film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
A triumph. McQueen brings history to life and makes it sing with zest and passion, with a spirit that endures beyond the strife. A celebration of Black joy alongside a raging against Black oppression.
Our most honored films are Roma (five awards), The Favourite (four awards), and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (three awards).
Zosia Mamet, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson, Maika Monroe, Ellen Burstyn, and Catherine Keener are all starring in new movies this week… but good luck finding them on a screen near you.
Saoirse Ronan has a difficult senior year in high school, Sally Hawkins falls in love with a monster, and Lupita Nyong’o is the conscience of a male hero (and her whole nation)…
Classic comic-book stuff made fresh by drawing on underexplored mythologies and cultures, yet still deeply resonant and deeply universal. An exhilarating pulp-fiction dream that ups the ante on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A startling portrait of girls at risk, with a magnificent performance by gonna-be-a-star Letitia Wright. Lovely, moving, utterly unsentimental.
