The Current Cinema
New Yorker film reviews.
Love Means Nothing in Tennis but Everything in “Challengers”
Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist sustain a three-way rally of romance in Luca Guadagnino’s almost absurdly sexy sports film.
American Confinement in “We Grown Now” and “Stress Positions”
A crisis turns home into a place of constraint in two new independent features.
“Civil War” Presents a Striking but Muddled State of Disunion
Kirsten Dunst plays a war photographer in the trenches of Alex Garland’s speculative dystopian thriller.
The Unexpected Delight of “Sasquatch Sunset”
In David and Nathan Zellner’s other films, the action often feels fabricated to yield images of twee idiosyncrasy. There is no similar sense of contrivance here.
The Enchanting Archeological Romance of “La Chimera”
The ghosts of the past haunt Alice Rohrwacher’s fourth feature, which stars Josh O’Connor as a tomb raider nursing a broken heart.
The Form-Blurring Fury of “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World”
Radu Jude’s TikTok-tinged movie can be breathtakingly funny, but the absurdity is rooted in a powerful sense of outrage.
Why Does the “Road House” Remake Pull Its Punches?
There’s lots of violence in Doug Liman’s update of the 1989 slugfest, but, despite the menacing presence of Jake Gyllenhaal, it’s more timid than its predecessor.
“Love Lies Bleeding” and the Perils of Genre
Crackling performances from Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian can’t quite disguise a thinness of characterization in Rose Glass’s neo-noir.
The Sterile Spectacle of “Dune: Part Two”
Denis Villeneuve’s sequel is better than its predecessor, but only in a few extravagant moments does it rise above proficiency and flirt with transcendence.
Two African Migrants’ Fantastical, Harrowing Odyssey in “Io Capitano”
Matteo Garrone’s epic about two young Senegalese cousins attempting to reach Italy is his finest film since “Gomorrah.”