Nicolás Pereda adopts two seemingly opposing approaches and elegantly meshes them together to form Minotaur, a strange film that only grows as it progresses. One approach is a studiously formal, almost clinically realistic style of shooting, using almost exclusively static medium shots (there are only two pans, both close to the end) and what appears to be natural light throughout. The other is what may be loosely described as surreal, as the film centers on three nebulously defined people, though it is unclear how long they have known each other—the woman says she hasn’t seen the main man before—and their languid existence over what might be a few days. Various people come and go, but the bulk of the interactions is taken up by the three characters’ slow, almost arbitrary movements throughout the apartment, and they seem to communicate almost entirely by reading books aloud, broken up by long fits of narcolepsy. The final third perhaps delves too deeply in this, as they seem to be confined to one bed as even more people come and go, but Minotaur is nevertheless invigorating, making the two styles blend (most notably by frequently placing the characters in shadow, obscuring their expressions) in an immensely satisfying manner.

Throughout the course of The Sky Trembles…, Ben Rivers seems far more interested in constructing the film as a series of discrete events than in making them work as a cohesive whole. The overall structure does work, following the descent of a filmmaker (Oliver Laxe, playing himself) in two neat halves, but from scene to scene it becomes monotonous, as Rivers never quite repeats himself but doesn’t establish a clear sense of progression. Even as the film gets truly bizarre in the second half, where Oliver is forced to dance while wearing a suit covered in cans and lids, only the subtly off-kilter shots and the occasional entry of the droning electronic score offer a strong stimulus to the viewer. The rest of The Sky Trembles… is stuck in observational mode, distancing the viewer from the subjects, especially the native people, though of course this is not necessarily a bad thing, and Rivers uses it to a strong degree.

***1/2 (Excellent)

One of the more nebulous aspects of a film definitively set in a real city, state, and/or country is how it captures its spirit. It doesn’t necessarily have to be representative of the actual location, but for whatever reason the movie tends to feel more authentic, more grounded in a mood than if it focuses too much on other aspects. Hell or High Water is a prime example of this importance, drawing on it as definition for practically every relationship and interaction. The narrative, following two brothers that rob small banks to pay off the debt on their family ranch and the one-month-from-retirement sheriff that aims to stop them, is simple enough, but what attracts the viewer is the attention paid to the times in between the heists, as the nature of the Wild West is explored and reinforced in modern times.

This is not to say, of course, that the film loses interest when it comes to the heists. As directed by David Mackenzie, there is a great deal of tension brought forth by Giles Nuttgens’ slow camera moves, zeroing in on a hapless clerk as she is about to fall into the robbers’ trap. But until the unexpectedly violent final heist, there is hardly any violence, and the tension is occasionally defused by the brothers’ amateurish efforts and Tanner’s (Ben Foster, magnetic in his volatility) occasional temper, in ways that are both hilarious and worrying.

The brothers, Tanner and Toby (Chris Pine, enormously sensitive and stolid), and their relationship form the heart of the film, both in a narrative and an emotional sense. Despite their noticeable differences, from their emotional state to their backgrounds (Tanner is an ex-convict while Toby is robbing solely for the farm and his sons), there is a true tenderness, as the importance of family is emphasized from scene to scene. This is mirrored, most notably in a cross-cutting where the two pairs both stay in (vastly different) hotels for the night, by the playfully antagonistic behavior between the two Texas Rangers on their heels, Hamilton (an appropriately gruff Jeff Bridges) and Parker (Gil Birmingham, admirably understated). Hamilton is repeatedly mentioned as being on his last legs, but there is a burning drive that he shows in pursuing the robbers, while Parker offers support and receives frequent stereotypical jokes. Though this doubling certainly isn’t meant to be taken literally, it does ensure that the main through line, that of Texan thinking, is sustained.

