Contributor Mark Asch

Several people, including a pregnant woman, gathered in a room, with a clock on the wall.
Festivals

Young Mothers first-look review

Belgium’s Dardenne brothers return with a typically emotive film about a group of very young women dealing with the dramas of childbirth.
A young woman with curly hair pointing a gun directly at the camera.
Festivals

Heads or Tails? – first-look review

Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis deliver a spirited western ballad about a young woman seeking freedom and her daring lover.
A monochrome image of a man in a suit and hat standing next to a vintage car.
Festivals

The Disappearance of Josef Mengele – first-look review

Russian exile filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov selects Auschwitz’s “Angel of Death“ as the subject of the first film made in his new home, Germany.
Three men riding on a train carriage, one wearing a baseball cap and jacket.
Festivals

Highest 2 Lowest – first-look review

Denzel Washington stars in Spike Lee's updated version of Akira Kurosawa's High and Low, about a music mogul who is targeted by a vengeful kidnapper.
Group of hikers walking on rocky, grassy trail with dog.
Festivals

The Love That Remains – first-look review

Hlynur Pálmason's close-to-home new dramedy documents a year in the life of a family following the parents' separation.
A person leaning on a window frame, looking out at the overcast outdoor scene.
Festivals

Urgency and ambition in Cannes Acid 2025

There are hidden gems ripe for discovery in the youngest and smallest Cannes sidebar.
Close-up of a person wearing a dark outfit with sequinned embellishments against a blurred night-time cityscape background.
Reviews

The Last Showgirl review – dreamy and low-key to a fault

Pamela Anderson excels as an over-the-hill Vegas showgirl seeing out her notice period in this low-key, vibey backstage drama from Gia Coppola.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Graphic comic-style image depicting an angry, screaming woman with wild hair in a red and black palette, surrounded by smaller images including an explosion and another woman.
In Heaven Everything Is Fine

An endless summer with Twin Peaks: The Return

Mark Asch recalls the sultry summer of 2017, when Dale Cooper returned to television and the world was forever changed.
A person in a black robe holding up a white sheet of paper against a dark background.
Reviews

The Seed of the Sacred Fig review – a melodrama of resistance

An Iranian judge appointed to Tehran's Revolutionary Court grapples with dissent both at work and at home in Mohammad Rasoulof’s politically charged thriller.

5
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Diverse group of people in 1970s attire gathered in a crowded indoor setting.
Reviews

Saturday Night review – unappealing nepo baby triumphalism

Jason Reitman pans back to 1975 and Lorne Michaels' ambitious plans for a live broadcast sketch show in his fanfiction retelling of SNL's inception.

2
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
1
In Retrospect
A serious-looking Black woman with braided hair, wearing a green jacket, speaking on a mobile phone.
Reviews

Hard Truths review – incredible in small, measured strokes

Reuniting with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Mike Leigh makes a welcome return to contemporary filmmaking with a searing portrait of a woman on the brink.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Two people, a man and a woman, walking and smiling in a park setting.
Reviews

We Live in Time review – every generation gets the cancer romance it deserves

Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star as a couple whose life is disrupted by a devastating cancer diagnosis in John Crowley's romantic weepie.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect

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