ex)perience of Love Has Music in It
The (Ex)perience of Love, playing in Critics’ Week, is a silly movie. But its fantasy premise is treated with smarts and sensitivity, making for a fun watch.
Master Gardener. Master(ful) Filmmaking.
Paul Schrader finds a more tender angle on his tried-and-tested formula in the touching Master Gardener, completing his most recent trilogy.
She Came to Me. She Didn’t Conquer.
The Berlinale 2023 opens with a trip aboard the tugboat of love. There is no need to get on. Here’s our take on Rebecca Miller’s She Came To Me.