Not sure which film to pick among the fray out in theaters or on streaming right now? Allow the members of the Houston Film Critics Society to assist you with their reviews below:
Marriage Story
Cary Darling (Houston Chronicle) — “The entire cast is rock solid, with Johansson and Driver turning in two of the very best performances of their careers.”
James Roberts (Glide Magazine) — “Baumbach has achieved something truly extraordinary with his film and captured ugly realities in the most beautiful of ways.”
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “Adam Driver delivers a stirring performance with raw emotion that towers over everything else this season.”
Mark Schumann (The Ridgefield Press) — “… works because it feels so fresh, seems so raw, plays with such vulnerability, as if we share moments between people that should be kept private.
James Cole Clay VII (FreshFiction.TV) — “It’s a wonderful film that reveals intimate parts of our lives we may have trouble articulating.”
Kiko Martinez (San Antonio Current) — “What surges out of [Noah Baumbach’s] screenplay is a heart-wrenching story about what is essentially the slow and untimely death of a once-loving relationship.”
The Aeronauts
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “…a thrilling science-action adventure movie we never knew we needed!”
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Mark Schumann (The Ridgefield Press) — “By letting the women, their needs, and their fears naturally evolve, without letting the camera artificially force the outcome, the director creates a film that thrills our visual senses while relying on our emotional curiosity to connect the dots.”
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “A vapid and burdensome experience in spite of its beauty.”
The Two Popes
Donna Copeland (Dr. Donna’s Movie Reviews) — “This is a film for everyone in its inspiration for overcoming discordance in a fractious time and its artful, even humorous, portrayal of a beloved, sacred system.”
In Fabric
James Roberts (Glide Magazine) — “It feels a lot like Strickland had a basic idea but couldn’t decide on a direction for the narrative and chose to, instead, mash them together into a kind of anthology feature.”
Special Mention: Hair Love
An animated short from Sony Pictures Animation.
#FilmTwitter if you have to see something today, make sure it’s this one. Would like to direct all the animated accolades in the world to this heartfelt & handsome work from @BruceAlmighteee, @Mr_Scribbles & @MatthewACherry. https://t.co/65fVRuNxUX
— Nguyen #B🍑NGHIVE Le 🎞 (@nle318) December 5, 2019
