Reviews
New writing on the latest theatrical and streaming releases
Girls State (Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, 2024) | Apr 5, 2024
“Moss and McBaine’s keen eye on the pushback lobbied against the dated rules of the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State program — which recalls current efforts to dismantle the aging pillars of American government — makes for the most engaging, most inspiring footage in all of Girls State.”
Spermworld (Lance Oppenheim, 2024) | Apr 2, 2024
“There’s a very fine line between respect and ridicule when it comes to subject matter as bonkers as this, but Oppenheim never strays too far to one side or the other. A student of the great Ross McElwee and Harvard University’s Sensory Ethnography Lab director Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Oppenheim demonstrates with Spermworld that his filmic voice is one of the most unwavering in documentary and narrative alike.”
Steve! (martin): a documentary in 2 pieces (Morgan Neville
, 2024) | Mar 28, 2024
“It’s highly informative, competently made, and extremely watchable, but nevertheless: Even considering its cartoon interludes, private-home-video segments, candid confessionals, and two-piece gimmick, Steve! (martin) is the safest look possible at a generational superstar who has always played it anything but.”
Spaceman
(Johan Renck, 2024) | Mar 1, 2024
“Spaceman can’t compare to the gonzo heights of some of Sandler’s triumphs, but maybe that’s the key. Perhaps Sandler’s intention in playing Jakob was to have an excuse to beef up the portfolio with something more reserved than anything we’ve gotten from him before. ”
Perfect Days (Wim Wenders, 2023) | Feb 23, 2024
“Although disguised under the unassuming cover of by-the-book, independent arthouse filmmaking, Perfect Days recalls one of the worst, most reductive schools of thought: The Bootstrap Mentality. If it’s not outright antithetical to the “indie film” niche, at minimum this way of thinking feels horribly misplaced.”