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Posts by Critic's Notebook

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"[Christian] Petzold has been known for political allegories, but it’s truly exciting to see him applying his sensibility to a family drama."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Miroirs No. 3." bit.ly/3FcRueJ

@ifccenter.bsky.social @filmlinc.bsky.social #filmsky

1 week ago 4 2 0 0

Happy to announce that the search function is finally working again. 😅

1 week ago 2 0 0 0
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"Though elements of body horror seen in 'Titane' and 'Raw' are still very much present, the new film better qualifies as a ghost story and a coming-of-age tale set in the Twilight Zone."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Alpha." bit.ly/4j9vgs5

@ifccenter.bsky.social @neon-rated.bsky.social #filmsky

1 week ago 4 1 0 0
A still from "The Lake" by Abby Ellis, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

A still from "The Lake" by Abby Ellis, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

"No irony intended (perhaps) in a documentary about the imminent environmental collapse of Utah’s Great Salt Lake ecosystem . . . premiering at the last #SundanceFilmFestival to be held in the state."

@timhayes.bsky.social reviews "The Lake." bit.ly/4qXOOnJ

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
Alyssa Emily Marvin appears in 'Run Amok' by NB Mager, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Tandem Pictures.

Alyssa Emily Marvin appears in 'Run Amok' by NB Mager, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Tandem Pictures.

"That topic is the ongoing plague of U.S. school shootings, and the approach is a deliberate tonal jumble of pathos, sincerity, tragedy and whimsy; something for everyone (to be cross with)."

@timhayes.bsky.social reviews "Run Amok" at #SundanceFilmFestival. bit.ly/4rw0u13

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
Debbie Harry appears in 'Public Access' by David Shadrack Smith, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by TV Party.

Debbie Harry appears in 'Public Access' by David Shadrack Smith, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by TV Party.

"If this is a record of wild urban free expression, then these snapshots of it are in a parent’s photo album."

@timhayes.bsky.social reviews David Shadrack Smith's "Public Access" at #SundanceFilmFestival. bit.ly/4c5h5UM

2 months ago 2 0 0 0
Iliza Shlesinger appears in "Chasing Summer" by Josephine Decker, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Eric Branco/Summer 2001 LLC

Iliza Shlesinger appears in "Chasing Summer" by Josephine Decker, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Eric Branco/Summer 2001 LLC

"'Chasing Summer' is frequently hilarious, but it is also attuned to the emotional logic beneath self-sabotage."

@martintsai.bsky.social reviews Josephine Decker's "Chasing Summer" at #SundanceFilmFestival. bit.ly/3NyFE2x

2 months ago 2 1 0 0
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley and Ben Wang appear in "Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass" by David Wain, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley and Ben Wang appear in "Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass" by David Wain, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

"A sitcom-bright spoof of Americana that filters 'The Wizard of Oz' through celebrity culture, the film is at once junk-drawer eclectic and curiously sincere about the small, stubborn dreams of its heroine."

Martin Tsai reviews David Wain's "Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass." bit.ly/4a1saUs

2 months ago 1 1 0 0
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Mubi film distributor faces backlash over investor’s ties to Israeli military The boutique distribution company and streaming platform, behind horror hit The Substance, has been criticized by film-makers and festivals

FYI

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

3 months ago 4 2 1 0
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"Unlike Costa-Gavras, Mr. Park frames the protagonist as more blue-collar. He also cast Mr. Lee, excellent as a villain in 'Squid Game,' over someone amiable like José Garcia of 'Le couperet.' "
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "No Other Choice." bit.ly/4avxHEG

#filmsky @neon-rated.bsky.social

3 months ago 4 1 0 0
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How Gaza Broke the Art World • EQUATOR The former editor of Artforum, fired in the wake of 7 October, reckons with two years of division, fear and silence

“The art world, with all its progressive scaffolding and humanist ornamentation, practically designed to celebrate and aestheticize every rebellion, couldn’t metabolize Palestine. It still can’t.”

