A rather hazily sketched relationship drama. Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon have wonderful presence, Lindon as Jean, an aged, beaten down ex-con with a gravely voice, and Binoche as Sara, a loving but indecisive radio announcer. They begin the paragon of loving bliss, floating in beautiful, sunlit blue water, and end with Binoche staring, silently refusing reconciliation, while soaking in her tub.

Woven within the story is a political thread. Jean is a working class ex-con who is financially dependent…

Whatever your opinion of Paul Thomas Anderson, you must recognize that he loves cinema. You see it in his cinematography, with the beautiful classically rich colors of 70mm film. You see it in his unabashed use of cinema tropes. He’s not afraid to have two characters run into each other’s arms—in front of a movie theater no less.

With a director who clearly has such an appreciation for classics, one would assume that the characters would follow clear conventions. Instead,…

Maybe there can be too much of a good cast. The French Dispatch certainly has a brilliant cast. Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Bill Murray, Benicio Del Toro, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, the list goes on and on and on. Each and every one of these actors can carry a film on their own. Together? They crowd each other out. I used the analogy of NBA superteams in a previous review but truly, it's as if there's 10 All-Stars on the…

Do you ever notice movies where there is no pop culture? No music, no movies, nothing. Sure, sure, the characters of Dune are far more preoccupied with imperial politics, with survival and betrayal, but what do they do in between running from sandworms and assassins? Does Paul Atrides have a favorite singer? Does his father Leto relax with some television or whatever equivalent exists in the 101th century? Alas we don't have time for these questions.

Denis Villeneuve, as usual,…