Movie review by Greg Carlson Gabe Polsky’s “Red Army” skates by as swiftly and forcefully as the larger-than-life hockey personalities it closely examines. Flipping the American “Miracle on Ice” narrative on its head, Polsky’s sharp, attentive documentary invites viewers to see the dominant Cold War rink soldiers of the Soviet Union’s national team not as […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Gender, class, marriage, and parenthood receive a good working over in Ruben Ostlund’s hilarious “Force Majeure,” a gorgeously photographed dream/nightmare vacation travelogue that smartly deploys a human-versus-nature leitmotif to situate the First World problems of its protagonists within a conversation about control, self-control, and our lack thereof. More preoccupied with […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Oscar-winning documentary feature “Citizenfour” is a you-are-there record of the National Security Agency’s global and domestic surveillance program revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013, and what it lacks in cinematic panache it more than makes up for in jaw-dropping urgency and bomb-blast power. Alan Scherstuhl astutely points out that […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Craig Zobel’s film adaptation of “Z for Zachariah” is so loosely based on the book of the same name that fans of the novel will puzzle over many of the radical changes from page to screen. Written by Robert Leslie Conley under his pen name Robert C. O’Brien, “Z for […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering follow their Oscar-nominated “The Invisible War” – a harrowing expose of the United States military’s woeful record regarding the issue of sexual assault – with another film addressing the same massive injustice done to victims of rape on college campuses. “The Hunting Ground” […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson “It Follows,” writer-director David Robert Mitchell’s sophomore effort, is a chilling companion piece to debut feature “The Myth of the American Sleepover.” A retro-styled thriller that pays homage to a variety of classic horror movies like “Diabolique,” “Night of the Living Dead,” “Halloween” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” Mitchell’s […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Filmmaker Jesse Moss constructs one of the best documentaries of recent memory in “The Overnighters,” a complex and thoroughly gripping look at ourselves when faced with questions of charity, forgiveness, trust, and love. Set during the recent explosive population boom in Williston, North Dakota that accompanied the introduction of fracking, […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Wittily written, sparklingly performed, and dazzlingly directed, “Mistress America” quickly makes for itself a strong case as Noah Baumbach’s finest film to date. If not, the movie is at least every bit as wonderful as “The Squid and the Whale,” though its tone more closely resembles an effortlessly madcap screwball […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Daniel Junge tackles the larger-than-life personality of iconic American motorcycle stunt performer Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel in the entertaining biography “Being Evel.” As fast-paced and foul-mouthed as its subject during his 1970s heyday, Junge’s movie prominently features plenty of footage interviewing producer Johnny Knoxville, a fellow fan […]