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THE PRAISE:

 

AIR - Edo Van Breemen

 

"What it is, in other words, is science fiction in quotation marks. That makes for some unquestionable aesthetic pleasures -- namely, a swooping, whizzing synth score that builds to a Vangelis-esque end theme, and some handsome camerawork by Norm Li, cinematographer of the similarly retro-genre-fetishistic 'Beyond The Black Rainbow'. But it isn’t much of a reason to be. Cantamessa’s background is game design ('Manhunt,' 'Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor'), and 'Air' is all environment and puzzles. However, unlike other recent movies that take their cues from game design -- namely Bong Joon-ho’s 'Snowpiercer' -- it doesn’t progress through its environment so much as circle it in repetitive tasks."

 

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, The Onion AV Club

 

ALEX OF VENICE - David Wingo

 

"Apart from the strong performances -- that do keep the movie afloat despite from the narrative breaks in your emotional suspension of disbelief -- other cinematic elements help support the movie. The film is well shot with naturalistic lighting, and composer David Wingo’s wistful score is also quite excellent and effective. However, the melancholy, plaintive score arguably does too much of the emotional heavy-lifting and that’s because, again, these moments don’t always add up genuinely. 'Alex Of Venice”' isn't a strong sum of its good individual parts and many moments feel unearned. We believe and empathize with Mary Elizabeth Winstead when she’s upset often as she’s a good actress that can sell a scene, but we don’t always believe the situation or the sequence that got her from emotional point A to B. And this obviously hurts the movie and the viewer’s engagement in it, and that's not all."

 

Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist