'The Roses' Review

There's a new version of The War of the Roses out this weekend. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman and is not as good as the 1989 film. I explain why over at Screen International.  

Sundance 2025: Ranking the Best and Worst of the Festival

There's a temptation among film critics when they don't attend a particular festival to look askance at those who do, especially if those attendees rave about a lot of the movies there. The cynical assumption is that, amidst the prestige and excitement (and privilege) of being at a festival, these critics lose their ability to be discerning. Those feelings are only amplified when glowing reviews come out of Sundance, the theory being that, because of Utah's higher elevation, critics are susceptible to become more forgiving of mediocre movies than they would at sea level.

But a funny thing happened this year in Park City: Just about everyone I saw at the festival was similarly glum about the films they were watching on the ground, grousing that there were no big breakthroughs, no major discoveries, no instant classics. Actually, much of the talk at Sundance wasn't about the movies but, rather, where the festival was headed. And I don't mean philosophically; this was a more literal question, with Sundance moving to Salt Lake City, Boulder or Cincinnati in 2027. The festival's team made it clear that they didn't have any answers about that yet, so don't ask, but nonetheless that uncertainty also contributed to creating a feeling that something was ending, that the glory days were over. Add to that Trump's return to the White House and the fires in Los Angeles, and it was easy to see why many downbeat Park City attendees wrote off this year's edition as a disappointment.

For once, it was actually the people not at the festival who were more positive. Those who stayed home, using the festival's online platform to see certain films, were generally a lot happier with Sundance's 2025 installment. Partly, that was because they only watched movies we on the ground had already determined were good. But I also think not being at Sundance, which didn't feel as packed or lively as in previous years, helped keep one's focus on the films as opposed to the lack of electricity in Park City. 

As I put together my rankings of everything I saw at the festival, it became clear that this actually was a pretty great Sundance, especially in terms of documentaries. My top two films at this year's festival, The Perfect Neighbor and Predators, both of which screened in the U.S. Documentary Competition, feel like films we'll be talking about all year, their thematic connections so self-evident and fascinating that Film Comment ran a panel with their filmmakers (as well as the director of Zodiac Killer Project) to discuss them. Right behind were two features, Sorry, Baby and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, which took very different approaches to examine an imperiled woman trying to keep her head above water. I count 12 films I would classify as, at least, very good, and that's keeping in mind that there were several more movies I would have liked to have caught but just didn't have the time.

During Sundance, I met a veteran filmmaker who was screening a movie there. "So, what's the vibe of the festival this year?" she asked me. Gloomy, for lots of obvious reasons. But the films compensated if we just let ourselves be open to them.

Below are my rankings, with links leading to individual reviews:

28. Opus
27. By Design
26. Ricky
25. The Ugly Stepsister
24. Rabbit Trap
23. Kiss of the Spider Woman
22. The Legend of Ochi
21. Together
20. The Thing With Feathers
19. The Wedding Banquet
18. Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
17. Folktales
16. Magic Farm
15. Jimpa
14. Omaha
13. Rebuilding
12. Zodiac Killer Project
11. The Alabama Solution
10. Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
9. 2000 Meters to Andriivka
8. Train Dreams
7. Peter Hujar's Day
6. BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
5. Twinless
4. Sorry, Baby
3. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
2. Predators
1. The Perfect Neighbor 

See you all at the next festival. And thanks again to Devika Girish for having me on The Film Comment Podcast to discuss Twinless, By Design and Rabbit Trap.

Sundance 2025: 'Jimpa' Review

Jimpa is the new film from Good Luck to You, Leo Grande director Sophie Hyde, but this one is a lot more personal. Taking inspiration from her own life, it tells the story of a filmmaker mother (Olivia Colman) with a nonbinary child (Hyde's own child Aud Mason-Hyde) and a gay father (John Lithgow. Not surprisingly, Jimpa is an emotional movie, but I also had some nitpicks. You can read my review here.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Going to Bat for 'One Fine Morning'

Christy Lemire and I were on KCRW to review five new movies, and there's a lot to discuss in a short segment. We talked about The Whale, Empire of Light, Emancipation and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. But I spent a little extra time raving about Mia Hansen-Love's latest. Check it all out down below.

2021 Gotham Awards Nominees

Kept forgetting to mention that I was part of this year's Gotham Awards acting jury, in which we were tasked with a new responsibility. For the first time, we voted for nominees for Outstanding Lead Performance, Outstanding Supporting Performance and Breakthrough Performer, and all three categories were gender-neutral. What resulted was a four-hour deliberation with fellow jurors Monica Castillo, Robert Daniels, Mark Harris and Tomris Laffly. It was a great conversation, and I was very pleased with our choices, which you can see here, along with the nominees in other categories.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: The Best Films of 2020

The year is almost over. Let's take a look back at 2020's finest films. Will and I each present our Top 10 lists on the podcast. Enjoy!

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: So Many Movies, So Little Time

We went through eight new movies on this week's episode:

Wonder Woman 1984
Soul
The Father
News of the World
Promising Young Woman
One Night in Miami
Education
The Midnight Sky

We gave ourselves about seven minutes for each film. Let the lightning-round begin!

Sundance 2020: 'Dick Johnson Is Dead,' 'The Father' and Saying Goodbye to Your Parents

What do these two movies have in common? They're both about dads with dementia. This inspired some thoughts about losing my mom and dad. I wrote about it for MEL.

Sundance 2020: 'The Father' Review

So, I really loved The Father. My review is up at Screen International.

KQED: The Highs and Lows of the 91st Academy Awards

This was a treat: I was asked to be on KQED's Forum with host Michael Krasny yesterday morning to discuss the Oscars. I was joined by Claudia Puig and Tre'vell Anderson, and we all had a lot to say about Green Book, Olivia Colman's surprise win and how the industry is doing in terms of diversity. Plus, we took some calls from listeners. Very, very fun: You can hear the whole thing here.

Sundance 2019: 'Them That Follow' Review

Them That Follow embeds us with an extreme Pentecostal community, one that engages in snake-handling. This tense drama is well-acted, but it's also a bit suffocating, as I explain in my Screen International review.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Boxing, Animation and 18th Century England

Welcome to this week's podcast, where we review Creed II and The Favourite. Then I solo on Ralph Breaks the Internet. Check out the whole thing down below.

Some Thoughts on 'The Favourite'

To survive in a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, you can't have a heart. I talk about that, and The Favourite, over at MEL.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': 'Ralph Breaks the Internet,' 'Creed II,' 'Roma' and 'The Favourite'

A most unusual episode of Press Play this week. First of all, I appeared on Wednesday rather than the usual Friday. Plus, Barbara Bogaev filled in as guest host. And, finally, I was the sole critic on the program. So you get to hear me talk a lot about this weekend's releases. You can hear the whole segment here.

My Interview With Olivia Colman

I had a lovely chat with Olivia Colman, the star of The Favourite, to talk about the movie, her costars and Yorgos Lanthimos. (And I also talked to Lanthimos about her.) You can read the whole thing over at Rolling Stone.