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BANDSTAND: The Broadway Musical on Screen
What stands out first about BANDSTAND: The Broadway Musical on Screen is the confidence with which Lorenzo Thione establishes its music drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, BANDSTAND: The Broadway Musical on Screen asks Carleigh Bettiol and Mary Callanan to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of BANDSTAND: The Broadway Musical on Screen is established with useful clarity: In 1945, as America's soldiers come home to ticker tape parades and
Aug 103 min read
Little Italy
What stands out first about Little Italy is the confidence with which Donald Petrie establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Little Italy asks Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Little Italy is established with useful clarity: A young couple must navigate a blossoming romance, amidst a war between their families' competing pizza restaurants. That direct approach lets Little Italy use
Aug 103 min read
Raid
What stands out first about Raid is the confidence with which Raj Kumar Gupta establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Raid asks Ajay Devgn and Ileana D'Cruz to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Raid is established with useful clarity: A fearless income tax officer raids the mansion of the most powerful man in Lucknow after someone mysteriously draws his attention towards the evidence. That direct approach lets Raid use
Aug 102 min read
Nothing to Lose
What stands out first about Nothing to Lose is the confidence with which Alexandre Avancini establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Nothing to Lose asks Petrônio Gontijo and Day Mesquita to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Nothing to Lose is established with useful clarity: Self financed fictional biopic of Brazilian bishop Edir Macedo, founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and owner of Reco
Aug 103 min read
Zero
What stands out first about Zero is the confidence with which Aanand L. Rai establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Zero asks Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Zero is established with useful clarity: Through his relationships with two wildly different women, a vertically challenged bachelor with a larger than life persona must discover his purpose. That direct approach lets Zero use
Aug 103 min read
Wildlife
What stands out first about Wildlife is the confidence with which Paul Dano establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Wildlife asks Ed Oxenbould and Jake Gyllenhaal to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Wildlife is established with useful clarity: A teenage boy must deal with his mother's complicated response after his father temporarily abandons them to take a menial and dangerous job. That direct approach lets Wildlife us
Aug 103 min read
Andhadhun
What stands out first about Andhadhun is the confidence with which Sriram Raghavan establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Andhadhun asks Ayushmann Khurrana and Tabu to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Andhadhun is established with useful clarity: A series of mysterious events change the life of a blind pianist, who must now report a crime that he should technically know nothing of. That direct approach lets Andhadhu
Aug 102 min read
Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days
What stands out first about Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days is the confidence with which Kim Yong hwa establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days asks Ha Jung woo and Ju Ji hoon to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days is established with useful clarity: In the afterlife, one guardian helps a man through his trials, while his two colleagues h
Aug 103 min read
All Is True
What stands out first about All Is True is the confidence with which Kenneth Branagh establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, All Is True asks Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of All Is True is established with useful clarity: A look at the final days in the life of renowned playwright William Shakespeare. That direct approach lets All Is True use its 1h 41m running time for ch
Aug 103 min read
An Interview with God
What stands out first about An Interview with God is the confidence with which Perry Lang establishes its mystery identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, An Interview with God asks David Strathairn and Brenton Thwaites to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of An Interview with God is established with useful clarity: An up and coming journalist finds his world and faith increasingly challenged when he's granted the interview of a lifetime with som
Aug 103 min read
Beautifully Broken
What stands out first about Beautifully Broken is the confidence with which Eric Welch establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Beautifully Broken asks Benjamin A. Onyango and Scott William Winters to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Beautifully Broken is established with useful clarity: As three fathers fight to save their families, their lives become intertwined in an unlikely journey across the globe, where they learn
Aug 103 min read
High Life
What stands out first about High Life is the confidence with which Claire Denis establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, High Life asks Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of High Life is established with useful clarity: A father and his daughter struggle to survive in deep space where they live in isolation. That direct approach lets High Life use its 1h 53m running time for char
Aug 103 min read
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