PETERSON REVIEWS
space
-

‘Sacramento’ Doesn’t Go Far Enough
Directed, produced, written by, and starring Michael Angarano, this quasi-buddy comedy has moments of poignancy but stays too close to the surface.
-

Jeffrey Wright is the Reason to Watch ‘Basquiat’
Julian Schnabel’s 1996 biopic is handsomely mounted, well-cast, and a little hollow.
-

Brandon Bird is Inspired Every Day
For 425: The Northwest African American Museum’s recently appointed president and CEO discusses early successes, what he’s looking forward to in 2025, and why it isn’t necessarily a point of stress to always be thinking about work.
-

The Shops Around the Corner
On Agnès Varda’s ‘Daguerréotypes.’
-

‘Dolls’ is a Different Kind of Children’s Horror Movie
Stuart Gordon’s 1987 horror-comedy strikes a nice balance between the horrific and humorous.
-

Being Man’s Best Friend is Serious Business in ‘Pick of the Litter’
Following a quintet of puppies as they train to become guide dogs, this 2018 documentary is equal parts fascinating and feel-good.
-

How the Northwest-Shot ‘Marcie’s’ Meets the Moment
For 425: Northwest filmmaker John Helde’s new Seattle- and North Bend-shot movie began development in 2019, but the professional and personal anxieties it captures haven’t lost their sense of urgency.
-

‘Max, My Love’ Could Stand to Be Sillier
This preposterously plotted comedy plays things a little too straight.
-

The Everyday Brutality of ‘Au Hasard Balthazar’
On Robert Bresson’s account of a donkey’s hard life.
-

‘Kedi’: A Charming, Easygoing Love Letter to Cats
The straightforward 2016 documentary gets to know Istanbul’s eye-poppingly large stray-cat population.
-

‘The Black Stallion’’s Beautiful Surfaces
Though Carroll Ballard’s 1979 movie is one of the most ravishingly shot children’s films ever made, one might wish its storyline were as carefully crafted as its aesthetic splendor.
SEPTEMBER 2026
The Theme is ‘Based on an Article’
ASDFJHGSD


In ‘Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros,’ It’s All in the Process
Revisiting Frederick Wiseman’s 44th documentary, which trains its gaze on the Troisgros family and its various culinary pursuits.

August 19, 2026

May 25, 2026

May 13. 2026

Strong, Stoic Types
Director-star Paul Newman’s 1971 treatment of Ken Kesey’s ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’ perceptively observes the corrosiveness of toxic masculinity.
August 7, 2026
Working Girls
‘Broken Mirrors,’ Marleen Gorris’ 1984 follow-up to her still-transcendent feminist drama ‘A Question of Silence,’ expands on its predecessor’s themes while dramatically improving on its writer-director’s aesthetic command.
July 9, 2026


Found Connections
Donna Deitch’s ‘Desert Hearts’ was a breakthrough for lesbian representation in cinema. It also achieves another rarified thing: Characters who feel like they exist outside a screenplay’s bounds.
June 30, 2026












