movie reviews
In-depth, long-form movie reviews that explore films with nuance, context, and personal insight. Covering cinema from around the world, these essays go beyond plot summaries to unpack meaning, style, and impact.
-
The Myth of the American Sleepover (2010): The Fetish Rises
The Myth of the American Sleepover is just a great throwback to a kind of simpler time, set in an undefined past where technology did not rule our teenage minds. It’s pure fantasy. Read more
-
Moartea domnului Lazarescu (2005): A Hellish Ride
God, I know it’s a terrible thing to say, but I really loved Moartea domnului Lazarescu (The Death of Mister Lazarescu). It was such an accomplished transition for Cristi Puiu, from his earlier works like the 2001 movie Marfa si banii (with the unappealing English title: Stuff and Dough) or his slice of life short… Read more
-
Cinema, mon amour (2015): Or Existential Limbo
One of my first writings here told a bit of the story on the run-down state of our own Cinema Timis. Cinema, mon amour tells a similar story from a humanistic angle, with a humble house of film in Piatra Neamt at its core. Read more
-
Ilegitim (2016): A Difficult Tread
It’s rare that all the possible twists of a movie be so obvious just by looking at a poster. But Illegitimate still manages to make it work, in spite of its self-indulgence – it’s an entertaining story of how a family implodes. It simply fails to punch as high as it aims to do. Read more
-
Amores perros (2000): Self Redemption
God, the turn of the millennium was such an awesome time for mainstream movies. One of the guys who has since become the Hollywood auteur is Alejandro G. Inarritu. Two Academy Awards for best director in consecutive years? Quite the feat. But to me, Inarritu has been insanely hit and miss. Not to say that… Read more
-
-
Perfetti sconosciuti (2016): The Undergrowths of Married Life
So here’s an actual recommendation for people to see, not some obscure, self-indulgent piece on how eclectic my taste in movies is. A great, little, Italian dinner table film to make your ‘relaxing’ evening. Read more
-
The Girl in the Book (2015): Wayward Tales
The latest in a series of small-scale but not unambitious movies starring Emily VanCamp is a tale of abuse with literary entanglements. A fine concept, which ultimately is not fleshed out sufficiently. Read more
-
Ronaldo (2015): Competent. Inauthentic. Fascinating.
Having watched de la Iglesia’s Messi documentary, I thought of going all in and looking at Ronaldo’s as well. And although this one tries so hard that it frequently seems inauthentic, at least it provides direct feedback from the horse’s mouth: there are no doubts about what Ronaldo feels and believes – but only concerning… Read more
-
Autobiografia lui Nicolae Ceausescu (2010): The Spectacular Reality of Nicolae Ceausescu
It is unfathomable to think that this is a part of our human heritage, and the film leaves the impression of being a document of society, culture and politics that’s out of this world. Read more
-
Amy (2015): Discovering Anew
The 2015 documentary about Amy Winehouse, a strong follow-up piece from Senna’s (2010) Asif Kapadia, is a grueling, yet riveting portrayal of assassination by fame. Read more
