Abominable movie review: a bit of a snow job
Lovely animation and gentle, kid-pitched life lessons can’t quite overcome the familiar feel of this E.T. retread, nor the forced sense of wonder that is more convenient crutch than anything organic.
female protagonist
Good Posture movie review: growing up, still deferred
A rare new expedition to the realm of messed-up young women is as unsatisfying as many of the ones about feckless young men. An unlikeable protagonist should at least be interesting. This one isn’t.
Official Secrets movie review: blow all the whistles
Not a spy thriller but a story of emotional and intellectual suspense wrangling with matters of patriotism and of conscience, and of just how far journalism’s watchdog role can and should take it.
Phoenix (Føniks) movie review: but will she rise again?
This Norwegian family drama, tinged with fantasy and horror, depicts a teen girl’s emotional turmoil through fantastical, yet oddly pragmatic, reveries. Newcomer Ylva Bjørkaas Thedin is heartbreaking.
Hustlers movie review: with hearts of steel
GoodFellas, except they’re gals. A cinematic bonbon of delinquent deliciousness that easily wraps us up in charmed complicity. And the exquisite lack of a male gaze means it’s never salacious.
Gwen movie review: a frisson of fright on the farm
Atmospheric mood — this is a dour nightmare in the stark gloom of 19th-century Wales — and a striking performance by Eleanor Worthington-Cox aren’t quite enough to sustain this near-horror film.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold movie review: archeology is her religion
Raiders of the Lost Ark lite for kids, but juvenile humor and a derivative plot limit its appeal for adults. Teen Dora is really cool, though, and a great role model for girls and boys alike.
Vita & Virginia movie review: the 1920s London literary scene, drained of all passion
The legendary literary lesbian romance, starring the incendiary duo of Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki, is criminally blah, lacking all sexual and intellectual passion. How does this happen?
Midsommar movie review: välkommen to weird Ikea
It’s hard to escape the sense that Ari Aster is getting off on Florence Pugh sobbing and screaming as he fetishizes her terror and torment. And none of it is in the pursuit of any meaning or message.
Maiden documentary review: around the world in feminist ways
The riveting tale of misogyny-busting sailor Tracy Edwards is as beautifully modulated as fiction, full of twists and turns and delicious ironies, and even sports a perfect ending. Yet it’s all true.
