Conclave is an efficient chamber piece; evoking curiousities of how a pope is chosen as well as suggesting what cutthroat decisions happen before smoke bellows out of the Vatican to update the unsuspecting public. Overseen by Cardinal-Dean Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes of The Menu), the voting procedures that follow the death of a former pope strike Lawrence at a time of doubting his faith. He keeps this vulnerability close to his chest, but is called…
Filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher is on the cusp of making a good movie with La Chimera but, in a feigned and suspicious manner, the writer/director can’t help but break the reality of her story to satisfy her own needs.
Spaceman can seem intimidating to Joe Schmore scrolling through Netflix new releases: the cool intergalactic setting seems limiting, Adam Sandler is flexing his most sombre acting chops yet, and is that a giant spider he’s talking to? But when you boil the movie down to its basic fundamentals, Spaceman is not as challenging as one may think. This drama, which is pretty good to boot, is easy to follow and empathize with. This is, however,…
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On has always found a way to make people laugh through short films and literature. For their next trick, creators Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate effortlessly expand on their concept to include more of an emotional core to Marcel’s world in this self-titled, feature-length debut.
By: Jolie Featherstone Much like the movie itself, Marcel is a small shell with a big heart.
Closet Monster is not only another case of a filmmaker who has taken the leap to long-form filmmaking after establishing themselves with short films, but it’s also a satisfying example of a storyteller succeeding under new guidelines.
Stig Björkman has the right ingredients to chronicle a psychological side of acclaimed actress Ingrid Bergman in his award-winning documentary, Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words. But then, almost as if another director hijacked the project, the film chooses a generically trodden formula.