Crisp Criticism - "Little Women", "Uncut Gems", "Bombshell", "Cats", "The Two Popes"

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Julien Faddoul

Little Women ***

Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Marvellous, feminist, baroque adaptation that is presented and edited thematically, rather than narratively, jumping back and forth through time, with an ingenious, Nabokovian-style ending. In doing this, Gerwig strengthens the severity of the situations and relationships from the Alcott novel, while still retaining the comfort and sweetness that made it so popular with readers. The one glitch hails from its Millennial cast, many of whom occasionally dip into clashing modern acting-styles, which proves jarring. Despite this, it is decidedly the best cinematic adaptation of this material to date.

wd – Greta Gerwig   (Based on the Novel by Louisa May Alcott)

ph – Yorick Le Saux

pd – Jess Gonchor

m – Alexandre Desplat

ed – Nick Houy

cos – Jacqueline Durran

p – Amy Pascal, Denise Di Novi, Robin Swicord

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Bob Odenkirk, Chris Cooper, Jayne Houdyshell, Tracy Letts

Crisp Criticism - "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker", "Jumanji: The Next Level", "Richard Jewell", "Klaus", "The Report", "Waves", "Atlantics", "Ash is Purest White", "I Lost My Body"

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Julien Faddoul

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.

The outcome of an anguished cultural democracy, clearly designed to appease a fanbase that wants to soak in nostalgia and nothing else. The result is an epic, garbled mess, playing as a series of box-checking salutes to previous installments, with characters spending most of their time recounting what just happened in the previous scene. This is movie-making with a giant tail wagging a tiny dog; with artlessness being less of an unfortunate consequence and more the proud, explicit ambition.

d – JJ Abrams

w – Chris Terrio, JJ Abrams, Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow

ph – Dan Mindel

pd – Rick Carter, Kevin Jenkins

m – John Williams

ed – Maryann Brandon, Stefan Grube

cos – Michael Kaplan

p – JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan

Cast: Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Bremmer, Dave Chapman, Jeff Garlin, Greg Grunberg, Brian Herring, Billie Lourd, Nasser Memarzia, Dominic Monaghan, Simon Paisley Day, Matt Smith, Jimmy Vee

Crisp Criticism - "Marriage Story", "Knives Out", "Queen & Slim", "Dark Waters", "A Million Little Pieces"

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Julien Faddoul

Marriage Story ***

A stage director and his actor wife struggle through a gruelling, coast-to-coast divorce.

Deft and often moving Baumbachian portrait of the unanticipated bitterness of divorce proceedings that works better when not teetering on the edge of caricature; it serves as a kind of companion piece to its director’s previous film The Squid and the Whale (2005).

wd – Noah Baumbach

ph – Robbie Ryan

pd – Jade Healy

m – Randy Newman

ed – Jennifer Lame

cos – Mark Bridges

p – David Heyman, Noah Baumbach

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Merritt Wever, Mark O'Brien, Azhy Robertson, Brooke Bloom, Julie Hagerty, Wallace Shawn