Alphabetical Menu
Chronological Menu

Reviews for April 24th, 2026

 

      Bernstein's Wall is an illuminated and well-researched, but unfocused, hagiographic, overstuffed and undercooked documentary about the legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Director Douglas Tirola uses archival footage and the letters that he wrote in order to inform the audience of how Bernstein became a composer and conductor, of his childhood, of his relationship with his father and of his bisexuality. The film is all over the place thematically, so better edited and focus would've helped it to flow better. Beyond that, though, it feels too dry and academic. Bombarding the audience with archival footage isn't enough to make it transcend as a documentary or to engage anyone who isn't a fan of classical music. It also overstays its welcome, feels repetitive and drags, especially during the last 30 minutes. There's nothing about the doc that requires it to be seen on the big screen. Unfortunately, director Douglas Tirola doesn't manage to find the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally as well as intellectually. At a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, Bernstein's Wall opens at Film Forum.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3





 

      In A Blind Bargain, Dominic Fontaine (Jake Horowitz), a Vietnam war veteran and drug addict struggling to make ends meet, agrees to seek help at the rehab clinic of Dr. Gruder (Crispin Glover) who offers him money if he can bring his mother for an experiment that involves turning people into their younger selves. Writer/director Paul Bunnell has made a trippy, bonkers and unconventional horror thriller with stylish cinematography, but it's also tedious and exhausting. Set during the 1970s and based on a lost 1922 film of the same name, A Blind Bargain suffers from a convoluted plot that takes itself too seriously.   If it were campier or more darkly comedic, it would've been more fun to watch and a mindlessly entertaining guilty pleasure. Perhaps this would've worked better as a short. As a feature length film, though, it stretches its concept too thinly without much depth, and it runs out of steam very quickly. A Blind Bargain would be the inferior B-movie in a double feature with The Substance. That said, at least it's not as cringe-inducing and disappointing as Death Becomes Her. At a running time of 1 hour and 35 minutes, which feels more like 2 hours, A Blind Bargain  opens at Angelika Film Center via Vitagraph Films.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 3





 

      Francis (Dina Silva), a.k.a. Frankie, an aspiring singer, goes on a killing spree to seek revenge against anyone who fat shames or belittles her in Frankie, Maniac Woman.  Writer/director Pierre Tsigaridis and co-writer Dina Silva have made a visually stylish, unflinchingly violent and wildly entertaining horror thriller with a great command of tone that combines suspense, dark humor and campiness. The occasional use of black-and-white cinematography adds to the visual poetry and grittiness. There's plenty of blood and guts to please horror fans, but this isn't a non-stop gorefest like Terrifier; it has a compelling story with a few surprises and a complex, well-written villain with a tragic backstory that humanizes her. She's cut from the same cloth as Jason Voorhees: they've both been abused during their childhood and picked on for their looks. They're mad as hell and don't have the emotional maturity to know how to process their anger, sadness, self-loathing and emotional pain, so they resort to violence. It's reminiscent of Coralie Fargeat’s action thriller Revenge, and would make an interesting double feature with Muriel's Wedding which is also about a woman who's also insecure, bullied, body-shamed and self-loathing, although she deals with all of her issues in healthier ways than Frankie does. At a running time of 1 hour and 35 minutes, Frankie, Maniac Woman opens in select theaters nationwide via Two Witches Films.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1





 

