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Alex Bentley
Tomatometer-approved critic
Alex Bentley has been writing movie reviews for over 20 years, working primarily in the Dallas, Texas area. He currently works for the news/entertainment website CultureMap, which he has been with since 2012, and he previously worked for the website Pegasus News, which was purchased by the Dallas Morning News.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Dumb Money (2023) |
Storytellers can rarely go wrong in showing people with little power taking on those with great wealth, and the fact that the story shown in Dumb Money is (mostly) true makes it that much better. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 21, 2023
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It Lives Inside (2023) |
It Lives Inside more than holds its own in the scare department and ups the ante with its unique details. In a year that’s featured its fair share of intense movies, it brings a different perspective alongside its horrors. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 21, 2023
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Cassandro (2023) |
There’s a lot to like about Cassandro, the story that’s being told, and the performances it contains. But by choosing not to explore certain parts of the story as much as they could have, the filmmakers left a lot of emotionality out of it. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 20, 2023
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A Million Miles Away (2023) |
The film is inspiring, featuring an appealing lead performance by Peña, who doesn’t get as many starring roles as he should. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 15, 2023
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A Haunting in Venice (2023) |
With solid acting and a story that doesn’t strictly follow a pre-determined outcome, it’s a surprisingly pleasurable experience. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 13, 2023
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My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023) |
The film itself is a hodgepodge of scenes with little humor or emotion, making it a waste of 90 minutes for anyone unlucky enough to sit through it. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 08, 2023
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Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023) |
While Sitting in Bars with Cake is inoffensive and has some interesting moments, it never offers up anything that would make you want to return to it. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 07, 2023
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Beaten to Death (2022) |
This type of horror movie is clearly not for everybody, and even those who get a vicarious thrill in witnessing people getting brutalized may find themselves begging for mercy. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 06, 2023
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Bottoms (2023) |
Bottoms goes for the gusto in its storytelling, making its plot weird in all the best ways. Quotable dialogue and a slew of great performances make it a film that will be talked about for years to come if it finds the right audience. - CultureMap
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| Posted Sep 01, 2023
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Golda (2023) |
You probably have to have more than a passing interest in Israeli history to fully understand everything going on in Golda. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 25, 2023
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Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story (2023) |
There’s no getting around the fact that the sole reason Gran Turismo exists is to try to convince viewers how cool the game is, but as a sports movie, it follows the formula to a tee for maximum satisfaction. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 24, 2023
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Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023) |
The strange way in which aliens are handled in Landscape with Invisible Hand makes for a consistently interesting and entertaining experience. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 18, 2023
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Strays (2023) |
The dogs in the film are as appealing in looks as they are disgusting in their behavior, a combination that makes for a very funny time at the movies. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 17, 2023
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Red, White & Royal Blue (2023) |
Red, White & Royal Blue breaks out from an early rut to become a charming, interesting, and utterly romantic movie. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 11, 2023
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Passages (2023) |
The performances of the actors and the way Sachs handles the storytelling give the film a depth not often found, more than enough reason for film lovers to seek it out. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 10, 2023
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Dreamin' Wild (2022) |
Almost everyone can relate to a dream dashed or deferred, and the empathetic and honest way with which this film deals with the reality of one such situation makes for a great watch. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 04, 2023
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Til Death Do Us Part (2023) |
Til Death Do Us Part is easily the worst film of the year so far, and it’s not even a close contest. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 03, 2023
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) |
There’s no need to fear disappointment from yet-another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie; Mutant Mayhem is a success from beginning to end. - CultureMap
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| Posted Aug 02, 2023
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Theater Camp (2023) |
Those who aren’t part of the theater community or know about its eccentricities may find Theater Camp a bit much to take, but it has enough earnestness and sweetness at its core that most will be won over by the end. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 28, 2023
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The Beanie Bubble (2023) |
The boom and bust of Beanie Babies as a legitimate investment is told with panache in The Beanie Bubble, aided by a quartet of performances that sell the characters well. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 27, 2023
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Talk to Me (2023) |
Talk to Me is a solid new entry into the horror genre, one that uses familiar tricks to great effect even if the spell doesn’t last all the way through. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 26, 2023
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Barbie (2023) |
Barbie is very entertaining in the moment, but like the dolls themselves, it feels like a movie that will be forgotten once the novelty wears off. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 21, 2023
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Oppenheimer (2023) |
The implications of the story are dire, but the filmgoing experience watching it transpire is anything but. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 19, 2023
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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One (2023) |
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is still much better than the majority of franchise films being offered up by studios, but when you have the track record the series has had to this point, anything less than greatness is discouraging. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 12, 2023
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The Out-Laws (2023) |
Even by the already-low standards of the constantly-churning Netflix machine, this movie has almost no redeeming value at all. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 07, 2023
