Author | Lightnews

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 6d

“The film challenges the superhero genre narrative that is so deeply ingrained in us and the latent sexist feelings toward successful woman go-getters, all while reenforcing and reaffirming these tropes.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews #BUGONIA. bit.ly/3Wd9pHd

#filmsky @focusfeatures.bsky.social

(L to R) Emma Stone as Michelle, Aidan Delbis as Don and Jesse Plemons as Teddy in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA, a Focus Features release. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

1 1

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 10d

“The film challenges the superhero genre narrative that is so deeply ingrained in us and the latent sexist feelings toward successful woman go-getters, all while reenforcing and reaffirming these tropes.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews #BUGONIA. bit.ly/3Wd9pHd

#filmsky @focusfeatures.bsky.social

Emma Stone stars as Michelle in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA, a Focus Features release. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

1 2

Reposted by Critic's Notebook

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 10d

Not to be THAT dictionary, but…

It’s ‘per se,’ not ‘per say.’
It’s ‘dog-eat-dog world,’ not ‘doggy-dog world.’
It’s ‘hunger pangs,’ not ‘hunger pains.’
It’s ‘one and the same,’ not ‘one in the same.’
It's 'buck naked,' not 'butt naked.'

860 1.4K 6.5K

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 13d

“There’s no horror or suspense whatsoever, just magical dismemberments under golden hues and glittering harps on the soundtrack. It’s all kind of perverse, and I’m not sure if Mr. del Toro really meant it that way.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Frankenstein." bit.ly/4qd5Azq
#filmsky @netflix.com

1 3

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 15d

“It’s especially timely to us in the West, as our political climates grow more tenuous.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "It Was Just an Accident." bit.ly/4obfJe2

#filmsky @filmforumnyc.bsky.social @filmlinc.bsky.social @neon-rated.bsky.social

1 3

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 15d

“There’s no horror or suspense whatsoever, just magical dismemberments under golden hues and glittering harps on the soundtrack. It’s all kind of perverse, and I’m not sure if Mr. del Toro really meant it that way.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Frankenstein." bit.ly/4qd5Azq
#filmsky @netflix.com

Frankenstein. Jacob Elordi as The Creature in Frankenstein . Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.

1 3

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 17d

“It’s especially timely to us in the West, as our political climates grow more tenuous.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "It Was Just an Accident." bit.ly/4obfJe2

#filmsky @filmforumnyc.bsky.social @filmlinc.bsky.social @neon-rated.bsky.social

1 5

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 20d

“'A House of Dynamite,' is, for the most part, one of those end-of-days Armageddon movies, except it never actually culminates in special effects-laden spectacles of total obliteration.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews. bit.ly/4q5ZeSf

#filmsky @netflix.com @paristheaternyc.bsky.social

A House of Dynamite. (Featured L-R) Tracy Letts as General Anthony Brady and Gbenga Akinnagbe as Major General Steven Kyle in A House of Dynamite. Cr. Eros Hoagland/Netflix © 2025.

1 1 1

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 20d

“The script’s ambiguities regarding the perpetrator and the victim are very nuanced, and Mr. Guadagnino seemingly backs away, possibly due to the optics of victim blaming.”
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews #AfterTheHuntMovie. bit.ly/3Wx2wjT

#filmsky

(L to R) Andrew Garfield as Hank and Julia Roberts as Alma in AFTER THE HUNT, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

1 2

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 27d

"There’s an existing, well-worn trope of underdog stories in sports. Mr. Safdie resists a lot of that low-hanging fruit."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "The Smashing Machine." bit.ly/485YFS2

@a24movies.bsky.social #filmsky

1 1 1

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · 28d

"There’s an existing, well-worn trope of underdog stories in sports. Mr. Safdie resists a lot of that low-hanging fruit."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "The Smashing Machine." bit.ly/485YFS2

@a24movies.bsky.social #filmsky

1

Reposted by Critic's Notebook

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · Sep 12

Chantal Akerman’s 1994 coming-of-age masterwork, “Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the 60s in Brussels,” can’t be reissued because of its needle drops. But a complete retrospective of the director’s work at MOMA offers two rare screenings.