And that, ultimately, is what sets Hell or High Water apart. It is not necessarily a deconstruction so much as an examination of the ideal of the cowboy. The three main characters (with all due respect to Parker, who is set apart in some ways by his race despite being a Ranger) all exhibit traits of this mythic figure to some degree, especially Bridges, and much is made of the masculinity that it invokes. But it is the one that least embodies the cowboy, Toby, who makes it out the richest—he has the roots to something outside of the lawlessness of the Wild West, whereas the other two do not. None of this is made transparent, but Taylor Sheridan’s magnificent screenplay teases these ideas out slowly, and marries them to a sharp, witty portrait of modern Texas, adding flavor with various small female parts, especially two truculent waitresses, that almost overshadow the central male figures at times. Hell or High Water may be too intently focused on the genre elements at times to stand out especially, but it embodies its location so successfully. It is tender, profane, and resolute, and in the words of one of the minor characters, “if that isn’t Texan, I don’t know what is.”

Robinson is clever in his approach, never allowing either strand that forms his remarkable short to take precedence over the other. One is the evangelical, surreal dreams of an impassioned “prophet”, who waxes rhapsodic on gold triangles and wide landscapes, and the other is formed of distorted, abstracted visions of ’80s pop stage performances. The former is set to footage of rapidly moving clouds, and the latter uses electronic versions of what may be the original music. Robinson sequences these in ebbs and flows, refusing to let his short succumb to pure euphoria, and while this might make for a slightly less pleasurable experience than expected, there is a genuine sense of wonder, especially as the two through-lines begin to dovetail. “Mad Ladders” is a wondrous, near-transcendent short that takes as its topic the quest for light, and supplies it in spades.

There is definitely a subtle rigor to Everson’s short, which acts as an elliptical, boundary-pushing documentary that nevertheless gets to and anchors in the heart of the subjects. His intent is not to deeply familiarize the viewer with his subjects, two black men in the Cleveland East Side who make money by stealing scrap metal from their neighborhoods, but to sketch their surroundings. He does so in less than seven minutes by adopting a two-pronged approach. The first is relatively objective, filming them as they quickly pull off their little heists. But the second is altogether more exciting, using quick montages of them in more relaxed and yet more heightened settings set to overdubbed conversations which clearly aren’t from the same scene and yet feel applicable to what is being shown. The narration/conversation does form a clearer picture of the men’s approach to their job and how they got there, but it also elides the specifics. “Fe26” is a work of documenting, but it is also a work of experimentation that provokes in exactly the right way.

Drljaca’s sole concern in the conception of Krivinia seems to be for a distancing effect. His atmosphere is bizarre, straddling the line between mystery and realism in a way that never truly settles into a satisfying balance. The narrative, about a man searching for his friend who has supposedly committed war crimes, is almost of no importance at all: the film frequently circles around to a car conversation which at the end is heavily implied to not even be a conversation, it focuses on a bus crash in a small village in Serbia, and much of the middle of the movie is taken up by the main character’s life in Toronto. The friend is never found, the suggestion of ghosts is made, and there are numerous echoes to previous scenes that don’t seem to hold any intrinsic meaning.

Therefore, the only truly interesting aspect is the filmmaking itself, which does compensate a great deal for the relatively inert nature of the other aspects. It isn’t necessarily experimental (only the inexplicable insertion of some color bars into a landscape shot is startling) but it is undeniably effective. Kirivinia avoids close-ups, preferring either the handheld tracking shot from behind that follows the main character through the landscape or medium-to-long shots that definitively emphasize the environment and the figure rather than the character. There is almost no interiority to his personality, and he is played largely as a blank slate, but it works to a certain extent, matching his fruitless and frequently digressive journey. Aside from an inexplicably ominous score, Kirivinia remains solid on a technical level, and engrossing enough as a whole, though it offers little in the way of narrative engagement.

***1/2 (Excellent)

The title of Don’t Breathe works twofold: the first is a tidy encapsulation of the premise, that of a few young burglars evading a blind, psychopathic army veteran in his own home; the second is a summation of the strategy of the filmmakers, which is to throttle the viewer to within an inch of their life. It is unsparing in its relentless assault on the viewer, only releasing the tension in the very last two minutes or so, relying almost solely on ratcheting the suspense up to almost impossible levels in order to create an atmosphere of constant dread. With a tight premise, a particularly nasty frame with nothing on its mind but violence, and strong filmmaking in his arsenal, Fede Alvarez crafts what can be described simply as a thrill ride.

