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The Nowhere Inn
What stands out first about The Nowhere Inn is the confidence with which Bill Benz establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Nowhere Inn asks St. Vincent and Ezra Buzzington to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Nowhere Inn is established with useful clarity: St. That direct approach lets The Nowhere Inn use its 1h 31m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence. In The Nowhere Inn, Bill Benz directs w
Aug 103 min read
My Salinger Year
What stands out first about My Salinger Year is the confidence with which Philippe Falardeau establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, My Salinger Year asks Margaret Qualley and Sigourney Weaver to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of My Salinger Year is established with useful clarity: A college grad takes a clerical job working for the literary agent of the renowned, reclusive writer J.D. That direct approach lets My Saling
Aug 103 min read
Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation
What stands out first about Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation is the confidence with which Lisa Immordino Vreeland establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation asks Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation is established with useful clarity: The work, lives and personal journeys of two iconic A
Aug 103 min read
The Dissident
What stands out first about The Dissident is the confidence with which Bryan Fogel establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Dissident asks Jamal Khashoggi and Omar Abdulaziz to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Dissident is established with useful clarity: When Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world piece together the clues to a murder a
Aug 103 min read
Summerland
What stands out first about Summerland is the confidence with which Jessica Swale establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Summerland asks Gemma Arterton and Gugu Mbatha Raw to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Summerland is established with useful clarity: During World War II, an Englishwoman opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him in this moving journey of womanhood, love and friendshi
Aug 102 min read
My Brothers' Crossing
What stands out first about My Brothers' Crossing is the confidence with which Ricky Borba establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, My Brothers' Crossing asks Daniel Roebuck and James Black to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of My Brothers' Crossing is established with useful clarity: Based on the true story of a couple killed while riding a motorcycle (based on the book "In The Blink of an Eye") and the forgiveness of the
Aug 103 min read
Come True
What stands out first about Come True is the confidence with which Anthony Scott Burns establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Come True asks Julia Sarah Stone and Landon Liboiron to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Come True is established with useful clarity: A teenage runaway takes part in a sleep study that becomes a nightmarish descent into the depths of her mind and a frightening examination of the power of
Aug 103 min read
Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams
What stands out first about Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams is the confidence with which Luca Guadagnino establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams asks Salvatore Ferragamo and Michael Stuhlbarg to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams is established with useful clarity: The life of Italian shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo, who created shoes for Hollywood stars dur
Aug 103 min read
Hard Luck Love Song
What stands out first about Hard Luck Love Song is the confidence with which Justin Corsbie establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Hard Luck Love Song asks Michael Dorman and Sophia Bush to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Hard Luck Love Song is established with useful clarity: A gritty love story about a charismatic but down on his luck troubadour living out of cheap motels and making bad decisions. That direct app
Aug 103 min read
The Killing of Two Lovers
What stands out first about The Killing of Two Lovers is the confidence with which Robert Machoian establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Killing of Two Lovers asks Clayne Crawford and Sepideh Moafi to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Killing of Two Lovers is established with useful clarity: David desperately tries to keep his family of six together during a separation from his wife. That direct approach lets T
Aug 103 min read
Summer of 85
What stands out first about Summer of 85 is the confidence with which François Ozon establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Summer of 85 asks Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Summer of 85 is established with useful clarity: When 16 year old Alexis capsizes off the coast of Normandy, 18 year old David heroically saves him. That direct approach lets Summer of 85 use its 1h 41m runni
Aug 103 min read
Summertime
What stands out first about Summertime is the confidence with which Carlos López Estrada establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Summertime asks Austin Antoine and Marquesha Babers to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Summertime is established with useful clarity: Over the course of a hot summer day in Los Angeles, the lives of 25 young Angelinos intersect. That direct approach lets Summertime use its 1h 35m running tim
Aug 103 min read
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