Movie review by Greg Carlson Talented hyphenate Emerald Fennell, the season two “Killing Eve” showrunner, unleashes one of the most audacious and provocative films of the year with “Promising Young Woman,” the writer-director-producer’s feature debut. A pitch black commentary on the unrelenting and insidious misogyny that keeps a tight grip on the culture even in […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson David Fincher lays down plenty of track on the great big electric train set of “Mank,” the filmmaker’s return to the director’s chair after “Gone Girl” in 2014. Depending on one’s interest in the evergreen legend of “Citizen Kane” and the politics of classic Hollywood, mileage may vary, but Fincher’s […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker step gingerly into the minefield of serious media considerations of the infamous dictator with their new documentary “The Meaning of Hitler,” a Doc NYC world premiere available to stream through November 29. Acutely aware of the likelihood that they might be “contributing to the […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Channing Godfrey Peoples makes a noteworthy debut as feature writer/director with “Miss Juneteenth,” a 2020 Sundance Film Festival premiere now collecting early — and well-deserved — award season accolades including, among others, a Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director nomination from the IFP Gotham Awards. The film provides lead performer Nicole Beharie […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Sofia Coppola’s delightful distraction from national affairs sees the writer-director returning to her sweet spot: the tiniest whiff of autobiography in a story that, to paraphrase James Stewart’s Macaulay “Mike” Connor in “The Philadelphia Story,” eavesdrops on “the privileged class enjoying its privileges.” A mashup of thematic terrain explored in […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson David Byrne and Spike Lee embrace the inevitable comparisons between Jonathan Demme’s “Stop Making Sense” and their recently-released filmed version of “American Utopia.” Lee’s skillful screen translations of more than half a dozen live shows, including “Passing Strange” and “Rodney King,” position him as an ideal choice to capture the […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson The return of Sacha Baron Cohen’s fictional Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev is deliberately timed to bring shame to the already circus-like Trump administration ahead of the looming national election on November 3. The first of three evolving onscreen title translations tags the project “Borat: Gift of Sexy Monkey to Vice […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Animator Don Hertzfeldt holds at bay the crushing malaise of life during pandemic-time and reaffirms his status as one of the planet’s most accomplished filmmakers with “World of Tomorrow Episode Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime.” The presumptive conclusion of his second major trilogy, the thirty-four minute adventure leaves […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Veteran cinematographer and documentarian Kirsten Johnson follows one directorial masterwork — 2016’s “Cameraperson” — with another. Stylistically distinct from “Cameraperson,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead” captures the filmmaker’s relationship with her father, a longtime Seattle-based psychiatrist whose declining health necessitates retirement and a move across the country to Kirsten’s place in […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Polymath artist Miranda July adds an excellent new title to her filmography with “Kajillionaire.” As hard to reduce or simplify as “Me and You and Everyone We Know” and “The Future,” July’s latest movie — which contemplates parenthood and family ties under the idiosyncratic lens of the filmmaker’s built-from-scratch microscope […]