Movie review by Greg Carlson On the heels of criticism for defending Lin-Manuel Miranda and “In the Heights” against accusations of erasure and colorism, legendary stage and screen talent Rita Moreno made an apology of her own just this week. In part, her statement read “…celebration for some is lament for others.” That sentiment also […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Edgar Wright — the subject of his own cult of fandom — knows a thing or two about obsessive devotion to odds and ends of pop culture. And with “The Sparks Brothers,” the filmmaker’s first feature-length foray into nonfiction, Wright applies the same attention to detail and supercharged storytelling that […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Horror hounds and those who — like me — are attracted to movies about movies will appreciate “Censor,” an intriguing but uneven period piece. The feature debut of director and co-writer Prano Bailey-Bond, the film is set initially within the drab offices of the group of professionals responsible for assigning […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Theo Anthony’s thought-provoking Sundance Special Jury Award prizewinner “All Light, Everywhere” ponders a great many questions joining past and present, perception and reality, and beholder and beheld. Among its fascinating explorations is the link between the development of photographic processes and their application in the arenas of warfare and policing. […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Another movie long-delayed by the pandemic, “Saint Maud” can finally be viewed on Amazon Prime and several other online outlets (the world premiere took place a lifetime ago at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival). Writer-director Rose Glass makes a convincing feature debut with an unsettling study of a personal […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Hard to say whether non-cinephiles will be interested enough to watch a feature-length documentary about a movie critic, but Rob Garver’s “What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael” is a worthwhile biography of a fascinating life led with purpose and conviction. Of course, the film-obsessed won’t need to be […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson As tantalizing subject matter goes, the topic of Marilyn Agrelo’s “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street” is as much a slam dunk as Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” Even though the 107-minute documentary sticks mainly to the contents of Michael Davis’s excellent 2008 book, which was […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Talented hyphenate Ben Hozie breaks through with “PVT Chat,” an audacious and exciting low-budget, NYC indie sure to generate equal measures of interest and controversy for its onscreen depictions of graphic masturbation. Hozie, the guitarist and vocalist of Bodega, serves as the movie’s director, writer, cinematographer, and editor. Sparking with […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Validated and legitimized by a kind of inflated imprimatur as an episode in “The New York Times Presents” series, filmmaker Samantha Stark’s “Framing Britney Spears” is a frustrating piece of lopsided speculation that never quite does enough to investigate and interrogate the horrifying treatment experienced by its subject as a […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Joining the group of nonfiction portraits that includes “Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures,” “Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes,” “Room 237,” “S Is for Stanley,” and “Filmworker,” Gregory Monro’s “Kubrick by Kubrick” is a worthy addition to the growing collection of documentary films exploring various aspects of the life and career of […]