Michael Mann Ferrari disguises the fissures of masculinity in the typical rhythms of biographical fare, but the sheer amount of texture and feeling hidden between the lines — and within Adam Driver’s craggy, steely performance — is staggering. Intimate, somber failings juxtaposed with screeching banshee metal and spitfire ambition, their non-reconciliation a feature and not a bug: a full-blooded film years in the making. Minor spoilers ahead…

“The closer you look, the harder you fall.” Park Chan-wook cross-pollinates a police procedural with a swooning, femme fatale romance and it’s every bit as good as you think it will be. Swirling around two lost souls navigating a web of murder, deceit, and desire to desperately cling to their perverse affair, Decision to Leave is a sensual puzzle box — and one of the year’s best films. Tang Wei is sensational. Minor spoilers ahead…

The New York Film Festival lineup is full of winners this year, but even in a field of remarkable cinema, Julia Ducournau’s Titane stands out. A film that contains multitudes, Ducournau’s followup to 2016’s Raw navigates the horrorscapes of the New Flesh, exploring gender, sex, violence, and the enveloping desire for human connection. Titane is shocking, sweet, and shockingly sweet - one of the year’s best films. Minor spoilers ahead…

My coverage of this year’s New York Film Festival begins with Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. An abridged, yet faithful, adaptation of William Shakespeare’s famed play, Coen’s black and white stunner gives captivating reason for its own existence. With stark, gorgeous visuals and dynamic performances, The Tragedy of Macbeth finds crevices and spaces unexplored in a familiar story. Minor spoilers ahead…

As hard as it might be to believe, 2021’s New York Film Festival marks my first ever in-person film festival as accredited press. After two years of covering film festivals virtually, it’ll be an exhilarating new experience to finally take in NYFF the way it was meant to be: with packed crowds at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. This year’s lineup is killer: the highly anticipated Dune, and new films from legends such as Jane Campion, Paul Verhoeven, Wes Anderson, and this year’s Palme d’Or Winner Julia Ducournau. Below, you can find my entire coverage - all the reviews and dispatches - from the festival…