Don’t Breathe sums itself up in the opening shot, which oddly enough follows none of the aesthetic decisions that it follows for the rest of the film. It is a slow, meticulous zoom, moving from an aerial shot to a close-up of Rocky’s face as she is dragged through the streets by the Blind Man. The context only becomes clear late in the film, but the emphasis of the scene is on the visceral impact, the threat inherent in the abandoned neighborhood where the action of the film takes place. Afterwards, the introduction to the protagonists is simple but clean, unfussy in its portrayal of the trio of burglars and their motivations, especially for taking on such a dangerous job.

Once Don’t Breathe enters the claustrophobic house that defines almost all of its runtime, Alvarez efficiently introduces the two remaining components. First, the geography of the house itself; Alvarez uses a continuously roving Steadicam that does indeed make the ground and second floor as clearly mapped as possible, moving slowly up between floors and zooming down hallways. And second, the Blind Man in his natural habitat. Much of this is due to Lang’s fearsome performance, using his scarred face, his growling voice, and his hulking physicality to the maximum potential—his presence alone intimidates the intruders, and his brutal actions only heighten the danger. But what makes him so interesting is the signs of humanity (and thus weaknesses) that swirl beneath the gnarled surface: he falls asleep to home videos of his deceased daughter, his lack of sight isn’t fully compensated for by his other heightened senses, and he is prone to fits of rage that only give Rocky and her friends time to escape.

Lang’s characterization may loom largest in memory, but it does not obscure the stellar work that adds up to the melting pot of tension that is Don’t Breathe. Jane Levy, as Rocky, is a match for the Blind Man, with an astonishingly tenacious outlook that balances with her sheer terror. Alvarez uses mostly tight close-ups on the terrified expressions of the burglars as the film goes on, and the sharply detailed sound design remains one of the greatest keys to the tension, but he breaks with the tight mapping of the first two floors when the movie descends into the depraved basement of the Blind Man. There are various deliberately queasy developments that take place down there, but more significant is the confusing layout, even before the lights are turned out. The film’s most heart-stopping scene takes place in a grey, night-vision-like haze, as the Blind Man’s knowledge of his house comes to the fore. Even after the daylight rises, Alvarez keeps the tension up until the last moment possible, a cathartic release that truly feels earned. Don’t Breathe aims squarely for the viewer’s primal fears, throwing them into the head space of the terrified subjects and sustaining tension so well that it required me to unknot myself after the film was over.

***1/2 (Excellent)

Kubo and the Two Strings is, in an almost paradoxical move, a self-consciously magical film. Much attention—almost too much attention—is directed on the part of the filmmakers towards the powers of stories, placing a storyteller at its center and ultimately using it to propel and shape the adventures to come. In less sincere hands, or ones more focused on making a film specifically about the wonders of cinema, this concept would seem forced or unjustified, but in the hands of Laika, it is only one part of the joy that forms this labor of love, a thrilling, heartbreaking, and warm journey that feels utterly transporting.

The plot of Kubo and the Two Strings is purposefully mythic, framed (at least at the beginning) by the words that Kubo (a noble, perfectly young Art Parkinson), a young one-eyed boy living in feudal Japan with a magical skill of magically folding origami and a preternatural talent for his stringed shamisen, uses to begin his own stories. These stories, almost always following the same format of a great warrior named Hanzo and his quest, are revealed (in the first of many clever narrative choices) are revealed after the first telling to be handed down to him by his mother, who seems to only come to life when she tells said stories. It speaks to one of the most important ideas, that of inheritance and family, that permeates the film, and many echoes of Kubo’s parents (one of whom is Hanzo) show up in Kubo, sometimes commented on, sometimes not.

