by
Julien Faddoul
Bad Times at the El Royale **
Circa 1968, several strangers, most with a secret to bury, meet by chance at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one night, everyone will show their true colours.
Fun, slickly told – if not especially substantial – little puzzle-thriller with suave allusions to everybody from René Clair to Quentin Tarantino. It cannot justify its gross overlength (particularly in its endless final act) and some regrettably mannered performances.
wd – Drew Goddard
ph – Seamus McGarvey
pd – Martin Whist
m – Michael Giacchino
ed – Lisa Lassek
cos – Danny Glicker
p – Jeremy Latcham, Drew Goddard
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Nick Offerman, Xavier Dolan, Shea Whigham
Sorry to Bother You *
In an alternate present-day version of Oakland CA, a black telemarketer discovers a magical key to professional success – which propels him into a macabre universe.
Yet another allusion-heavy enterprise – a directorial debut – to the point of utter sluggishness (the echoes this time-around include Michel Gondry, Gregg Araki, Bob Dylan, Dostoyevsky...) Made in connection with its director’s studio hip-hop album that dealt with a class analysis of current capitalist upheavals; in its cinematic form, it offers glib answers to the questions it raises, but at least it does raise them.
wd – Boots Riley
ph – Doug Emmett
pd – Jason Kisvarday
m – The Coup, Merrill Garbus, Boots Riley, Tune-Yards
ed – Terel Gibson
cos – Deirdra Elizabeth Govan
p – Nina Yang Bongiovi, Kelly Williams, Jonathan Duffy, Charles D. King, George Rush, Forest Whitaker
Cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer, Mahari Crown, Lily James, Kate Berlant, Michael X. Sommers, Robert Longstreet, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson
Halloween
Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
Hysterical and birdbrained horror film with unclear intentions and a confusing position in regards to the franchise’s timeline.
d – David Gordon Green
w – David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jeff Fradley (Based on the Characters Created by John Carpenter, Debra Hill)
ph – Michael Simmonds
pd – Richard A. Wright
m – Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, Daniel A. Davies
ed – Timothy Alverson
cos – Emily Gunshor
p – Bill Block, Jason Blum, Malek Akkad
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner, Nick Castle, Miles Robbins, Toby Huss, Jefferson Hall, Haluk Bilginer, Christopher Allen Nelson
The Sisters Brothers **
In 1850s Oregon, a gold prospector with a secret chemical formula is chased by the infamous duo of assassins, the Sisters brothers.
Soulful, well-acted western on simple men who exploit situations and uncover their personal identity. It’s Audiard’s first english-language film and thus certain beats seem unsuitably delicate.
d – Jacques Audiard
w – Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain (Based on the Book by Patrick DeWitt)
ph – Benoît Debie
pd – Michel Barthélémy
m – Alexandre Desplat
ed – Juliette Welfling
cos – Milena Canonero
p – John C. Reilly, Pascal Caucheteux, Michael De Luca, Alison Dickey, Megan Ellison, Grégoire Sorlat, Michel Merkt
Cast: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Rebecca Root, Allison Tolman, Rutger Hauer, Carol Kane
Mid90s *
A thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
There are worse things in the world than Hill attempting to impart on the Richard Linklater aesthetic (if not the milieu), but the tempo isn’t disciplined, narrative strands are left hanging and these characters just aren’t interesting enough.
wd – Jonah Hill
ph – Christopher Blauvelt
pd – Jahmin Assa
m – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
ed – Nick Houy
cos – Heidi Bivens
p – Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Ken Kao, Jonah Hill, Lila Yacoub
Cast: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Katherine Waterston, Na-kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, Ryder McLaughlin, Alexa Demie, Jax Malcom, Kasey Elise, Liana Perlich, Zachary Read, Jerrod Carmichael
Support the Girls ***
The general manager at a Texas highway-side ''sports bar with curves" has her optimism in her girls, her customers, and herself tested over the course of a long, strange day.
Bujalski’s deftest film to date: Acute, coolly identifiable exemplification on present-day American scruples and conduct in the workplace. His salty handling of the characters and his detailed sense of editing/pacing has never been more impactful.
wd – Andrew Bujalski
ph – Matthias Grunsky
pd – Jake Kuykendall
ed – Karen Skloss
cos – Colin Wilkes
p – Sam Slater, Houston King
Cast: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Shayna McHayle, Dylan Gelula, AJ Michalka, James Le Gros, Brooklyn Decker, Lea DeLaria, Jana Kramer, John Elvis, Zoe Graham
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