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Nicholas Bell
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024) |
Rasoulof’s film sometimes feels like a blunt instrument, but he’s speaking truth to power through cinema in a way which cannot be misinterpreted. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 28, 2024
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The Most Precious of Cargoes (2024) |
Well-intentioned and a bit harpooned by its own sincerity, the sentimental moral lesson it extols, to borrow an Andrezj Zulawski title, seems to be ‘the most important thing is to love.’ - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 28, 2024
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Beating Hearts (2024) |
[Gilles Lellouche] seems to be going for broke but ends up going absolutely nowhere with this rambling heap of empty-headed nonsense which seems to actively avoid following its own instincts. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 23, 2024
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Motel Destino (2024) |
It’s an enjoyably louring queer noir and, following the dull costume drama Firebrand (2023), it’s a welcome return to Aïnouz’s erotic flair. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 23, 2024
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Grand Tour (2024) |
Ultimately, it’s like the anti-Odyssey, except we’re not ever made to feel intrinsically interested about the outcome. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 22, 2024
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Anora (2024) |
At this point in his career, filmmaker Sean Baker seems to have covered all the major facets of sex work experiences. Surprisingly, and quite delightfully, he’s managed to use his favorite motifs to create an exceptional screwball comedy with Anora. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 22, 2024
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Parthenope (2024) |
If this is meant to be Sorrentino’s way of conceiving what a woman’s empowerment should look like after a filmography littered with aging playboys, it’s certainly a disconsolate, disappointing juxtaposition. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 22, 2024
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The Shrouds (2024) |
It’s perhaps appropriate this moody narrative feels as lethargic as the act of decay itself. To some, this film may be fascinating, and others, tiresome. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 22, 2024
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East of Noon (2024) |
Though it takes some time orienting oneself in this universe, there are some powerful statements about what stands as the most profound way to survive an autocracy -- by staying devoted to imagination and the creative process. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 22, 2024
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Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie (2024) |
There seems to be little point in Serebrennikov’s watered down Limonov, which has the audacity to include The Ballad as part of its title when it clearly avoids capturing what made Eduard Limonov extraordinary, notable, controversial, or even human. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 21, 2024
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Miséricorde (2024) |
Ultimately, it’s a film about satisfying one’s needs in the face of untenable circumstances. The affable abbot explains, “I have learned to love without return.” But, as we all know, desires and needs don’t disappear. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 21, 2024
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The Apprentice (2024) |
Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong are enjoyably compelling as a match made in capitalist hell. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 20, 2024
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The Substance (2024) |
Fargeat starts out in slow, familiar territory before slamming into fever pitch for a Grand Guignol bloodbath which might just be the best bit of straight faced body horror since Cronenberg’s clutch of 1980s titles. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 20, 2024
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Emilia Perez (2024) |
A compelling odyssey of mixed tropes which coalesce into a film not only vigorous but bold. In its own blunt way, the film exemplifies the enhancing power of what musicals can be. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 20, 2024
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Caught by the Tides (2024) |
Jia Zhangke’s wife, Zhao Tao, who has appeared in a majority of his narratives since 2000’s Platform, remains the vibrant highlight as a mute, melancholic woman fashioned like a figure from silent cinema. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 20, 2024
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Savanna and the Mountain (2024) |
Although this is a recent example of corporate sublimation, Carneiro’s formulation reflects a tale as old as time, though no less frustratingly potent. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 19, 2024
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Oh Canada (2024) |
Mournful and morose, Oh, Canada perhaps best exemplifies the intimate angst required of remorseful restitution. But this feels like someone’s apology no one else might be interested in witnessing. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 19, 2024
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Kinds of Kindness (2024) |
There are definitely highlights peppered throughout this anthology worth seeing. But overall it plays like a tumescent, vacuous rambling, as if Allen Ginsburg had hallucinated himself into The Twilight Zone and could not, would not, stop talking. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 19, 2024
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Three Kilometres to the End of the World (2024) |
In the familiar tradition of the titans of the Romanian New Wave, Pârvu presents an excruciating scenario of corruption and torturous bureaucracy in post-Communist Romania which unspools like a criminal procedural. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 19, 2024
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Bird (2024) |
Whether due to methods of improvisation without a clearly defined script or a rushed edit to make the demands of its world premiere, Arnold’s latest is something of a disappointment. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 17, 2024
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The Invasion (2024) |
Director Sergei Loznitsa continues as the ultimate contemporary chronicler of Ukraine’s past and present, his latest, the aptly titled The Invasion... It’s in keeping with his favored style of austere observation. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 17, 2024
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Megalopolis (2024) |
At worst, Megalopolis feels somewhat agonizing to sit through. At its best, it’s quite boring. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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The Girl with the Needle (2024) |
The Girl with a Needle is an unavoidably depressing saga, and yet a reminder of the clandestine scenarios devised when we’re not realistic about human behaviors or needs when women are not allowed to make decisions about their bodies. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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The Hyperboreans (2024) |
Bizarre, but not without its own unique brand of narrative and visual rewards, The Hyperboreans is an eclectic, disturbing, and formidable foray into the creative possibilities of what cinema can be. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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The Damned (2024) |
