‘The Untamed’ Trailer: Discover the Summer’s Best Sci-Fi Film
Mexican director Amat Escalante has cultivated for himself a controversial, often shockingly violent niche, and his newest film The Untamed looks to be no e...
Ryan Swen
BAMcinemaFest Review: ‘En el Séptimo Día’ is a Compassionate Portrait of the Immigrant Experience
Discussing the ways in which fiction films shift between their linear, wholly narrative impulses and something approaching ethnography is among the most illumin...
Review: Domestic Drama and Suspense Collide in Kôji Fukada’s ‘Harmonium’
Much of what tantalizes about the seemingly straightforward drama Harmonium is what makes it so difficult to describe. It is nominally a domestic drama, centeri...
First Look at Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried in Paul Schrader’s ‘First Reformed’
After last year’s reasonably well-received Dog Eat Dog, director Paul Schrader has already embarked upon his latest project, First Reformed. Apparently more...
Review: ‘Casting JonBenet’ Offers a Troubling Mosaic of Perspectives
When it comes to documentary filmmaking, the issue of perspective is often of paramount importance. A great deal of sensitivity and tact is required in telling ...
Review: ‘Cézanne et moi’ is a Commendably-Told Tale of Mercurial Friendship
There is inherently a great risk that filmmakers face while crafting a drama about “great men.” Whether they are artists or politicians, innovators or explorers...
Review: ‘Deidra & Laney Rob a Train’ Chugs Along with Choppy Charm
There’s certainly no accusing Deidra & Laney Rob a Train of being too subtle. It is the kind of film that works in broad strokes, in comically heightened si...
Review: ‘As You Are’ Strives for Intimacy But Feels Remote
Throughout the entirety of As You Are, it is painfully clear that director and co-writer Miles Joris-Peyrafitte wants the viewer to know that something bad will...
Ryan Swen
Ryan Swen is a Los Angeles-based freelance film critic. He also co-hosts the podcast Catalyst and Witness.