Category: Review
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The Fascinating Parallels of ‘Million Dollar Mermaid’
Esther Williams plays, in this 1952 biopic, the only person who came close to her unusual type of stardom.
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Fools for Love
‘Pauline at the Beach,’ one of Éric Rohmer’s many vacation-set movies, is also among his best.
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‘Big Wednesday’ is an Elegiac Ode to the Joys of Youth
John Milius’ 1978 coming-of-age film effectively evokes nostalgic bittersweetness but is hampered by thinly written characters.
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‘Sorry, Baby’: Eva Victor’s Shattering, Clear-Eyed Filmmaking Debut
For 425: The comedian turned filmmaker’s first movie is by turns devastating and wryly funny.
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The Simple Pleasures of ‘Bhaji on the Beach’
Gurinder Chadha’s slice-of-life 1993 debut emotionally creeps up on you.
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Proto-Noir ‘Out of the Fog’ is Engaging But Ineffective
The 1941 drama’s antifascist messages are muddled by its celebrations of conformity and the status quo.
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Odds & Ends: June 2025
Notes from the last month.
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‘Drunktown’s Finest’ is an Affecting Ensemble Drama
Sydney Freeland’s 2014 drama’s realism doesn’t undercut its sensitivity.
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The Slow Descent of ‘Fox and His Friends’
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1975 black comedy is rivetingly bleak.
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A Compassionate Look at Dementia in ‘Familiar Touch’
For South Sound: Writer-director Sarah Friedland’s feature debut dramatizes an 80-something-year-old woman’s transition from self-sufficiency into assisted living with empathy and care.
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‘Desperate Living’ Feels Like the End of an Era
John Waters’ last movie before making his foray into the mainstream is among his most underrated.
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‘Lan Yu’ is a Little Too Understated
Stanley Kwan’s romantic drama keeps things at the surface.
Peterson Reviews 