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IR Film Review: SEE HOW THEY RUN [Searchlight]
The aspect of a murder mystery with a bit of chicanery is always an interesting premise. ”See How They Run” is an interesting amalgamation because it almost thinks like a Wes Anderson movie and has some of its actors and yet is its own separate beast (and not quite the same).
IR Film Review: PEARL [A24]
"Pearl" brims with lead Mia Goth's energy. The character has so many demons but simply the chemistry in her is wrong and Goth gets that right. It is an interesting irony. Pearl wants so hard to please but her instinct tells her all the wrong things to do.
IR Film Review: BARBARIAN [20th Century Studios]
The context of horror depends on expectation and what one thinks of the path going in. With "Barbarian", even with the influx of how the trailers built the film up, it is about the misdirect and perspective of the audience. But the idea revolves in how it plays out. This usually has to do with structure and the intensity of what the reveal is.
IR Film Review: PINOCCHIO [Disney+]
The concept of adapting a classic animated film because it can sometimes is an exercise in understanding what the audience wants to see. But there are always sometimes cultural touchstones that walk the line. "Pinocchio" in theory is an interesting challenge and the person obviously well suited to the task is Robert Zemeckis.
IR Film Review: BURIAL [IFC Midnight]
The aspect of secret missions and the cultural standing within them is normally about how do you inflect genre. What "The Burial" does is turn it on its head and uses folklore in a way to mask some very real human approaches, behavior and setbacks, many of which are lost to time.
IR Film Review: THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING [MGM/UA]
The conception of existence and the relevance in reflection of solitude in an interesting conundrum of "Three Thousand Years Of Longing", the latest from director George Miller. His first outing since "Mad Max: Fury Road" and before he started on its prequel "Furiosa" in an interesting mixture of elements.
IR Film Review: THE INVITATION [Screen Gems/Sony]
The aspect of a vampire story in modern time is an aspect of being able to be aware of the modern sensibility in real time. The use of the have and have nots tends to play a role with "The Invitation" in that it uses it against its heroine in Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) because she so wants to believe in the dream of being accepted and about the notion of family that it blinds her in many ways...and yet that is exactly what is being offered.
IR Film Review: BODIES BODIES BODIES [A24]
Creating a play on the horror genre with a sense of anticipation depends sometimes on perception of the idea being written but in many ways sometimes who is cast. An interesting play with "Bodies Bodies Bodies" is casting Amandla Stenberg with Maria Bakolova as a couple who enter into a house party right before a hurricane at the film's inset.
IR Film Review: ROGUE AGENT [AMC+]
With "Rogue Agent", another film premiering on AMC+ after the recent "Stowaway", there is a consistency of the selections in a way while adhering to a thriller genre. Both have been female led films with an active pursuit of truth but with flawed execution and yet important character beats.