Eventually, as is inevitable, Kubo embarks on his quest, with only his origami, shamisen, and a wooden charm reincarnated by magic into Monkey (Charlize Theron, almost overflowing with warmth and sharp wit). In a particularly effective stroke, the filmmakers makes the goal of the quest the three pieces of magic armor already introduced in Kubo’s origami story while mixing in a very real abundance of unknowns; the glamours and heroics of adventure are swamped by the dangers and the threats. Here is where the most beautiful parts of Kubo and the Two Strings arise: the simple interactions of Monkey and Kubo and, a short time later, Beetle, a samurai trapped in a giant beetle-like shell (played by a beautifully dim-witted but stalwart Matthew McConaughey) are a joy to watch as their bond only strengthens. There are, thankfully, no conflicts between the trio—despite their temperamental differences, they all recognize the goal and work together with a great deal of composure; at least, as much as can be expected from such a motley group.

Kubo and the Two Strings is, of course, absolutely dazzling, utilizing a blend of 3-D stop-motion and CGI to craft an immersive world filled with caverns, endless oceans, and monsters of all types—each has their own allure, and all are immaculately detailed, just removed enough from a life-like look to be fantastical. Such a smooth look is understandably cause for mild concern, and perhaps adds fuel to the criticism that the plot is akin to that of a adventure video game, but the emphasis is placed equally on the action and the characters, as evidenced by a thrilling second-act battle between Monkey and one of the villainous Sisters (both voiced by a chilling, mocking Rooney Mara) that is upstaged by a stunning, absolutely heartbreaking tale told by Monkey, animated by Kubo’s origami. Kubo and the Two Strings might go slightly too far in resolving every last one of the mysteries inherent to the plot, and the ending might be too tidy and literal, but Laika never lets the magic get lost, and they remain resolute in crafting a gorgeous, moving, and genuine film that maintains its belief, without a scrap of doubt, in the power of stories.

* (Worthless)

The act of watching Suicide Squad can’t be described as anything except an experience. Even describing it in such formal, clinical terms is suitable for this utter travesty of a film, transporting in its complete failure to engage, to convince, or even to deliver a slightly satisfying two hours. But at the same time it is fascinating and quite often hilarious, albeit for the entirely wrong reasons, erasing the boundaries between coherence and incoherence as all the cast and crew flail about in their unsuccessful attempts to enliven a threadbare premise.

From the very start, set laughably to The Animals’ “The House of the Rising Sun”, it is clear that Ayer’s intent to be “subversive” has failed, falling back on rote strategies of popular music, no matter how obvious or ineffective, and jokey one-liners (particularly evident in interactions between Ike Barinholtz’s egregious prison guard character). No matter how Day-Glo and garish the aesthetic gets, or how jaggedly jolting the editing gets, it is at the end of the day a standard superhero movie, complete with a requisite happy and successful ending.

Where Suicide Squad shocks the most, however, is in its total lack of narrative momentum and logic. One of the obvious examples comes in the beginning, where Deadshot (Will Smith, fairly solid) and Harley Quinn (a too cutesy Margot Robbie) are both introduced—the former to the aforementioned Animals song and the latter to Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”, the first and certainly not the last intensely on the nose cue—before being introduced again in the endless montage of introductions after the title card. This, of course, is where the film’s weaknesses glare most strongly, setting the tone with remarkable incompetence, as the perfect storm of awful music cues, generally unengaging acting, lack of momentum, and what could be charitably called a frat-boy aesthetic (filled with bright flashy things and an undercurrent of objectification, especially with Harley Quinn) are slapped together.

Suicide Squad hardly gets better after it finishes with its introductions, which manage to both be too frivolous and informative—quirks like Captain Boomerang’s (Jai Courtney) pink unicorn fetish serve no purpose other than one cheap laugh—and frustratingly pointless, as it serves no real purpose at the start of the narrative for the film and Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, in a wonderfully no-nonsense role) to spend so much time on these criminals. It lurches on, slapping together scenes that jump between locations and characters with abandon before adopting a semblance of a plot. But the threat posed by Enchantress (a committed but weak Cara Delevingne) never seems credible, too vague and broad (defined solely by mind-controlling humans into things with blobs for heads and a “machine” whose purpose is unresolved) to be truly connected to the villains-turned-reluctant heroes.

