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Goodbye Christopher Robin
What stands out first about Goodbye Christopher Robin is the confidence with which Simon Curtis establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Goodbye Christopher Robin asks Domhnall Gleeson and Margot Robbie to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Goodbye Christopher Robin is established with useful clarity: The relationship between writer AA Milne and his son, Christopher Robin, and how this became the inspiration f
Aug 103 min read
The Last Word
What stands out first about The Last Word is the confidence with which Mark Pellington establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Last Word asks Shirley MacLaine and Amanda Seyfried to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Last Word is established with useful clarity: Harriet is a retired businesswoman who tries to control everything around her. That direct approach lets The Last Word use its 1h 48m running time for ch
Aug 103 min read
The Wall
What stands out first about The Wall is the confidence with which Doug Liman establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Wall asks Aaron Taylor Johnson and John Cena to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Wall is established with useful clarity: Two American soldiers are pinned down in the Iraqi desert by a lethal sniper with only a crumbling wall between them. That direct approach lets The Wall use its 1h 28m ru
Aug 103 min read
Toilet: A Love Story
What stands out first about Toilet: A Love Story is the confidence with which Shree Narayan Singh establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Toilet: A Love Story asks Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Toilet: A Love Story is established with useful clarity: A woman threatens to leave her husband unless he installs a toilet in their home. That direct approach lets Toilet: A Love Story use its
Aug 103 min read
Youth
What stands out first about Youth is the confidence with which Xiaogang Feng establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Youth asks Xuan Huang and Miao Miao to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Youth is established with useful clarity: A look at the lives of members of a Military Cultural Troupe in the 1970s. That direct approach lets Youth use its 2h 15m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence. The narrat
Aug 102 min read
Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds
What stands out first about Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds is the confidence with which Kim Yong hwa establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds asks Ha Jung woo and Cha Tae hyun to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds is established with useful clarity: After a heroic death, a firefighter navigates the afterlife with the help of three guides. Th
Aug 103 min read
Everybody Loves Somebody
What stands out first about Everybody Loves Somebody is the confidence with which Catalina Aguilar Mastretta establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Everybody Loves Somebody asks Karla Souza and José María Yazpik to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Everybody Loves Somebody is established with useful clarity: A single, successful career woman asks her co worker to pose as her boyfriend at a family wedding back home in M
Aug 103 min read
The Bride of Badrinath
What stands out first about The Bride of Badrinath is the confidence with which Shashank Khaitan establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Bride of Badrinath asks Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Bride of Badrinath is established with useful clarity: Badrinath is looking for a typical bride; Vaidehi is looking for an independent life. That direct approach lets The Bride of Badrinath
Aug 103 min read
A Fantastic Woman
What stands out first about A Fantastic Woman is the confidence with which Sebastián Lelio establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, A Fantastic Woman asks Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of A Fantastic Woman is established with useful clarity: Marina, a transgender woman who works as a waitress and moonlights as a nightclub singer, is bowled over by the death of her older boyfriend. That
Aug 103 min read
Good Time
What stands out first about Good Time is the confidence with which Benny Safdie establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Good Time asks Robert Pattinson and Benny Safdie to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Good Time is established with useful clarity: After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick ou
Aug 103 min read
Indian Horse
What stands out first about Indian Horse is the confidence with which Stephen S. Campanelli establishes its sports drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Indian Horse asks Ajuawak Kapashesit and Wayne Baker to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Indian Horse is established with useful clarity: Follows the life of Native Canadian Saul Indian Horse as he survives residential school and life amongst the racism of the 1970s. That direct appr
Aug 103 min read
Brad's Status
What stands out first about Brad's Status is the confidence with which Mike White establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Brad's Status asks Ben Stiller and Austin Abrams to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Brad's Status is established with useful clarity: A father takes his son to tour colleges on the East Coast and meets up with an old friend who makes him feel inferior about his life's choices. That direct approach
Aug 103 min read
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