Much of the contemplative dialogue feels improvised, as if the actors are working through the ideas of the scene. Rather than elevating the intricate approach, however, there’s a sense of verbal anachronism in these longer exchanges. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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Locust (2024) |
While altogether watchable, KEFF’s narrative doesn’t pack any real punches, nor does it yield any surprises in this eternal tale of the haves and have nots navigating a system rife with distraction and corruption. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed (2024) |
The Felpetos are an amusing group of characters, but Rosselli steers clear of any real highs or lows, and thus the exposed secrets and ultimately logical solution to their woes feels like an inevitability. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) |
Ultimately, it’s another opportunity for Miller to play around in the toxic sandbox which has largely defined his cinematic career, and to be fair, there are few who come close to equalling his talents at such splendorous, violent, visual spectacles. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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When The Light Breaks (2024) |
There’s a poignant potency to this cycle of passing days, each containing its own set of endings and beginnings. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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Simon of the Mountain (2024) |
Although it’s playing quite purposefully with various ambiguities and motifs, Federico Luis’ directorial debut Simon de la montaña (Simon of the Mountain) is most successful at obscuring the usual cliches of identity exploration. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 15, 2024
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Wild Diamond (2024) |
While it's a rather slow build into the psychological insight of this specific emotionally tarnished nineteen-year-old, Riedinger wrings quite an impressive performance from newcomer Malou Khebizi in this character study template. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 15, 2024
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The Second Act (2024) |
Ultimately, the thoughts it provokes are more inherently interesting than the film’s self-obsessed vein of self-awareness. - IONCINEMA.com
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| Posted May 15, 2024
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Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024) |
Nonsensical, sentimental, and overall poorly researched, this bland, forgettable whodunit wastes a flock of interesting women, who are all ultimately demeaned by dreadful dialogue. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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I Saw the TV Glow (2024) |
More distressing than sinister, Schoenbrun's lofty commingling of fantasy and identity forged and then turn asunder by obsessive escapism has profound tendencies more pleasurable as a conversation piece than a cinematic experience. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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New Life (2023) |
Surprisingly compassionate and ultimately compelling, this ironically titled debut might under the skin of those who may be immune to the usual methods of pandemic panic. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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The Fall Guy (2024) |
Ryan Gosling is certainly charming, but careless plotting, a contrived romance, and wearisome comedic writing makes this all fall to pieces. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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Cash Out (2024) |
Evoking the same desperation induced at a restaurant where all conceivable aspects of the experience were lamentably subpar, the exit sign beckons while you wait to Cash Out. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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Humane (2024) |
Despite its laudable foray into the moral turpitude of elitism, Human always sticks to the obvious, aiming for satire but settling on stale with a defanged pit of vacuous vipers. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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Abigail (2024) |
The possibilities of its set-up are not endless, and arguably could have been used more effectively considering its camp sensibilities. The onerous Tchaikovsky obsessed Abigail amuses as long as you're ok with letting her suck up too much of your time. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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Challengers (2024) |
Zendaya eats as a cold, calculating, corroding catalyst in Guadagnino's captivating tennis drama, which finds a thwarted throuple discovering more than just the love of the game. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) |
Ritchie goes for glossy in this highly modified, super stylized WWII treatment. Well paced and hyper violent enough to lull us into forgetting underlying horrors. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) |
What it lacks in narrative finesse it more than makes up for in its impressive simian characterizations. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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Love Lies Bleeding (2024) |
Sexy, violent, and sordid, Kristen Stewart gives a swoon worthy performance in this devious switchblade romance. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted Mar 15, 2024
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Damsel (2024) |
The only distress experienced in this Damsel is wading through the shoddy CGI of yet another soulless streaming fantasy film as boring as it is derivative. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted Mar 15, 2024
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Doctor Jekyll (2023) |
Although the inspired casting of Eddie Izzard suggests a formidable reimagining of Stevenson's classic, this subpar version is a missed opportunity on every level. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted Mar 15, 2024
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The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024) |
Almost shockingly genteel despite the discomfort courted by its title, this promising satire placates instead of provoking. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted Mar 15, 2024
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Blackout (2023) |
Larry Fessenden loosely grafts topical issues of racial disparity and threats to biodiversity atop a run-of-the-mill werewolf story in anywhere USA. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted Mar 15, 2024
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Ruthless (2023) |
V stands for 'vigilante' and also 'vacuous' in this woefully inept sex trafficking child abuse drama which is ultimately so foolish it becomes uncomfortable to behold. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted Mar 12, 2024
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The Boys in the Boat (2023) |
An emotionally frugal sports drama so elemental it strides into a creative coma, George Clooney overdoses on old fashioned aspirations. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted Mar 12, 2024
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Freud's Last Session (2023) |
For a film about an imaginary conversation between two great minds of opposing thoughts, there's little of interest analyzed in this stuffy character piece to nourish either the mind or soul. - Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)
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| Posted Mar 12, 2024
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