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4/5
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La Chimera
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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This complicated, many-layered film doesn’t attempt to provide easy answers but succeeds in exploring intriguing questions in vivid detail.
Posted Apr 18, 2024
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4/5
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To Kill a Tiger
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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Director Pahuja deftly captures both the mounting tension in the community and the perceived hopelessness of legal action and the warmth and support offered to young Kiran, especially by her father.
Posted Mar 22, 2024
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2.5/5
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Freud's Last Session
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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An imperfect but thoughtful story is made more intriguing by universal issues, good direction, and a stellar cast.
Posted Feb 22, 2024
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3.5/5
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Origin
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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All of this is shown through a series of creatively filmed flashbacks and historical recreations, which entertain and often shock as much as they clarify.
Posted Jan 31, 2024
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3/5
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The Accusation
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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Yvan Attal’s The Accusation is a tense, complex personal and legal drama dealing in an unusual, purposely ambiguous way with a sexual assault case.
Posted Jan 11, 2024
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5/5
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Perfect Days
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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Perfect Days is another jewel in the crown of a master of artful nuance and is a film whose impact stays with you.
Posted Jan 11, 2024
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3/5
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All to Play For
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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The film works equally well as a tense, poignant David vs Goliath battle and as a simple story of family cohesion and love conquering all, thanks to a strong lead actress and the directorial skill of a talented newcomer.
Posted Dec 14, 2023
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3.5/5
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R.M.N.
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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The film manages to capture many of the quandaries and standoffs communities around the world might struggle with -- the clash of ideals and expectations and the conflicts arising from identity and membership.
Posted Dec 06, 2023
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4/5
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Rose
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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A good road movie is expected to do more than just cross distance; by film tradition, it also involves personal growth and revelations. Few films have fulfilled those expectations better than the recently released Danish comedy-drama Rose.
Posted Dec 06, 2023
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4/5
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Seven Veils
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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Seyfried gives a vivid but beautifully controlled portrayal of a woman whose buried trauma is forced to the surface, threatening to impact the effectiveness of her work and her peace of mind.
Posted Nov 29, 2023
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4/5
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Irena's Vow
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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Under Louise Archambault’s skilful direction, Sophie Nélisse offers a believable portrayal of Irena as young, unsophisticated, and frightened of the task she has taken on, but all the more admirable for being overwhelmed.
Posted Nov 29, 2023
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2.5/5
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DalÃland
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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An impressive cast, good direction, and eye-catching set design don’t quite make up for a superficial script. Fans of Salvador DalÃ’s art will find a few surprises in the film but not a great deal of insight.
Posted Nov 29, 2023
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3/5
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La Syndicaliste
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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A difficult and complex situation is made watchable partly due to its genuinely dramatic elements and even more by giving the story a warts-and-all heroine who is both courageous and truly relatable.
Posted Nov 16, 2023
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4/5
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Fallen Leaves
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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[Kaurismaki] achieves the movie’s unique mood with an atmosphere of almost continuously dreary and depressing sights and sounds serving as the backdrop for a restrained and awkward but surprisingly charming love story.
Posted Nov 10, 2023
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4.5/5
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American Fiction
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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One of the most enjoyable satirical films of the year.
Posted Nov 09, 2023
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4/5
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Mami Wata
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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The script seamlessly mixes the mundane with the mythological and presents characters which are at once ordinary, flawed humans and representatives of greater concepts.
Posted Oct 05, 2023
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3.5/5
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Jules
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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[It's] ostensibly a tale of contact with beings from another planet, but one which uses familiar alien and flying-saucer tropes only as obvious, half-joking conventions, eventually revealing the reality of the alien presence to be stranger than expected.
Posted Aug 18, 2023
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3.5/5
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Living
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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Living is a remake that also stands on its own, an independent piece of work in spite of its clear parallels to an earlier film, equally effective and equally worth watching.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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3.5/5
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You Hurt My Feelings
(2023)
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Monica Reid
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Director Nolofcener worked with Louis-Dreyfus on a previous film, Enough Said, and elicits an even more effective comedic performance here.
Posted Jun 02, 2023
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3.5/5
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The Worst Ones
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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This first feature by directing team Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret is an unusual film-within-a-film, three years in the making, one which gives a moving glimpse of ordinary lives while very subtly touching on greater issues such as class conflict.
Posted May 26, 2023
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2.5/5
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Babysitter
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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What detracts from the film still more is that the concept becomes muddled and the message unclear well before the conclusion.
Posted May 24, 2023
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4/5
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The Night of the 12th
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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The Night of the 12th goes deeper than the crime in question, delving into questions of violence, guilt, and the nature of evil.
Posted May 04, 2023
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3.5/5
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When You Finish Saving the World
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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It is a strange but satisfying black comedy, an exceptionally on-target character study, and incidentally, an excellent film for parents and adult children to watch together.
Posted Apr 13, 2023
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4/5
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North of Normal
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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It’s an engrossing tale and one of the best-directed film adaptations of the year.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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4/5
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One Fine Morning
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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The unique approach of a talented director provides a moving and entirely relatable character study based on little more than the obligations of ordinary people, made lively and watchable by the fine work of lead actor Léa Seydoux.
