Reviews
3662
in total
published by Village Voice
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Active Measures
A review by Alan Scherstuhl for Village Voice2018-08-30
Active Measures is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the mind. By coming on so strong, so fevered, Bryan achieves the dubious feat of making his host of documented facts, reasonable inferences, and alarming subjects for further research all seem seem less persuasive than if they had been presented more soberly.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Pick of the Litter
A review by Alan Scherstuhl for Village Voice2018-08-28
What are the concerns of coherent storytelling or in-depth documentation when all of these good boys and girls — yes they are! — are leaping and licking and tail-wagging and just being the best?Read entire review on Village Voice -
The Oslo Diaries
A review by Jordan Hoffman for Village Voice2018-08-23
The Oslo Diaries is a striking document, mixing never-before-seen footage shot by the negotiators themselves and current reflections from participants, including the final interview of former Israeli president Shimon Peres.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Crime + Punishment
A review by Alan Scherstuhl for Village Voice2018-08-21
Stephen Maing’s searing documentary Crime + Punishment offers a fuller look at the question of what can be accomplished from inside, revealing both the personal toll fighting the system can exact but also the urgent necessity of such battles.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Papillon
A review by Bilge Ebiri for Village Voice2018-08-21
This new version, directed by Danish filmmaker Michael Noer, brings to the story a refreshing intensity and sweep, and even a sense of adventure.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Maison du Bonheur
A review by Alan Scherstuhl for Village Voice2018-08-21
Bohdanowicz undertook the project without having previously met her subject, but for both the filmmaker and her audience, making Sellam’s acquaintance proves a rare pleasure.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Memoir of War
A review by Serena Donadoni for Village Voice2018-08-16
While clearly adoring Duras’s work, Finkiel doesn’t credit the strength it took for her to ruthlessly detail the experience.Read entire review on Village Voice -
No Date, No Signature
A review by Craig D. Lindsey for Village Voice2018-08-01
No Date, No Signature presents a story of flawed but generally decent people trying to put right what went so horribly wrong.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Calling All Earthlings
A review by Rob Staeger for Village Voice2018-08-01
There isn’t much marijuana use in Jonathan Berman’s documentary Calling All Earthlings, but its elliptical, ramshackle structure could make one question the merits of legalization.Read entire review on Village Voice -
14 Cameras
A review by Simon Abrams for Village Voice2018-07-25
Unfortunately, Archambault’s churlishly over-the-top performance makes it impossible to take 14 Cameras seriously, no matter how you interpret Gerald’s actions.Read entire review on Village Voice -
The Captain
A review by April Wolfe for Village Voice2018-07-24
Filmed in black and white in the wintry countryside of Görlitz, Germany, Schwentke’s vision of a man who would be posthumously named the Executioner of Emsland is chilling and yet, at times, almost farcical.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Minding the Gap
A review by Bilge Ebiri for Village Voice2018-07-13
The film is filled with lengthy, sensuous skateboarding scenes, which feel meditative, therapeutic; we sense that these kids skated not because it was fun, but because it helped them to survive.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Under the Tree
A review by Alan Scherstuhl for Village Voice2018-07-05
The first scenes are hilarious, all sharp surprises and adeptly staged physical comedy. But then the story turns, the way that milk does, curdling into tragedy.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Whitney
A review by Lara Zarum for Village Voice2018-07-05
By the time Whitney winds to an end, that massive talent feels like a dangerously valuable resource, one that even the people who were supposed to protect Houston couldn’t resist exploiting.Read entire review on Village Voice -
The Cakemaker
A review by Jordan Hoffman for Village Voice2018-06-28
The Cakemaker is more of a petit four than a belly bomb, but it’s striking in its particularity.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Dark River
A review by Karen Han for Village Voice2018-06-27
It’s in Alice’s battle with her brother Joe (Mark Stanley) that the film is at its most compelling.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Eating Animals
A review by Alan Scherstuhl for Village Voice2018-06-14
As a work of sustained, thoughtful inquiry, Eating Animals is a bust; as a reminder of what we should all be thinking about, though, it’s searing. After seeing it, pretending not to know is impossible.Read entire review on Village Voice -
The Year of Spectacular Men
A review by Alan Scherstuhl for Village Voice2018-06-14
Lea Thompson’s first film as a director — a brisk, breezy, sharp-elbowed, sexually frank, occasionally shout-y, often hilarious comedy — stars the performer’s own daughters and plays like both a raucous family party and an urgently necessary corrective.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf
A review by Tatiana Craine for Village Voice2018-06-14
If Five Seasons is the only opportunity viewers have to experience Oudolf’s artistry up close, Piper’s cinematography (whether through a sunny haze or a snowy blanket) and contemplative storytelling have done these gardens justice.Read entire review on Village Voice -
Hearts Beat Loud
A review by Ren Jender for Village Voice2018-06-07
The real reason to see this film is Kiersey Clemons’s Sam and her romance with aspiring artist Rose (Sasha Lane).Read entire review on Village Voice
