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The Phantom of the Open
What stands out first about The Phantom of the Open is the confidence with which Craig Roberts establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Phantom of the Open asks Mark Rylance and Ian Porter to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Phantom of the Open is established with useful clarity: Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification
Aug 103 min read
L'Arracheuse de temps
What stands out first about L'Arracheuse de temps is the confidence with which Francis Leclerc establishes its fantasy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, L'Arracheuse de temps asks Jade Charbonneau and Marc Messier to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of L'Arracheuse de temps is established with useful clarity: In 1988, in Saint Élie de Caxton, an eleven year old boy worries about his grandmother's life. That direct approach lets L'Arracheu
Aug 103 min read
Blue Bayou
What stands out first about Blue Bayou is the confidence with which Justin Chon establishes its crime drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Blue Bayou asks Justin Chon and Alicia Vikander to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Blue Bayou is established with useful clarity: As a Korean American man raised in the Louisiana bayou works hard to make a life for his family, he must confront the ghosts of his past as he discovers that he as th
Aug 103 min read
Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time
What stands out first about Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time is the confidence with which Mahiro Maeda establishes its animated adventure identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time asks Megumi Ogata and Megumi Hayashibara to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time is established with useful clarity: Misato and her anti NERV group WILLE arrive in Paris, a city now re
Aug 103 min read
Petite Maman
What stands out first about Petite Maman is the confidence with which Céline Sciamma establishes its fantasy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Petite Maman asks Joséphine Sanz and Gabrielle Sanz to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Petite Maman is established with useful clarity: Nelly has just lost her grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother's childhood home. That direct approach lets Petite Maman use its 1h 13m run
Aug 103 min read
The Mauritanian
What stands out first about The Mauritanian is the confidence with which Kevin Macdonald establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Mauritanian asks Tahar Rahim and Nouhe Hamady Bari to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Mauritanian is established with useful clarity: Mohamedou Ould Slahi fights for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. That direct approach lets The Mauritanian use
Aug 103 min read
The Alpinist
What stands out first about The Alpinist is the confidence with which Peter Mortimer establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Alpinist asks Marc André Leclerc and Peter Mortimer to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Alpinist is established with useful clarity: Marc André Leclerc climbs alone, far from the limelight. That direct approach lets The Alpinist use its 1h 32m running time for character, atmosphere a
Aug 103 min read
Witnesses
What stands out first about Witnesses is the confidence with which Mark Goodman establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Witnesses asks Michael Zuccola and Caleb J. Spivak to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Witnesses is established with useful clarity: For nearly 200 years, skeptics and critics have been trying to explain away what many Book of Mormon witnesses stated that they had seen angels and hefted golden me
Aug 103 min read
Man of God
What stands out first about Man of God is the confidence with which Yelena Popovic establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Man of God asks Aris Servetalis and Alexander Petrov to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Man of God is established with useful clarity: Exiled unjustly, convicted without trial, slandered without cause. That direct approach lets Man of God use its 1h 51m running time for character, atmo
Aug 103 min read
Little Eggs: An African Rescue
What stands out first about Little Eggs: An African Rescue is the confidence with which Gabriel Riva Palacio Alatriste establishes its animated adventure identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Little Eggs: An African Rescue asks Bruno Bichir and Maite Perroni to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Little Eggs: An African Rescue is established with useful clarity: Toto and his friends must rescue his egg children after they're taken away for a
Aug 103 min read
Love Story
What stands out first about Love Story is the confidence with which Sekhar Kammula establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Love Story asks Naga Chaitanya Akkineni and Sai Pallavi to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Love Story is established with useful clarity: A Zumba instructor who falls in love with a girl from an upper caste Hindu family. That direct approach lets Love Story use its 2h 35m running time for charact
Aug 103 min read
The Jesus Music
What stands out first about The Jesus Music is the confidence with which Andrew Erwin establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Jesus Music asks Kirk Franklin and Amy Grant to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Jesus Music is established with useful clarity: This documentary reveals Jesus Music's untold story from its humble beginnings at the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California through its transformation
Aug 103 min read
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