FRANKENSTEIN

“Del Toro has always had more affinity for his monsters than men, and Elordi’s tender creature is so much more interesting than Isaac’s off-putting, one-note doctor that the movie doesn’t come alive until he does, which is unfortunately over an hour into the 149-minute feature. Frankenstein is as visually extravagant as it is dramatically undercooked.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 10/21/2025

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SEVEN SCARY MOVIES TO GO SEE THIS HALLOWEEN WEEK

“The nice thing about living in one of the greatest movie cities in the world is that there are more than 40 horror flicks you can go see on a giant screen with a sound system that blows away any setup you have at home. Besides, there’s something healthy about screaming along with strangers. It reminds us that we’re all in this together.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 10/21/2025

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WHAT’S WITH BAUM?

“The 89-year-old Allen’s debut novel is tangy and bitter, slipping an amusingly corrosive one-liner into just about every paragraph. The man is still a joke machine, and he’s at his funniest when he lets his contempt hang out like it does here, taking potshots at both his loser protagonist and the Manhattan culture vultures who might be right to consider him beneath them.” – North Shore Movies, 10/20/2025

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ONE HOT FEST TAKE: MEGADOC

My buddy Blake Howard called from the Adelaide Film Festival, where he’d just seen director Mike Figgis’ all-access documentary about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. We discussed our love for FFC and how we wish he could have made a dozen movies with Aubrey Plaza. We also talked about what a pain in the ass Shia LaBeouf seems to be.One Heat Minute, 10/16/2025

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AFTER THE HUNT

“Luca Guadagnino’s entertainingly trashy provocation pushes the audience’s buttons with fat, clumsy thumbs, tackling issues of race, elitism, power dynamics and consent without having anything substantive or even coherent to say about any of them. Still, there’s a naughty, irresponsible swagger to the picture that’s undeniably fun to watch.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 10/15/2025

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IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU

“Every scene in director Mary Bronstein’s sophomore effort is a mini-anxiety attack, rattling in extreme closeups on star Rose Byrne while a cacophonous world roars at and around her, shrieking reminders of her shortcomings as a mother and a human being. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You would probably be unwatchable if it weren’t so horrifically funny.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 10/15/2025

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THE BATTLE (AFTER ANOTHER) OF ALGIERS

“Pontecorvo said he wanted the movie to feel like ‘a stolen historical document’ and his groundbreaking appropriation of newsreel techniques blurs the lines between documentary and fiction filmmaking to dizzying effect. Early release prints had a disclaimer informing audiences that no actual news footage was used in the picture. That’s still kind of hard to believe.” – Crooked Marquee, 10/10/2025

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ROOFMAN

“Though it’s a major studio release with big stars, Roofman has the low-key vibe of an indie from the early aughts. The 35mm cinematography and easy authenticity make it feel like something you’d have seen at Sundance around the time when the film is set. Cianfrance has a real eye for everyday life. The places in his movies look like people actually live there.” – North Shore Movies, 10/10/2025

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A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE

“Such a scenario could easily have tipped into melodrama, but Bigelow has too brusque and businesslike an approach for that. There are no histrionics here, just stray glimpses of humanity as these officials grasp the gravity of the situation. The movie is breathless, understated. A House Of Dynamite leaves you rattled and wrung out.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 10/09/2024

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IFFBOSTON FALL FOCUS 2025

“‘I’m calling it One Brattle After Another,’ laughed Campbell. The 27 Fall Focus selections span the globe and range from children’s animated adventures to Broadway biopics and drag queen zombie comedies. They’ve got domestic psychodramas, international political thrillers and Julia Roberts yelling at entitled college kids. This place has everything.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 10/06/2025

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