Posted Feb 03, 2023
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4/5
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Full Time
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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Director Gravel draws the audience in with a tense, sympathetic, well-told Everyman tale.
Posted Feb 03, 2023
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3/5
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Between Two Worlds
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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A typically great performance by Juliette Binoche, backed by a solid supporting cast and a carefully managed storyline, provides a revealing and sensitive account of often overlooked lives.
Posted Dec 22, 2022
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3.5/5
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EO
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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The film is a simple, moving, bravely told, and completely absorbing story, beautifully made and completely successful in achieving the filmmaker’s intentions.
Posted Dec 22, 2022
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5/5
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Women Talking
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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The film finds drama and heroism in the women’s efforts and suspense in the unavoidable deadline for their final decision.
Posted Dec 09, 2022
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3.5/5
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Black Box
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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The latest feature by French director and scriptwriter Yann Gozlan is a complex thriller constructed around a well-developed version of a popular archetype: the likeable nerd.
Posted Dec 09, 2022
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4/5
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Farewell, Mr. Haffmann
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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Just as the anxiety among the three residents seems to have reached its peak, the situation takes a completely unexpected turn, which leads the story in an entirely new and illuminating direction.
Posted Dec 09, 2022
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4.5/5
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The Banshees of Inisherin
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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The combination of an insightful black comedy script by... Martin McDonagh, with a winning combination of three lead actors and an excellent supporting cast, results in one of the funniest and most consistently entertaining films this year.
Posted Oct 14, 2022
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4.5/5
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The Wonder
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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It is the cast and the sensitive direction by the filmmaker that makes possible this singular, highly personal depiction of what might be called either an unusual love story or a beautiful and ingenious rescue tale.
Posted Oct 14, 2022
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3.5/5
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Viking
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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All the humour in Viking is entirely relatable; the crew’s problems, the minor breakdowns in discipline, and the constant decline into human pettiness are all the funnier for being perfectly believable.
Posted Oct 07, 2022
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5/5
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While We Watched
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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While We Watched, the documentary by talented director Vinay Shukla, is an absolute gem.
Posted Oct 07, 2022
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3/5
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Voodoo Macbeth
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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Voodoo Macbeth is a light, entertaining theatrical drama based on real fascinating events.
Posted Oct 07, 2022
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4/5
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The Grab
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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This highly recommended documentary has provided essential information which may well spark needed change.
Posted Sep 30, 2022
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3.5/5
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The Woman King
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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All in all, The Woman King is an exciting, action-packed, history-based melodrama with a new and unusual setting, gorgeous look and sound, and dynamic performances -- but with occasional jarring flaws in the script.
Posted Sep 30, 2022
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3/5
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Nope
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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This is not Peele’s best work, but it is well made and has much of his familiar inventiveness and novel approach to horror, making it a film well worth watching.
Posted Jul 29, 2022
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4/5
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Elvis
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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Luhrmann has managed to capture the essence of the legendary Elvis Presley, in the form of what can only be called a tragic success story.
Posted Jul 29, 2022
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3/5
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18 1/2
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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The two lead actors have perfect chemistry, by turns irritable, frightened, competitive, or unexpectedly compatible as they attempt to make their scheme work.
Posted May 26, 2022
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3.5/5
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Cyrano
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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Essentially, we have an innovative and clever but slightly imperfect idea from screenwriter Erica Schmidt, properly developed and expanded upon by talented director Joe Wright, and finally brought fully to life by its lead actor’s moving performance.
Posted Mar 25, 2022
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3/5
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Alice
(2022)
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Monica Reid
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It’s a film that works well, provided the viewer lets the story set the tone without inflexible expectations.
Posted Mar 18, 2022
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3/5
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Don't Look Up
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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The humour of the movie is often broad and preposterous, but sharp enough to keep its dark edge.
Posted Jan 06, 2022
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4/5
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I'm Your Man
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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Maren Eggert's performance as Alma is subtle and on the mark at all times; but it is Dan Stevens' portrayal of Tom that is the most eye-catching.
Posted Dec 10, 2021
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3/5
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The Gravedigger's Wife
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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Warsame captures Nasra's charm, her calm acceptance of her fate, and her love for her family, perfectly, and her chemistry with Omar Abdi as Guled is perfect.
Posted Dec 10, 2021
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4/5
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Medusa
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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Whether primarily a horror film, comedy, fantasy, or musical, with Medusa director Da Silveira has definitely begun to hit her stride.
Posted Dec 10, 2021
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3.5/5
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Silent Night
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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The ensemble cast of Silent Night meshes perfectly, providing a hilarious, often uncomfortable depiction of an extended family coping with its conflicts and differences, slights and perceived rejections.
Posted Dec 10, 2021
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4/5
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The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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Cumberbatch's performance as Louis Wain is the making of the film; it allows him to be both pitiful and hilarious. He is eccentric, awkward, constantly distracted, essentially friendly but with disturbingly intermittent social skills.
Posted Nov 12, 2021
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3/5
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Mothering Sunday
(2021)
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Monica Reid
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The film is attractive visually, full of moody lighting and effective camera work, and the cast remarkable; however, the action is often far too slow and apparently directionless.
Posted Oct 08, 2021
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