Bill Gunn’s ‘Personal Problems’ Is a Milestone in American Indie Filmmaking
With its rough framing, shaky handheld shots, and available light, Bill Gunn’s Personal Problems anticipates the documentary aesthetic of 21st-century vérité-lite TV shows.
Film
Features, reviews, interviews, and lists about film, covering the latest as well historical topics.
Two Animated Animals Movies That Are So Not Disney
Far from the Disney path, these animated animal movies from Hungary and the Philippines revel in parody, satire, and real world-inspired violence.
Ridley Scott’s Low-Key ‘The Dog Stars’ Hides in Plain Sight
A welcome departure for Ridley Scott, slow and contemplative, The Dog Stars is a nuanced work of social commentary disguised as a survivalist film.
Satyajit Ray’s Lovely ‘Days and Nights in the Forest’ Almost Escapes the World
Satyajit Ray’s Days and Nights in the Forest deepens as you wander further into its bucolic details, where things aren’t as serene and picturesque as they seem.
Showbiz Drama ‘Primetime’ Peers into the Media’s Twisted Minds
Venice Film Festival’s steamiest premiere, Primetime, does a filthy dive into the twisted minds of American reality television’s apex predators.
The Nazi Indoctrination of Otto Gebühr’s Frederick the Great
German actor Otto Gebühr’s story shows how consistent artistic work can soften propaganda and shape historical memory more powerfully than a political system.
Hirokazu Koreeda’s ‘Sheep in the Box’ Embraces AI Unquestioningly
Hirokazu Koreeda’s unsettling Sheep in the Box confuses love with imitation and embraces AI unquestioningly.
Laura La Plante’s and Marion Davies’ Gender-Defying Silent Comedies
Marion Davies and Laura La Plante were two of the most delightful comedians of the silent film era, and the charm hasn’t worn off in these gender role reversals.
‘Bouchra’ Explores How Artists Create New Forms for Familiar Questions
Bouchra has so many visually stunning frames, so many moments that make the familiar strange and newly beautiful, and so many unexpected conversations with other films and works of art.
Venice Film Festival 2026 Carefully Welcomes the Political in Filmmaking
Venice Film Festival 2026 embraced film’s political nature—though not without flinching—as we examine works by Paul Schrader, Shin’ya Tsukamoto, and an Oasis documentary.
Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’ Gets Despicability Fabulously
Danny Boyle’s Ink shows how both sides of the sordid media war between Rupert Murdoch and Larry Lamb are despicable.
Dolly Parton’s Greatest Movie Role
Dolly Parton’s small but revealing filmography shows that her carefully constructed persona was never an obstacle to acting, but its richest material.