      In I Swear, John Davidson (Scott Ellis Watson) gets diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at the age of 15 while living in Scotland with his mother, Heather (Shirley Henderson), who doesn't understand his disorder. His frustrated father, David (Steven Cree), left him and his mother when he was 12 and started showing signs of Tourette's. At the age of 25, John (now played by Robert Aramayo) still struggles to fit into society. He meets a former classmate, Murray (Francesco Piacentini-Smith), whose mother, Dotty (Maxine Peake), a mental health nurse, agrees to take care of him. She helps him to find a job at a community center working for Tommy (Peter Mullan), the caretaker. Writer/director Kirk Jones has made a sweet, tender, and funny emotional journey that's based on a true story. The screenplay hooks the audience from the very first scene, where an older version of John curses at Queen Elizabeth as she's about to honor him with an MBE. The film then flashes back to John at the age of 12. His life does have its fair share of tragic moments, including a suicide attempt and all of the bullying that he had experienced from others who put him down for his disorder. He's lucky to have met Murray and his mother, Dotty, who's kind, compassionate, and patient, even when he snaps at her. His mother isn't portrayed as a good parent, but she's not a villain either; she's just someone who lacks skills, awareness,and patience to deal with John's disorder. Dotty becomes his surrogate mother, while Tommy becomes a surrogate father.

       Writer/director Kirk Jones grasps the concept that comedy is often rooted in tragedy. He balances the heartbreaking moments with just the right amount of comic relief. You'll laugh one minute and cry the next. He also doesn't judge John nor does he ask the audience to; he just wants the audience to experience him and, above all, to empathize with him. John is a character who's complex and flawed, but also likeable and relatable.

       Robert Aramayo gives a breakthrough performance that opens the window into John's heart, mind and soul. It's an emotionally generous performance that captures John's vulnerability along with his courage, compassion and determination. Prepare to be inspired as you watch John gradually embrace the wisdom behind Pablo Neruda's poem: "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." I Swear is ultimately a crowd-pleasing delight that earns its uplift. It's a triumph that manages to be warm, wise and wonderful. At a running time of 2 hours, I Swear is one of the best British films in years. It opens in select theaters nationwide via Sony Pictures Classics.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1





 

      Norma (Bárbara Mori), a French-Peruvian woman abandoned by her husband, struggles to open a restaurant with assistance of her butler, Oscar (César Ballumbrosio), in Mistura.   Writer/director Ricardo de Montreuil has made a breezy, charming and heartwarming drama about a woman who finds the determination and innate strength to follow her dreams despite some setbacks and obstacles. The screenplay, set in 1960s Peru, feels somewhat sugar-coated and contrived while biting off more than it could chew. The film isn't emotionally unflinching not does it offer any surprises, but it's nonetheless sweet and avoids becoming saccharin or melodramatic. That's a testament to the charismatic and emotionally convincing performance by Bárbara Mori. She's the film's MVP and the source of the film's emotional depth which comes for her performance, not from the screenplay.   

       The other radiant stars of the film are the many succulent food dishes, so foodies will be delighted. Mistura doesn't reach the heights of Mostly Martha, Babette's Feast or The Taste of Things, but it comes close and manages to be a warm comfort movie that would be a good double feature with the equally comforting Nonnas. At a running time of 1 hour and 41 minutes, Mistura opens at Cinema Village via Outsider Pictures.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2







      In Ricky, 30-year-old Ricky (Stephan James), has just been released from prison and struggles to start afresh after serving there for 15 years. He reunites with James (Maliq Johnson), his younger brother, and Winsome (Simbi Kali), his mother. Meanwhile, Joanne (Sheryl Lee Ralph), his parole officer, keeps an eye on him as his mentor and worries that he'll end up back in prison. Writer/director Rashad Frett and his co-writer, Lin Que Ayoung, have made a powerful, well-acted and engrossing emotional journey. It also can be seen as a refreshingly honest and fascinating character study of a man who's trying his best to stay out of trouble, to conquer his adversities, to heal from a traumatic past while getting a second chance in life. Without flashbacks or voice-over narration, learns a lot about Ricky and his past, but not all at once. The screenplay does an effective job of spreading the exposition out in a way that doesn't overwhelm the audience while also leaving a little mystery, e.g. what crime Ricky committed that led to his incarceration. All of the characters and their relationships feel true-to-life. Bravo to the filmmakers for seeing and treating Ricky and everyone else as complex human beings and for not asking the audience to judge him. Instead, the audience merely empathizes with him and wants him to find happiness and stability. He went to prison as a child, but now he has to learn responsibility as a man and to show emotional maturity which is no easy task, but there's hope for him.