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Biosphere (2022) |
Biosphere is objectively a strange film that deals with issues not typically seen in movies. But the film’s approach to the weirdness and the acting of the two leads makes it easy to digest, even if they never really explain what the hell is going on. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 06, 2023
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Joy Ride (2023) |
Joy Ride is not as consistently funny as it could have been, but its showcase scenes are worth the price of admission, as is the opportunity to see four under-utilized Asian actors strut their stuff. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jul 05, 2023
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Prisoner's Daughter (2022) |
Prisoner’s Daughter tells a similar story that has been told many times before, but the filmmakers can never find a way to make it rise above that familiarity. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 30, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) |
Giving Ford one last chance to play one of his most iconic characters is fantastic, and the filmmakers make sure most of the rest of the film is worthy of him, too. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 30, 2023
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Asteroid City (2023) |
It’s Anderson’s most impenetrable film yet, with confusing diversions and a structure that seems designed to baffle. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 21, 2023
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The Blackening (2022) |
A horror parody with an edge to it, it serves as both a sending-up of the genre and a reckoning for the long history of discrimination Black people have faced in such films. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 16, 2023
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Elemental (2023) |
While falling short of the top tier films that Pixar has put out, Elemental is still a fun and engaging story that will likely be appreciated more upon repeat viewings. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 15, 2023
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The Flash (2023) |
One of the final DCEU films under the current regime, The Flash goes in many different directions, none of which work very well. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 14, 2023
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Flamin' Hot (2023) |
With great performances, a solid combination of drama and comedy, and a brand that’s instantly recognizable, it’s a feel-good film that earns its spicy stripes. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 09, 2023
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) |
It may be a low bar to jump, but Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the best film so far in the series, cracking the code of pairing humans with robots for a (semi)intelligible story. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 08, 2023
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) |
The filmmakers, once again led by writers/producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, fill the screen with so many visual elements that at times it can be overwhelming, but in the best possible way. - CultureMap
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| Posted Jun 02, 2023
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The Boogeyman (2023) |
By combining familiar elements, a story about a broken family, and some slow burn scares, The Boogeyman rises above its pedestrian title. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 31, 2023
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You Hurt My Feelings (2023) |
With actors who are easy to like and Holofcener’s reliably great filmmaking, it’s a movie for adults that’s nice counter-programming to the glut of summer blockbusters. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 29, 2023
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The Little Mermaid (2023) |
The live-action version of The Little Mermaid ... is a thoroughly pleasant watch with some nice performances, which clears the bar for success for this era of Disney history. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 26, 2023
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The Starling Girl (2023) |
While the story of The Starling Girl is somewhat unique given its cloistered setting, the larger tale it tells is all too familiar and distressing. The well-acted film has a lot of strong points, and heralds Parmet as a filmmaker to watch in the future. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 19, 2023
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Fast X (2023) |
The ridiculousness of the series is the point, and the first part of the two- (or three?) part finale more than delivers on that promise. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 17, 2023
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Fool's Paradise (2023) |
Fool’s Paradise is neither a great homage to silent movies nor a great satire of Hollywood in general, leaving it stranded in the middle of nowhere. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 12, 2023
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BlackBerry (2023) |
Although there have been multiple other similar projects about tech companies like WeCrashed, The Dropout, and Super Pumped, what BlackBerry most strongly resembles is a dramatic version of the HBO comedy Silicon Valley. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 11, 2023
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Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023) |
Still paints a complete picture of Fox the man, someone who’s been to the height of fame and brought low by a disease that can be managed but not cured. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 10, 2023
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What's Love Got to Do with It? (2022) |
A bit deeper than your typical rom-com, What’s Love Got to Do with It? is a solid play on the “will friends become lovers?” plot line. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 05, 2023
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) |
Vol. 3 is right up there among the best MCU films, with a blend of comedy and drama that can only exist in its galaxy. - CultureMap
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| Posted May 04, 2023
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Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) |
Peter Pan & Wendy bucks the trend of bad live action updates of Disney’s animated films, sprinkling just the right amount of fairy dust on the story to make it feel new again. - CultureMap
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| Posted Apr 28, 2023
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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023) |
Nearly every part of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret works like a charm, and not just as a movie for pre-teens/teenagers. Blume’s story has always been a universal one, and this gem of a film lives up to its legacy in every way. - CultureMap
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| Posted Apr 27, 2023
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Showing Up (2022) |
This is one of Reichardt’s lightest works, as the characters shown are leading relatively carefree lives. - CultureMap
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| Posted Apr 21, 2023
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Beau Is Afraid (2023) |
It takes a certain level of patience to stick with Beau is Afraid all the way through, but those who do will be rewarded with an imaginative story that never stops being thought-provoking, even if you’re not entirely sure what Aster is trying to say. - CultureMap
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| Posted Apr 20, 2023
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