David Velasco @equatormag.bsky.social — www.equator.org/articles/how...

3 months ago 15 8 0 0
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Bi Gan’s Dream Factory With “Resurrection,” the director has made a surrealist epic not just about Chinese history but about the cinema itself.

Bi Gan’s new film, “Resurrection,” offers a vision of history as a shape-shifting force. “Each era has these exceptionally strange, dreamlike, ephemeral moments—yet it seems we never film them,” he said. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/xvbYQM

3 months ago 8 1 0 1
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“The voice cast features such luminaries as Koji Yakusho, and it’s a relief the studio has the good sense to not to dub it in English, at least for now.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Scarlet." bit.ly/4pzb8ne

#filmsky

3 months ago 1 1 0 0
L to R: Dacre Montgomery and Bill Skarsgård in DEAD MAN'S WIRE by Gus Van Sant, courtesy of Mongrel Media

L to R: Dacre Montgomery and Bill Skarsgård in DEAD MAN'S WIRE by Gus Van Sant, courtesy of Mongrel Media

“Based on the true story of perhaps the Luigi Mangione of his time, the film is very much reflective of the national mood at the moment.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Dead Man's Wire." bit.ly/4q2hrzp

#filmsky @alamodrafthouse.bsky.social

3 months ago 1 1 0 0
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“Hosoda employs traditional hand-drawn style for the characters but places them against immersive photo-realistic C.G.I. backdrops. While this is nothing new, his particular art style creates interesting contrast and juxtaposition.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Scarlet." bit.ly/4pzb8ne

#filmsky

3 months ago 2 1 0 0
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“Indeed, he nails precisely what makes the film so resonant with those who have been wronged by powerful entities and the sense of helplessness carved deep into their psyches.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Dead Man's Wire." bit.ly/4q2hrzp

#filmsky @alamodrafthouse.bsky.social

3 months ago 2 1 0 0
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“With [Sean] Baker as its editor, 'Left-Handed Girl' definitely shares the hyperkinetic energy emblematic of his work.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews. bit.ly/4oFctbA

#filmsky @netflix.com

4 months ago 1 1 0 0
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“The perennially debonair leading man brings with him substantial baggage from his own time in the limelight, which immediately resonates with those who’ve borne witness to his career.”
@martintsai.bsky.social on George Clooney . . . oops, we meant "Jay Kelly." bit.ly/4oFQMbr

#filmsky @netflix.com

4 months ago 1 1 0 0
Jay Kelly. (L-R) George Clooney as Jay Kelly and Adam Sandler as Ron Sukenick in Jay Kelly. Cr. Peter Mountain/Netflix © 2025.

Jay Kelly. (L-R) George Clooney as Jay Kelly and Adam Sandler as Ron Sukenick in Jay Kelly. Cr. Peter Mountain/Netflix © 2025.

“The perennially debonair leading man brings with him substantial baggage from his own time in the limelight, which immediately resonates with those who’ve borne witness to his career.”
@martintsai.bsky.social on George Clooney . . . oops, we meant "Jay Kelly." bit.ly/4oFQMbr

#filmsky @netflix.com

4 months ago 2 1 0 0
Nina Ye as I-Jing in Left-Handed Girl. Cr. LEFT-HANDED GIRL FILM PRODUCTION CO, LTD © 2025.

Nina Ye as I-Jing in Left-Handed Girl. Cr. LEFT-HANDED GIRL FILM PRODUCTION CO, LTD © 2025.

“With [Sean] Baker as its editor, 'Left-Handed Girl' definitely shares the hyperkinetic energy emblematic of his work.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews. bit.ly/4oFctbA

#filmsky @netflix.com

4 months ago 2 1 0 0
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it took two decades of trying for me to land a piece in
@sightsoundmag.bsky.social

at this rate i will be 60 before i get a staff job somewhere.

anyway. i'm not going shut up about my review of "peter hujar's day": bit.ly/47utCi1

#filmsky @filmforumnyc.bsky.social @filmlinc.bsky.social

4 months ago 3 1 0 0
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“Though 'Sentimental Value' doesn’t center on a romantic relationship as its predecessor did, it nevertheless rehashes some of the same dynamics and feelings of guilt and regret.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews. bit.ly/47rTICk

#filmsky @neon-rated.bsky.social

4 months ago 3 1 0 0
(L to R) Emma Stone as Michelle, Aidan Delbis as Don and Jesse Plemons as Teddy in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA, a Focus Features release. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

(L to R) Emma Stone as Michelle, Aidan Delbis as Don and Jesse Plemons as Teddy in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA, a Focus Features release. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

“The film challenges the superhero genre narrative that is so deeply ingrained in us and the latent sexist feelings toward successful woman go-getters, all while reenforcing and reaffirming these tropes.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews #BUGONIA. bit.ly/3Wd9pHd

#filmsky @focusfeatures.bsky.social

5 months ago 1 1 0 0
Emma Stone stars as Michelle in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA, a Focus Features release. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

Emma Stone stars as Michelle in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA, a Focus Features release. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

“The film challenges the superhero genre narrative that is so deeply ingrained in us and the latent sexist feelings toward successful woman go-getters, all while reenforcing and reaffirming these tropes.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews #BUGONIA. bit.ly/3Wd9pHd

#filmsky @focusfeatures.bsky.social

5 months ago 2 1 0 0

Not to be THAT dictionary, but…

It’s ‘per se,’ not ‘per say.’
It’s ‘dog-eat-dog world,’ not ‘doggy-dog world.’
It’s ‘hunger pangs,’ not ‘hunger pains.’
It’s ‘one and the same,’ not ‘one in the same.’
It's 'buck naked,' not 'butt naked.'

5 months ago 6429 1404 848 480
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“There’s no horror or suspense whatsoever, just magical dismemberments under golden hues and glittering harps on the soundtrack. It’s all kind of perverse, and I’m not sure if Mr. del Toro really meant it that way.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Frankenstein." bit.ly/4qd5Azq
#filmsky @netflix.com

5 months ago 3 1 0 0
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“It’s especially timely to us in the West, as our political climates grow more tenuous.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "It Was Just an Accident." bit.ly/4obfJe2

#filmsky @filmforumnyc.bsky.social @filmlinc.bsky.social @neon-rated.bsky.social

5 months ago 3 1 0 0
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Frankenstein. Jacob Elordi as The Creature in Frankenstein . Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.

Frankenstein. Jacob Elordi as The Creature in Frankenstein . Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.

“There’s no horror or suspense whatsoever, just magical dismemberments under golden hues and glittering harps on the soundtrack. It’s all kind of perverse, and I’m not sure if Mr. del Toro really meant it that way.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Frankenstein." bit.ly/4qd5Azq
#filmsky @netflix.com

5 months ago 3 1 0 0
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“It’s especially timely to us in the West, as our political climates grow more tenuous.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "It Was Just an Accident." bit.ly/4obfJe2

#filmsky @filmforumnyc.bsky.social @filmlinc.bsky.social @neon-rated.bsky.social

5 months ago 5 1 0 0
A House of Dynamite. (Featured L-R) Tracy Letts as General Anthony Brady and Gbenga Akinnagbe as Major General Steven Kyle in A House of Dynamite. Cr. Eros Hoagland/Netflix © 2025.

A House of Dynamite. (Featured L-R) Tracy Letts as General Anthony Brady and Gbenga Akinnagbe as Major General Steven Kyle in A House of Dynamite. Cr. Eros Hoagland/Netflix © 2025.

“'A House of Dynamite,' is, for the most part, one of those end-of-days Armageddon movies, except it never actually culminates in special effects-laden spectacles of total obliteration.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews. bit.ly/4q5ZeSf

#filmsky @netflix.com @paristheaternyc.bsky.social

5 months ago 1 1 1 0