Spent much of the weekend at IFFBoston; reviews to come, but for now, here are some recent brief reviews from other new-ish features originally posted on Letterboxd, roughly in descending order of preference.
Sound of Falling
Still piecing together all of its parallels and connections after a second viewing but can also say this is truly like no other movie I’ve seen. Even the camera roaming through rooms in a house creates a spark of anticipating what could possibly happen next and you still feel a resounding thrill whenever it does.
Pillion
Well, I’d want to push around someone who sings in a barbershop quartet, too. The rare film about going through the process of discovering what you like, both sexually and romantically. Alexander Skarsgaard is well cast as the dom but Henry Melling’s a revelation as the sub.
Sirat
An Arthouse equivalent of a horror or action film “thrill ride” (imagine what William Castle could’ve done with this concept), it gets off on its hallucinatory desert landscapes and nearly relentless EDM score but thankfully, its characters end up more than mere pawns in an apocalyptic scenario.
My Father’s Shadow
A quietly powerful first feature with a great lead performance from Sope Nisiru. While the pacing can be a little sluggish, so many moments linger long after they’ve dissipated and become rather poignant during the turbulent last fifteen minutes.
Father Mother Sister Brother
A solid ensemble does a lot of the heavy lifting in Jarmusch’s return to anthology-style filmmaking although the final third could serve as a nice capstone to the director’s career if this were to end up his last feature.
All That’s Left of You
A multigenerational Palestinian melodrama that profits greatly from its deployment of restraint, strong direction and a solid ensemble cast.
Young Mothers
Like the shelter employees in this film, the Dardennes’ approach is empathetic and optimistic but firm; that their narrative comes off more schematic than natural places this in a lower tier of a filmography with a very high bar.
Pompei: Below The Clouds
Can’t help but think I missed a considerable portion of the intended impact by not seeing this immersive, sometimes lyrical doc in a cinema even though I appreciated the bold visuals and recognized flashes of genius.
A Useful Ghost
Exceedingly strange and perhaps narratively uneven but I’m grading generously due to its overall chutzpah and meticulous, crazy production design.
Hoppers
Not bad for recent Pixar, I guess, but when peak Pixar was willingly weird like this, it was also far more inspired.
Haunted Jukebox 