The most concrete reason I can think of why Suicide Squad never had a chance of working, after stripping away all of the inept filmmaking and garish choices, is that there are no stakes involved at all. Most of the central characters are commonly described in terms that seem ridiculously overpowered: Deadshot, El Diablo (a surprisingly sensitive Jay Hernandez), and Katana (Karen Fukuhara, completely solid) are all described at one point as being able to take out the whole squad by themselves, and thus the team seems profoundly overqualified for their task. A third attempt to inject pathos in a prolonged bar scene falls flat, and by the time of the climax, filled with Enchantress’s fight dance spasming, ludicrously idyllic fantasies, and a laugh-out-loud use of slow motion, Suicide Squad completely debases and buries itself. It is not, as some may say, the culmination of the excesses of the modern studio system, but it is a horrible, hilarious, utterly incompetent affair, a failure on every possible level.

*** (Good)

With a title like American Honey, Andrea Arnold (in her first film set and shot outside her native UK) seems to invite comparisons, both positive and negative, to the almost inordinate explorations of what it means to be “American”. But oddly enough, the film doesn’t necessarily choose to go down this road; it is a work of pure experience, showing the “how” in the day-to-day lives of the magazine-selling crew while delving little into the “who” or “why”. The highs and lows that the viewer experiences seem entirely of the moment, and indeed these are people that live in such a state, but they are filtered and diluted through an unceasingly relaxed and conflict-free lens.

American Honey has the faintest glimmers of a plot, insofar that it spends just a scant (in the context of the film) 15 minutes setting up the protagonist, Star (Sasha Lane), a Southern teen scavenger who joins the crew at the behest of Jake (Shia LaBeouf, in an alarmingly varied performance). They, and Krystal (a cool Riley Keough), the leader of the group, are the only clearly defined characters in the film—the rest of the crew are introduced by name in the first of many lengthy scenes set in the van that they use to travel around the country, but aside from their individual quirks, which include one of the members frequently exposing his genitals and another (played by Arielle Holmes) being obsessed with Darth Vader, the characters all function as different heads of a single entity. They are continuously shunted into the background in favor of a growing romance between Star and Jake, and the conflict this causes with the no-nonsense Krystal.

Lane’s spirited performance is analogous to that of Katie Jarvis’s in Fish Tank, but it seems both even more centered and less important than in that movie. American Honey is resolutely fixed on her—I can’t remember a single scene that takes place without her presence—but at the same time Arnold’s vision seems distracted, anxious to capture all parts of the life that this rag-tag group leads in their attempts to get rich and have a good time. Sometimes, this approach works, such as in a wonderful interlude where Star jumps into the car of three cowboys (one of whom is played by Will Patton) and participates in a barbecue, but oftentimes it doesn’t, as in the endless scenes where the group lethargically sings along to the on-the-nose songs coming from the stereo. The film isn’t repetitive per se, but it only rarely (in that interlude for example) attempts to break from the rhythm it sets; it is comfortable but rather enervating, as the film only prolongs itself more and more.

And yet, there is clearly a sincere intent behind Arnold’s images. Whether it be to create her own Americana or to offer a comment on and/or praise of the modern youth, the sun-kissed photography by Robbie Ryan (with some gorgeous shots of insects and skies) and the frequent quiet imposed by the more romantic scenes seem to signal that something is happening. Perhaps the surprisingly primal ending, complete with a kind of baptism for Star, and the end credits provide the clearest answer: they begin by describing American Honey as a film by the actors in the mag crew, in roughly alphabetical order (aside from positioning Lane first). Though at times the film may resort to a simplified view of its subjects, whether they be part of the crew or the various buyers they meet along the way, it never stoops to gawking. Arnold feels too much for her characters to do that, and while this empathy sacrifices meaning for surface emotion, American Honey feels sincere, if not necessarily compelling. It exists, with the occasional display of verve, and certainly for some more in tune with the crew’s wavelength, that may be enough. But as for myself, I remain distant.