PETERSON REVIEWS
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Odds & Ends: February 2024
Notes from the last month.
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‘Drive-Away Dolls’ is a Goofy Road Comedy
Plus: ‘Madame Web’ is not necessarily better than you’ve heard — but it might be more entertaining.
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‘The Way He Looks’ is a Deeply Felt Teen Romance
Daniel Ribeiro’s rom-com is anchored by a moving lead performance from Ghilherme Lobo.
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‘Something to Talk About’ Barely Gives You Anything
The movie flimsily approaches potentially rich material.
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The Soul and Sensitivity of ‘The Blue Caftan’
Though driven by a narrative that sounds straight out of a melodrama, this romantic drama proves more emotionally subtle than sensational.
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There’s Always Tomorrow
On ‘Sylvie’s Love’ and ‘One Night in Miami.’
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‘Stepmom’ is a Maudlin, Sometimes Effective, Tearjerker
Chris Columbus’ 1998 melodrama has five credited writers — and it shows.
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‘Millennium Mambo’ is a Haunting, Lyrical Study of a Life in Stasis
‘Millennium Mambo’ doesn’t need us to know too much about its characters’ inner lives; it’s more about capturing feelings and moods — the listlessness of a woman floating through life because she isn’t sure what else to do.
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The Coming-of-Age Horrors of ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ and ‘How to Have Sex’
New movies from Zelda Williams and Molly Manning Walker, reviewed.
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‘Notting Hill’: A Star-Crossed Romance
Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant do wonders to soften — but not completely distract from — the contrivances of Roger Michell’s romantic comedy.
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‘The Story of a Three-Day Pass’: An Early Triumph for Melvin Van Peebles
Van Peebles would only get bigger — and bolder.
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Small Gestures, Big Problems in ‘Charulata’
On Satyajit Ray’s masterful romantic drama.
NOVEMBER 2026
The Theme is ‘Sibling Bonds’
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‘Visible Secret’ is a Low-Key, Surprisingly Spooky Romantic Comedy
Ann Hui’s 2001 movie posits what a rom-com might look like with a ‘Sixth Sense’-esque underlay.
October 16, 2026
August 19, 2026
May 25, 2026
Smoke and Mirrors
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s inventive documentary isn’t just about the disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes.
October 19, 2026
Ghost World
Kaneto Shindō’s ‘Kuroneko’ is still forward-looking in its contempt for patriarchal devastation.
October 15, 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
