A ludicrously rose-colored — literally in regards to the stunning visuals, figuratively in terms of the irritating narration’s writing, delivered by John Krasinski (cash that check!) — cinematic depiction of nature.
Author: Steven Strauss
3 GENERATIONS (Gaby Dellal)
Harvey Weinstein’s Gaby Dellal’s 3 Generations is a prime example of how excessive studio meddling (in this case, by the notorious Weinstein Company) motivated by an undue obsession with box office and/or Oscar positioning often results in abominably-incomprehensible editing (there are two editors here! TWO! 2! For a 90-minute character dramedy!), sapping what could’ve been a perfectly fine, effectively-intimate human story of its natural humanity, thereby becoming more reminiscent of an ineffectively-transparent corporate product.
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (Raoul Peck)
Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro deserves full-throated commendation for potentially introducing the national treasure that was James Baldwin to the masses.
A DARK SONG (Liam Gavin)
While Blumhouse Productions may command most of the public’s attention, IFC Midnight keeps churning out equally, if not more noteworthy horror flicks, such as Liam Gavin’s A Dark Song.
THE PROMISE (Terry George)
I was initially going to call back to a repeated formulation of mine by describing Terry George’s The Promise as “Masterpiece Theatre (Terry’s specialty!), Armenian-Genocide-with-a-ginormous-budget edition,” but honestly, likening this schlock to a quasi-hallowed institution feels unfair to the latter.
ALL THESE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS (Michal Marczak)
Every moment of Michal Marczak’s All These Sleepless Nights (great title, by the by) is a symbolic riddle left to the audience to piece together for themselves.
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THE TRANSFIGURATION (Michael O’Shea)
Michael O’Shea’s The Transfiguration is basically the second American remake of Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In (namechecked TWICE here).
TICKLING GIANTS (Sara Taksler)
Bassem Youssef, the focus of Sara Taksler’s Tickling Giants, is an essential figure to know nowadays (talk about taking real artistic risks), and he kind of makes the documentary a must-see…but it would’ve been more compelling with some semblance of objectivity; not a single competing perspective is presented.
THE VOID (Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski)
The craziest creature design this side of Guillermo del Toro can be found in Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski’s The Void, but it fails to overcome the worst attributes of the horror genre that pervade the rest: on-the-nose dialogue, cardboard-cutout characters, canned overacting, a bafflingly overcomplicated plot that’s incoherently told, beaten-to-death aesthetics, an overwhelming feeling of apathy regarding what’s going to happen and who it’s going to happen to, and heavily-borrowed mythology.
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FIFTY SHADES DARKER (James Foley)
I’m well-aware that James Foley’s Fifty Shades Darker is objectively terrible, but that still doesn’t diminish the unspeakable joy I derive from sex-filled mainstream releases.
Write All Nite 