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Brendan Cassidy
Brendan Cassidy's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Long Shot (2019) |
You will be hard pressed to find another mainstream comedy come out this year that is as funny and charming as this one. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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The Beach Bum (2019) |
The film is an absolute joy drive, with laughs galore, a soundtrack full of great sing-a-long needle drops and a supporting cast that is portrayed perfectly... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Pink Wall (2019) |
Nothing the script gives us sounds new in any way and thus didn't feel fresh enough to elevate Pink Wall from being just an average relationship movie... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Little Women (2019) |
Gerwig does not condemn nor condone love and marriage; every character has their own viewpoints and opinions, and their respective struggles make this one of the most moving movie experiences of 2019. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Pain and Glory (2019) |
Pain and Glory is the year’s most powerful depiction of reconciliation, and a commentary on the art of moviemaking as a portrait of one’s soul, all summarized in what may be the best final shot of the entire year. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Parasite (2019) |
It’s a tricky balancing act, much like Bong’s abrupt shifts in tone, as Parasite is arguably the best film of the year at genre manipulation... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Her Smell (2018) |
In the middle of it all is Elisabeth Moss in a decade-defining performance, simultaneously just as unhinged as it is beautiful... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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A Hidden Life (2019) |
Perhaps Terrence Malick should continue working among the trees and the mountains rather than skyscrapers. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) |
That universality is further channeled in Tom Hanks’ wonderful performance as Fred Rogers himself... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Dragged Across Concrete (2018) |
Dragged Across Concrete does what I hope more films had the bravery to do – challenge our beliefs, and make us challenge ourselves in the process. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Midsommar (2019) |
Sure, it has just as much to say about our ignorance toward other cultural rituals (using Swedish folklore), but as a horror film about a failing relationship, Midsommar kind of broke me. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) |
This is a film that requires San Francisco to feel like its own character, and director Joe Talbot captures the city landscapes with such cinematic immensity. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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First Cow (2019) |
This has become a common staple for Reichardt, whose films are all about companionship seeking prosperity, but the friendship here between Otis/Cookie and King-Lu (John Magaro and Orion Lee respectively) may be her most endearing yet. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Sound of Metal (2019) |
What the film gets so right is that it’s not about fixing your physical flaws, but fixing your interpretation of those flaws... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Driveways (2019) |
Driveways could have easily gone the route of Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino or Pixar’s Up, and thankfully it never does. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Wolfwalkers (2020) |
It’s mythological vibrancy and musicality at its finest, and may have you shouting Aurora’s “Running with the Wolves” for weeks. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020) |
...really funny and entertaining, and features killer hip hop hooks courtesy of Oswin Benjamin and RadhaMUSprime... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Transit (2018) |
...sadly stuck in a film that becomes its own dichotomy of sorts, unable to stick to its politically direct or ambiguous guns; I wish the film felt a little less dichotomizing... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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The Rider (2017) |
The Rider is simply the most moving and authentic film I’ve seen in 2018, a reinterpretation of the term ‘docudrama”, and a seamless blend between fiction and nonfiction. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Blindspotting (2018) |
A wildly entertaining film, one of the year’s funniest, and predictively the 2018 film that may age better than the rest. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Shoplifters (2018) |
The best movies teach you something you may not have already considered, and Shoplifters might do just that for many people, especially families. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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The Favourite (2018) |
Yorgos Lanthimos’ trip to 18th century England is so irreverent in its jabs at the power dynamics of high society that I half expected to see cameo appearances by the cast of Monty Python. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Paddington 2 (2017) |
Paddington himself is a furry reincarnation of Fred Rogers, so powerful that he can make even the most sensitive and selfish baddies embrace their innermost vulnerabilitie. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Annihilation (2018) |
Great sci-fi is very rewatchable, and Annihilation qualifies; it may not be quite as strong as Ex Machina, but who cares? - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Roma (2018) |
Cuaron does a wise thing by not keeping this story too close to the chest; it's not strictly autobiographical, and serves as his interpretation of what Libo may have experienced, but more importantly the motherly qualities he always saw in her. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Minding the Gap (2018) |