      Ricky manages to show Ricky's hope and some of his despair without wallowing in it or becoming too emotionally devastating. The film's Spectacle can be found in its slice-of-life scenes that don't rely on violence, edge-of-your-seat suspense or big twists to engage the audience. Stephan James gives a breakthrough performance that opens the window into Ricky's heart, mind and soul for the audience to peer through. The raw, heartfelt performances by the entire ensemble cast, including those in supporting roles, are also part of that Spectacle while grounding the film in humanism, a truly special effect. It's empowering to watch Ricky as he embraces the wisdom behind Pablo Neruda's poem: "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." and also Maya Angelou's wise words, "Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." Ultimately, Ricky the perfect antidote to all of the loud, shallow and overproduced Hollywood movies. At a running time of 1 hour and 49 minutes, it opens at AMC Empire via Blue Harbor Entertainment.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1





 

      13-year-old Sam Miller (Kue Lawrence), a bullied young boy living in Florida with his single mother, Beth (Christina Brucato), enlists in a state-sanctioned "school duel", a competition which has students battle each other using guns in The School Duel. The winner lives and the losers die. Eugenie Bondurant plays the very strict middle school's principal, Principal Wigton, who wrongfully assumes that Sam's list of people who he admires is his hit list. Writer/director Todd Wiseman, Jr. had made a provocative, timely and disturbing albeit heavy-handed satire. To be fair, the plot could've used a bit more world-building because all that the audience knows is that it's set in a dystopian future where Florida's governor, Anthony Ramiro (Oscar Nuñez), has outlawed gun control and has sponsored the school duel. Sam has been grieving the death of his father who comitted suicide. So, The School Duel is a very dark satire along the lines of The Long Walk that doesn't sugar-coat anything.  

       At the same time, subtlety isn't among its strengths, and there's little that's left to interpretation beyond the use of stunning black-and-white cinematography. To be fair, though, sometimes bluntness is necessary to make a point without beating around the bush, so it's a forgivable flaw in this case. Prepare yourself for a powerful and searing protest for gun control. At a running time of 1 hour and 31 minutes, The School Duel opens at Alamo Drafthouse in Manhattan and Brooklyn via Altered Innocence. It would be a great double feature with American Solitaire.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1





 

      In Two Seasons, Two Strangers, Li (Shim Eun-kyung), a lonely young woman who works as a screenwriter, writes a film about Nagisa (Yuumi Kawai) and Natsuo (Mansaku Takada), lonely strangers, meet by the seaside during the summer. Li visits an isolated inn during the winter and bonds with the innkeeper, Benzo (Shinichi Tsutsumi). Writer/director Shô Miyake has made a meditative drama with breathtaking cinematography, but a sluggish pace and not enough narrative momentum makes for a dull, tedious and monotonous experience.  He trusts the audience's patience, perhaps too much, because too many scenes drag and overstay their welcome. The film within the film with Nagisa and Matsuo is slightly more engaging than the story of Li and Benzo, so if Miyake were to have focused just on that story and fleshed it out with more depth, this would've been a more emotionally potent and captivating film. It's not quite clear if Li has learned anything about loneliness or solitude by the end because she remains at a cold distance from the audience and doesn't have enough of a character arc. Based on the short stories  "A View of the Seaside" and "Mr. Ben and His Igloo" by Yoshiharu Tsuge, Two Seasons, Two Strangers, probably would've worked better as a short. It's ultimately less than the sum of its parts while the nice scenery and exquisite cinematography come with diminishing returns. At a running time of 1 hour and 29 minutes, which feels more like 3 hours, Two Seasons, Two Strangers opens at The Metrograph. In a double feature with the far more profound and engrossing I Know Where I'm Going! which explores similar themes, it would be the inferior B-movie.

Number of times I checked my watch: 4