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Author: Clint Worthington

“Raya and the Last Dragon” is a rollicking Southeast Asian-styled fantasy

Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney+)
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Disney’s high-fantasy adventure is spirited and dynamic, even as it flattens a host of Southeast Asian cultural signifiers into a homogenous whole.

Clint Worthington Posted on March 1, 2021March 1, 2021

March Filmmaker of the Month: Wong Kar-wai

Wong Kar-wai
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In anticipation of his upcoming Criterion set, we look back at the Hong Kong filmmaker’s poetic visuals and beating romantic heart.

Clint Worthington Posted on March 1, 2021March 1, 2021

How Henry Jackman crafted the experimental score for “Cherry”

Henry Jackman, Cherry
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The blockbuster composer talks to us about his freewheeling experimentations for the Russo brothers’ latest film.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 26, 2021February 26, 2021

“Tom & Jerry” will make you wish for animated death

Tom & Jerry
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Tim Story crafts a horrid live-action/animation hybrid straight out of the 2000s — fans of old-school cartoons beware.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 26, 2021February 25, 2021

Criterion Corner: “Parallax View”, “Mandabi”, “Smooth Talk”

Criterion Corner Parallax View
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’70s conspiracy thrillers, African social dramas, and Laura Dern’s breakout performance number among Criterion’s February lineup.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 22, 2021February 22, 2021

“Tribes of Europa” is tropey but tantalizing Euro sci-fi

Tribes of Europa (Netflix)
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Philip Koch’s post-apocalyptic series gives us teens, tropes, and teases galore, finding glimmers of potential even as it hews creakily to formula.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 18, 2021February 18, 2021

Emile Mosseri on capturing amorphous time in his score for “Minari”

Emile Mosseri Minari
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The composer discusses the film’s long road to release, and the airiness of his score to Lee Isaac Chung’s mesmerizing drama.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 15, 2021February 15, 2021

“To All the Boys 3: Always and Forever” flirts with maturity, but can’t commit

To All the Boys 3: Always and Forever
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Netflix’s sickly-sweet teen rom-com series finally reaches the limits of its charm offensive with an overlong, stakes-less conclusion.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 11, 2021February 11, 2021

Sundance 2021: “Passing” lingers in the gulf between black & white

Sundance Passing
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Rebecca Hall adapts Nella Lawson’s novella about Black social mobility (and its corresponding resentments) to haunting effect.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 10, 2021February 10, 2021

Austin Brown logs on to talk about the music of “PVT CHAT”

PVT CHAT Austin Brown
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The Parquet Courts musician talks about the sparse, but effective score for Ben Hozie’s camgirl drama.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 6, 2021February 6, 2021

The Expanse Season 5 Finale Recap: “Nemesis Games”

Expanse Season 5 Finale
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The fifth season of The Expanse ends on a more muted note, giving beloved characters rushed-by-real-life exits and setting up bigger stakes for the end.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 3, 2021February 3, 2021

Sundance 2021: “Mass” mines its staginess for heartbreaking effect

Sundance Mass
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Fran Kranz’s debut is an emotional whopper of a drama, a vivid actor’s exercise with incredible performances and passionate ruminations on the aftereffects of tragedy.

Clint Worthington Posted on January 31, 2021January 31, 2021

Sundance 2021: “Censor” is a video nasty throwback suitable for all rages

Sundance Censor
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Prano Bailey-Bond makes her debut at Sundance with a chilling ode to the video nasty, featuring a killer turn from Niamh Algar.

Clint Worthington Posted on January 31, 2021January 31, 2021

Criterion Corner: Luis Buñuel, “Minding the Gap”, “Rolling Thunder Revue”

Criterion Corner Minding the Gap
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January’s Criterion offerings include a box set of Bunuel’s final films, Martin Scorsese on Bob Dylan, and Bing Liu’s astonishing doc debut.

Clint Worthington Posted on January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

The Expanse Season 5 Episode 8 recap: “Hard Vacuum”

The Expanse Season 5 Episode 8
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Naomi goes out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the occupants of Earth and the Rocinante face hard choices about how to strike back at Marco Inaros.

Clint Worthington Posted on January 21, 2021February 14, 2021

10 films we can’t wait to see at Sundance 2021

Sundance 2021
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From harrowing docs about COVID to Nic Cage’s latest dive into insanity, there’s a lot to look forward to at this year’s Sundance.

Clint Worthington Posted on January 19, 2021January 19, 2021

Assembling the Black music soundscapes of Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe”

Small Axe Music (Ed Bailie)
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Small Axe music supervisor Ed Bailie talks to us about filling Steve McQueen’s five-part anthology with the grooviest, most authentic tunes.

Clint Worthington Posted on January 16, 2021January 16, 2021

“WandaVision” starts slow, but bodes well for the MCU’s future on TV

WandaVision (Disney+)
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Disney+’s first real time at bat for the MCU on television is a sprightly, experimental series that makes great, if deliberately-paced, use of its premise.

Clint Worthington Posted on January 14, 2021January 14, 2021

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