Contributions from Mark Asch | Little White Lies

Contributor Mark Asch

Two people, a man and a woman, walking and smiling in a park setting.
Review

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

by Mark Asch

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
Two men in suits, one on a phone, in the back of a car.
Review

The Apprentice review – Demands sympathy for the devil

by Mark Asch

Sebas­t­ian Stan essays a young Don­ald Trump in this glossy, emp­ty film about the orange fascist’s ini­tial dab­bling in evil.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
1
In Retrospect
A dressing room scene with several people getting ready, surrounded by mirrors and lighting. Warm tones predominate, with a cosy, intimate atmosphere.
Festivals

Saturday Night – first-look review

by Mark Asch

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.
Two people, a man and a woman, standing in a forest, both smiling.
Festivals

Eden – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Ron Howard tries his hand at the camp his­tor­i­cal caper in this iron­i­cal­ly-titled and decid­ed­ly light­weight 1930s-set runaround with Jude Law and Vanes­sa Kirby.
Close-up of a person wearing a dark outfit with sequinned embellishments against a blurred night-time cityscape background.
Festivals

The Last Showgirl – first-look review

by Mark Asch

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.
A serious-looking Black woman with braided hair, wearing a green jacket, speaking on a mobile phone.
Festivals

Hard Truths – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Reunit­ing with Mar­i­anne Jean-Bap­tiste, Mike Leigh makes a wel­come return to con­tem­po­rary film­mak­ing with a sear­ing por­trait of a woman on the brink.
Two people, a man and a woman, walking and smiling in a park setting.
Festivals

We Live in Time – first-look review

by Mark Asch

John Crow­ley deliv­ers a mil­len­ni­al can­cer weepie with two game leads in Flo­rence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.
Person blowing out candles on birthday cake in a kitchen setting.
Festivals

The End – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Joshua Oppen­heimer returns with an ambi­tious, post-apoc­a­lyp­tic musi­cal whose the­mat­ic flights of fan­cy are always just a lit­tle too strident.

2
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A person in a black robe holding up a white sheet of paper against a dark background.
Festivals

The Seed of the Sacred Fig – first-look review

by Mark Asch

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.
A woman in a long white dress standing on a balcony with lush greenery and a scenic coastal view in the background.
Festivals

Parthenope – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Pao­lo Sor­renti­no, Italy’s lusti­est work­ing film­mak­er, spins a tedious yarn about one wom­an’s oth­er­world­ly beauty.