Despite not being ready for it, Bing, Keire, and Zack become forced to grow up on their own terms, and it’s very moving to witness, particularly the devastating final minutes... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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We the Animals (2018) |
We the Animals is at once disassociating and full of warmth. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Suspiria (2018) |
As an interconnected tale of imperialism, emotional manipulation, and femininity, Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria is one social nightmare of a movie...dance everyone, dance... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Faces Places (2017) |
Forget the countless blockbuster sequels we get every weekend, let's revisit this unlikely pairing for another adventure. And then another one. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Unsane (2018) |
And yet, even as I can accept Unsane more easily as schlock, it still so far from perfect that it's actually quite frustrating... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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The Florida Project (2017) |
Coupled with Alexis Zabe’s vividly ironic cinematography, and a supporting performance by Willem Dafoe as perhaps a failed parent in his own way, and The Florida Project is nothing short of authentic perfection... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Call Me by Your Name (2017) |
It would be easy, but superficial, to lump Call Me by Your Name as just a romance film between two young men, but director Luca Guadagnino thankfully has a lot more on his mind. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Phantom Thread (2017) |
Paul Thomas Anderson knows how to surprise his audience, even his most devoted fans, and Phantom Thread continues that trajectory. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Lady Bird (2017) |
Her comedic timing that makes Lady Bird one of the most earnest coming-of-age films of our time, and also one of the funniest... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Dunkirk (2017) |
Nolan chooses to put more weight in opening a door to save someone, or helping to bury a dead companion, than he is with saving a life. This makes Dunkirk surprisingly rewatchable, even on the small screen at home... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) |
Matt Reeves’ epic conclusion to the “Caesar trilogy” may not be the “best” blockbuster of the year, but it may be the most thematically daring. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017) |
The year’s best film about brutal and emotional anger lies within S. Craig Zahler’s tribute to 1970’s exploitation films. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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First They Killed My Father (2017) |
...much like young Loung, we constantly question that. This is far and away Angelina Jolie’s finest achievement as a director... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Wonderstruck (2017) |
What better way to introduce your kids to Todd Haynes, especially if they’re curious like Rose and Ben? - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Columbus (2017) |
Modernity itself is what architecture is meant to reflect, only to been seen as the film's biggest irony with two characters who refuse to let themselves progress forward...it's a complete and wonderful arc, made by a wonderful architect. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Princess Cyd (2017) |
...if conflict is what you want to avoid, I admire that, and Jessie Pinnick makes it real when it counts... - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 01, 2024
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Jane (2017) |
Nature has a way of aligning us all, and Jane Goodall knew it. This is one of the year's best films. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 01, 2024
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A Ghost Story (2017) |
For its sheer minimalistic approach, the film is a technical marvel in its own way. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 01, 2024
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The Lost City of Z (2016) |
Perhaps it's the film's jungle setting that matches James Gray's meandering tone; the film deals with doubt and uncertainty, and the sense of feeling lost in time amidst the smoky jungle landscapes feels complimentary rather than contradictory. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 01, 2024
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Pinocchio (1940) |
Either Walt Disney wished upon a star to make such a gorgeous film, or he was just insane enough to work hard at it; I’m thinking it was both. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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Beauty and the Beast (1991) |
The film’s title song, teaching lovers to look into each other’s hearts instead of their flaws, is coincidentally flawless. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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Bambi (1942) |
The film’s final shot is one of the most striking and beautiful moments in animated film history. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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Fantasia (1940) |
Fantasia is, in a word, fascinating. An animated symphony of colors and movement, the film flows more like an experiment than an actual film. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) |
Alan Menken’s songs rank among some of the best work he has ever done...
- InSession Film
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| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) |
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, through its series of highly entertaining vignettes of trouble and friendship (all friends with such distinct personalities), captures it all with childlike wonder. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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