One of Chantal Akerman’s Best Films Is in Legal Limbo

The Belgian-born director’s 1994 coming-of-age masterwork, about a precocious teen-ager’s romantic audacity, can’t be reissued because of its needle drops.

www.newyorker.com

3 29 170

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Sep 4

"Hosoda employs traditional hand-drawn style for the characters but places them against immersive photo-realistic C.G.I. backdrops. While this is nothing new, his particular art style creates interesting contrast and juxtaposition."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Scarlet." bit.ly/41G0BMZ

#filmsky

1 2

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Sep 3

"Roman Vasyanov’s cinematography feels too precious, unable to convey the grittiness and dark humor in Tosches’s work."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews Julian Schnabel's "In the Hand of Dante" at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/46if4RU

#filmsky

1 1

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Sep 2

"Indeed, he nails precisely what makes the film so resonant with those who have been wronged by powerful entities and the sense of helplessness carved deep into their psyches."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews Gus Van Sant's "Dead Man's Wire" at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/3UWZoxa
#filmsky

3 2

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Sep 2

" 'A House of Dynamite,' is, for the most part, one of those end-of-days Armageddon movies, except it never actually culminates in special effects-laden spectacles of total obliteration."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/3UZA8Gv

#filmsky @netflix.com

1 5

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Sep 1

"There’s an existing, well-worn trope of underdog stories in sports. Mr. Safdie resists a lot of that low-hanging fruit."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "The Smashing Machine" at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/47nKUOg

#filmsky @a24movies.bsky.social

1 2

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Aug 31

"The script’s ambiguities regarding the perpetrator and the victim are very nuanced, and Mr. Guadagnino seemingly backs away, possibly due to the optics of victim blaming."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews #AfterTheHuntMovie at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/3UX39CG

#filmsky

1 1

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Aug 30

"There’s no horror or suspense whatsoever, just magical dismemberments under golden hues and glittering harps on the soundtrack."
@martintsai.bsky.social on Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/4lUnLXo

#filmsky @netflix.com

3 3

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Aug 29

"Unlike Costa-Gavras, Mr. Park frames the protagonist as more blue-collar. He also cast Mr. Lee, excellent as a villain in 'Squid Game,' over someone amiable like José Garcia of 'Le couperet.' "
@martintsai.bsky.social on "No Other Choice" at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/4mP6AYn

#filmsky

1 2

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Aug 29

"The perennially debonair leading man brings with him substantial baggage from his own time in the limelight, which immediately resonates with those who’ve borne witness to his career."
@martintsai.bsky.social on "Jay Kelly" at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/47efutA

#filmsky @netflix.com

1 1

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Aug 28

"The film challenges the superhero genre narrative that is so deeply ingrained in us and the latent sexist feelings toward successful woman go-getters, all while reenforcing and reaffirming these tropes."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Bugonia" at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/4fWX3Mp

1 1

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Aug 27

" 'La grazia' is the antithesis of 'Il divo' and 'Loro,' his previous features centering on political leaders."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews Paolo Sorrentino's latest at #BiennaleCinema2025 #Venezia82. bit.ly/3JAMoLd

#filmsky

1 2

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Aug 27

"With the abortion ban now a done deal, this now feels like a relic inside a time capsule even though that’s no fault of Mr. MacLachlan’s."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "A Little Prayer." bit.ly/3JBALn9

#filmsky @musicboxfilms.com

3

Critic's Notebook @criticsnotebook.com · Aug 22

"From 'Honey Don’t!' and 'Drive-Away Dolls,' we really get a full panoply of queer characters that we can’t empathize with."
@martintsai.bsky.social reviews "Honey Don't!" bit.ly/46179s0

#filmsky @focusfeatures.bsky.social

1 2