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Sarah Manvel

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Sarah Manvel is the author of You Ruin It When You Talk. She was born in the USA and raised in four countries on three continents. She has two passports (Irish and American) and one degree, from The Evergreen State College. She writes film and cultural criticism for a variety of websites and lives in London.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
The Ballad of Judas Priest (2026) EDIT “The Ballad of Judas Priest is worth watching for two reasons: its consideration of the position of black and gay people within the heavy metal scene of the 80s and 90s, and the interview with the late Ozzy Osbourne.” – Movies We Texted About May 15, 2026 Full Review Given Names (2026) EDIT “Our given names are who we are but also who our parents thought we might be, and that’s not necessarily who we become. Hearing people discuss their feelings about this is entrancing indeed.” – Movies We Texted About May 15, 2026 Full Review Lali (2026) EDIT “Unfortunately the big finale feels forced, and turns a messed-up but mature relationship into something more stereotypical and boring.... But this is something of a quibble in comparison to the weird and dark dynamics.” – Movies We Texted About May 15, 2026 Full Review Josephine (2026) 96% EDIT “Being able to talk about the bad things that happen to you is very important, and it’s rare for art to have such first-hand knowledge of what can happen when you can’t.” – Movies We Texted About May 15, 2026 Full Review We Believe You (2025) 100% EDIT “We Believe You is both very brave and very kind, and it’s wonderful to see art which understands how important both those things are when the truth is being told.” – Movies We Texted About May 15, 2026 Full Review Dua (2026) EDIT “The ways in which Dua the girl deals with the war coming ever closer will provide younger audiences much food for thought, while allowing older viewers to reflect on what’s changed for kids back then as compared to kids now.” – Movies We Texted About May 14, 2026 Full Review Rose (2026) 100% EDIT “Rose makes a complex story very easy to watch, with a lot to say about gender roles, how communities police themselves, and what people will do to survive.” – Movies We Texted About May 14, 2026 Full Review The Electric Kiss (2026) 59% EDIT “Mr. Marmaï’s performance here is physically brave, emotionally bold and incredibly appealing. It won’t win awards, but it is moving the needle for how men can appear in movies, and that’s unbelievably valuable.” – Movies We Texted About May 14, 2026 Full Review Filipiñana (2026) 89% EDIT “Writer-director Rafael Manuel, in his first feature film, hereby introduces himself to the world as a visual director of the first order. He understands perfectly how to compose an image and to use style to make a point.” – Movies We Texted About May 11, 2026 Full Review Union County (2026) 94% EDIT “Union County’s core weakness is as American as the story it is telling, which limits the film’s appeal to its glimpses of the real lives at the story’s edge.” – Movies We Texted About May 11, 2026 Full Review The Musical (2026) 60% EDIT “It’s much more fun than you’d expect, never loses the courage of its convictions, and even nails the ending. If you’re on its wavelength it’s a hugely fun ride.” – Movies We Texted About May 11, 2026 Full Review Run Amok (2026) 65% EDIT “From the point of view of an emotional teenager, Run Amok will probably resonate strongly. But from the point of view of an adult, the immaturity of the insights here prevents Run Amok from being a truly good film.” – Movies We Texted About May 11, 2026 Full Review Hot Water (2026) 91% EDIT “It was very pleasant to see a movie ebb and flow with thoughts and feelings with such warmth.” – Movies We Texted About May 11, 2026 Full Review Lady (2026) 90% EDIT “There was a really interesting group of character studies bubbling under Lady’s surface. It’s a shame therefore that someone decided the surface was enough.” – Movies We Texted About May 11, 2026 Full Review The Incomer (2026) 92% EDIT “Completely deranged (complimentary), and its derangement is entirely character-based, giving the actors the freedom to go as wild as possible, which they did. It’s a scream from start to finish.” – Movies We Texted About May 11, 2026 Full Review The Sheep Detectives (2026) 94% EDIT “It’s remarkable that the ugliness and the bad things in the world are handled here in a direct but uplifting way that even the littlest member of your family could appreciate.” – Movies We Texted About May 11, 2026 Full Review Our Land (2025) EDIT “The issues at the heart of Our Land go straight at the heart of English national identity in ways rarely so directly shown on screen. Yet a smarter documentary would have built its shape organically instead of by supplying its own tools.” – Movie Marker May 10, 2026 Full Review Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars (2026) EDIT “Some footage of the Ennedi cave paintings... on its own justifies the film. But the core of the story is solidarity between women, and seeing something both so specific and so universal is a fascinating experience.” – Movies We Texted About May 8, 2026 Full Review The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) 78% EDIT “Spoons full of sugar helps the medicine go down. The Devil Wears Prada 2 fights the real enemy and looks fabulous while doing so. ” – Movies We Texted About May 8, 2026 Full Review zi (2026) 67% EDIT “The main joy here is the street shooting entirely on location across Hong Kong.... Unfortunately nothing in the plot’s machinations comes close to being half as interesting.” – Movies We Texted About May 8, 2026 Full Review Two Pianos (2025) 77% EDIT “Does the very rare trick of hitting the standard movie marks in fresh and unexpected ways. This is a movie about adults, by which is meant there’s a frankness about human weakness that’s becoming rare in cinema.” – Movies We Texted About May 8, 2026 Full Review The Christophers (2025) 95% EDIT “How do we bring out the best in each other? The Christophers knows, and shows us so expertly it might not get its full due. This is what happens when an artist’s normal standard, like Mr. Soderbergh’s, is so high we forget how hard it is to be this good. ” – Movies We Texted About May 8, 2026 Full Review The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (2026) 100% A- EDIT “The Only Living Pickpocket In New York avoids the stereotype of characters over 60 being uncomfortable with technology or unable to adapt.” – Mediaversity Reviews May 5, 2026 Full Review Dao (2026) 82% EDIT “The enormous runtime and the leisurely pace means that interest wears thin long before the plot runs out. If the goal was to treat this as a sociological experiment Mr. Gomis could have placed a heavier hand on the scales.” – Movies We Texted About Apr 28, 2026 Full Review The Loneliest Man in Town (2026) EDIT “A charming movie about the power of music, how we shape our identities and how well our personal talismans can serve us.” – Movies We Texted About Apr 23, 2026 Full Review
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