The CriterionCast
The CriterionCast is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this
publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following
Tomatometer-approved critic(s):
Joshua Brunsting
Rating
Title/Year
Author
1
Isabella (2021)
2
Test Pattern (2021)
Test Pattern is an incredibly taut narrative despite a non-linear structure, with jumps in time feeling natural because Ford has complete control over their story.
Posted Mar 20, 2021
3
Yung Lean: In My Head (2020)
This new documentary shines a light on one of modern rap music's more influential, and controversial, figures, chronicling the rise and all of a troubled young artist.
Posted Jan 17, 2021
4
Somebody's Hero (2012)
Featuring a handful of great performances, it may not be the most rewarding watch ever, but I'll be damned if this one doesn't win you over by the time the credits roll.
Posted Dec 4, 2020
5
Proxima (2019)
It's a muted film, a mature and intimate film that doesn't lean into histrionics, instead finds beauty in the bonds of a mother and a child...
Posted Nov 13, 2020
6
Epicentro (2020)
A brazenly experimental feature, Epicentro is a textured and provocative look at the trail left by a history of colonialism, both literal and more figuratively.
Posted Sep 10, 2020
7
The direct involvement of Margiela may have forced the director's hand in tone and structure, but this type of almost hagiography feels fitting of a designer with less energy.
Posted Sep 10, 2020
8
She Dies Tomorrow (2020)
She Dies Tomorrow is at points a film about the way one deals with mortality, collective trauma and mass psychosis, making it an essential work of 2020 pop culture.
Posted Sep 10, 2020
9
A shockingly considered and mature film...
Posted Sep 10, 2020
10
Rebuilding Paradise (2020)
Equal parts tender and terrifying, Rebuilding Paradise is a gorgeously rendered documentary, playing as a tense, engrossing and crisply shot study of a community torn apart.
Posted Sep 10, 2020
11
The Rental (2020)
This is a lean and mean slasher film, an engaging deconstruction of a time-worn genre that's been rebuilt for an aspect of everyday life that rightly deserves a good skewering
Posted Sep 10, 2020
12
Guest of Honour (2020)
While it may not ultimately amount to much on a thematic level, Egoyan's latest is a fascinating experiment from a director who has seemingly found the spark once again.
Posted Sep 10, 2020
13
Relic (2020)
Driven by a whip-smart script from James and co-writer Christian White, Relic is a rich and layered text that's both harrowing and emotionally nuanced and textured.
Posted Sep 10, 2020
14
Ahead of the Curve (2021)
15
Shirley (2020)
Decker and DP Sturla Brandth Grovlen turn this fictional recounting of a moment in the life of Shirley Jackson into and expressionist rumination on truth, storytelling
Posted Sep 9, 2020
16
The Vast of Night (2020)
Very clearly an atmosphere piece, the film does have an oddly rigid narrative, owing more to things like War of the Worlds than just the radio station's WOTW call sign.
Posted Sep 9, 2020
17
The Trip to Greece (2020)
It's a road film, a buddy comedy and a rumination on age and mortality, all rolled into a quaint and gorgeously crafted piece of food porn that's endlessly watchable.
Posted Sep 9, 2020
18
Fourteen (2020)
Fourteen feels almost like a collection of journal or diary entries, devastating moments in these lives that will flash forward at the drop of a hat
Posted Sep 9, 2020
19
The Bad and the Beautiful (1953)
20
Tell Me Who I Am (2019)
21
Olympic Dreams (2020)
Gorgeously shot and led by two ace performances, Olympic Dreams is the type of adult romantic comedy that simply does not get produced these days.
Posted May 12, 2020
22
A tender, profoundly moving portrait of grief and family, art and motherhood, the film is a formalist achievement that feels like a movement of true growth for Schanelec
Posted May 12, 2020
23
The Whistlers (2020)
Porumboiu's direction is absolutely top class, with his juggling of time and space assured and often quite alluring
Posted May 12, 2020
24
Sorry We Missed You (2020)
Loach returns with an essential take on the gig economy that's as gorgeously made as it is humane and tender.
Posted May 12, 2020
25
The film allows each subject to inform the viewer about their story in whatever way they see fit and in doing so we learn how grief is processed by the youngest of our society
Posted May 12, 2020
26
Sea Fever (2019)
he issue here is that everything from the characterization to the film's visual sensibility feels derivative of these references without inviting much new conversation
Posted May 12, 2020
27
Endings, Beginnings (2020)
It's simply a film that feels put together based on some sort of schematic of a modern romantic drama, a film that feels decidedly incomplete...
Posted May 12, 2020
28
Zombi Child (2020)
The latest from director Bertrand Bonello is an evocative, thought-provoking look at colonialism and identity.
Posted Jan 31, 2020
29
Making its theatrical debut stateside a decade after bowing at the Cannes Film Festival, Jia Zhangke's documentary is a masterpiece worthy of (re)discovery.
Posted Jan 31, 2020
30
Color Out of Space (2020)
Cult director Richard Stanley's latest is a beautifully shot, if slightly bloated, cosmic horror film driven by a Nic Cage performance that stands as one of his best.
Posted Jan 31, 2020
31
José (2020)
Li Cheng's sophomore effort is a quiet, almost neo-realist, look into life as a young gay man in conservative Guatemala that's as beautiful as it is moving.
Posted Jan 31, 2020
32
The Europeans (1979)
33
The Cave (2019)
A thrilling, ceaselessly captivating documentary...
Posted Dec 3, 2019
34
Synonyms (Synonymes) (2019)
A captivating look at the intersection between nationalism and toxic masculinity, few films feel as vital and truly important in 2019 as this superlative piece of work.
Posted Dec 1, 2019
35
Gay Chorus Deep South (2019)
Gorgeously shot, Gay Chorus Deep South is a handsomely rendered, if maybe a bit thin, look at a group of people trying to bring about change through music.
Posted Dec 1, 2019
36
A Fish in the Bathtub (1999)
Joan Micklin Silver's underrated and rarely seen comedic gem is a gorgeously shot, emotionally rich romantic comedy with a collection of ace performances and an ace script
Posted Dec 1, 2019
37
What makes Recorder so utterly compelling and beautifully textured is the absolute compassion and sympathy that director Matt Wolf has for his subject
Posted Dec 1, 2019
38
Feast of the Epiphany (2018)
The premiere film from Reverse Shot, this docu-fiction hybrid is a quiet, moving portrait of life, loss and food.
Posted Dec 1, 2019
39
First Love (Hatsukoi) (2019)
Miike's direction is visceral, finding the filmmaker not only completely invested in this narrative but also willing to break from his formula at a drop of the hat.
Posted Oct 15, 2019
40
Parasite (Gisaengchung) (2019)
Bong takes this battle between classes and one family's attempt to take that much craved next step up the economic ladder, and twists it into a fun house thrill ride.
Posted Oct 15, 2019
41
Gainsbourg may not have the skill to nail a finale that's almost too violent, but thanks to a new restoration, Je T'aime Moi Non Plus is an absolute revelation.
Posted Oct 15, 2019
42
Feminist and anti-racist to the bone, Ocelot's latest film is a startling, if misshapen, gem that will hopefully find an audience despite a modest release schedule.
Posted Oct 15, 2019
43
Loro (2019)
Servillo's Berlusconi is nuanced in a way that nothing else in the film is. Lacking the satirical bite of a Wolf Of Wall Street, Loro is a lushly composed, toothless satire.
Posted Oct 15, 2019
44
The Wedding Year (2019)
It's rare, in 2019, to have a genuinely good time at the movies and this, in all of its simplicity and cliche, is absolutely that.
Posted Oct 15, 2019
45
Diego Maradona (2019)
With a scholarly eye towards research, Maradona is a richly textured, nuanced portrait not only of a titanic figure in sports, but the rise of a sportsman into a god.
Posted Oct 15, 2019
46
Monos (2019)
A visceral rumination on devolving social norms in the face of war, Monos is not only the return of a great filmmaker, but one of the great political allegories of 2019.
Posted Oct 15, 2019
47
I'm Leaving Now (Ya me voy) (2019)
48
Moonlight Sonata becomes a tender and evocative document of a very specific human experience that's palpable for anyone forced to deal with a set back in life.
Posted Sep 26, 2019
49
American Factory (2019)
Documenting this in as frank a manner as Riechert and Bognar do is incredibly wise, avoiding the easy, disposable type of agitprop that has made a home on streaming in 2019.
Posted Sep 11, 2019
50
Friedkin Uncut (2019)