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Ryan Syrek

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Ryan Syrek has served as a film critic for The Reader in Omaha since 2002. He is now the contributing editor for the film section at that publication, and his reviews are also syndicated in the Boulder Weekly. Ryan has a weekly segment on KVNO 90.7 at 8:30 am on Wednesdays. He also participates in an annual "Movies vs Books" fundraising event for public libraries, serves on numerous academic panels about popular culture, and cowrote a chapter in African American Children in Early Childhood Education.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
In the Blink of an Eye (2026) 16% C- EDIT “The links between the three stories are fairly groan-inducing, and the attempt at an uplifting message is barely worthy of the kind of silent nod you give someone who lets you into traffic. ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Mar 20, 2026 Full Review Dead of Winter (2025) 76% D EDIT “It wants to be Fargo, down to the accents, but it can’t quite nail that sinisterly satirical Coen Brothers’ approach. ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Mar 20, 2026 Full Review It Was Just an Accident (2025) 98% A EDIT “It is a firecracker of a movie that will have you anxiously watching its lit fuse grow shorter.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Mar 20, 2026 Full Review The Bluff (2026) 54% B- EDIT “Your buckles will be adequately swashed. Your jib will be decently cut. Your mateys will be sufficiently argh-ed.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Mar 20, 2026 Full Review War Machine (2026) 69% C EDIT “If you haven’t guessed, it is spectacularly okay, which is why it has somehow become a massive hit for Netflix. Americans agree on nothing outside of a willingness to watch mindless mediocrity.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Mar 20, 2026 Full Review undertone (2025) 72% A- EDIT “ It’s not disorienting so much as it is highly upsetting in a way that Skinamarink could never.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Mar 13, 2026 Full Review THE BRIDE! (2026) 57% C EDIT “It's a coin toss to decide whether the good narrowly outweighs the bad here. It seems a crime to give a "thumbs down" to a movie in a genre at least adjacent to Scream 7. That uninspired trash showed how brutal a viewing experience can be just last week. ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Mar 6, 2026 Full Review Scream 7 (2026) 31% F EDIT “Even the music is next-level laughable. They somehow found an even-more-slowed-down cover of "Don’t Fear the Reaper." At this rate, the next version will consist of a singer slowly pronouncing just the word "don’t" for five full minutes.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 27, 2026 Full Review Sirāt (2025) 91% A- EDIT “To feel small, scared, and sad is probably too easily doable right now. But Sirāt turns that ugly and familiar combo into something beautiful and unique. Enjoy?” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 20, 2026 Full Review Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2025) 83% A- EDIT “It is hard to call a movie with such a bummer outlook a good time, but Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is objectively a good time. It is a refreshing non-remake/sequel/IP adaptation that picks the right enemy for the current zeitgeist. Eat it, Grok.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 13, 2026 Full Review Sentimental Value (2025) 95% B EDIT “Ever watch a movie and you’re like "This is objectively good, I know that. But also, eh, whatever?" ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 5, 2026 Full Review The Great Flood (2025) 58% B EDIT “I have to warn you that what I’m about to describe is going to sound infinitely better than it actually is. Imagine The Day After Tomorrow made a baby with The Matrix and Groundhog Day. ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 5, 2026 Full Review Secret Mall Apartment (2024) 98% A- EDIT “At a time when we are all longing for a way to "stick it to the man," these creative and caring weirdos found a rebellious but heartwarming way to flip the bird to the establishment. It’s so cozy and nice.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 5, 2026 Full Review The Running Man (2025) 62% F EDIT “Hahaha! Oh my God is this bad, y’all. I saw mixed reviews for it. What is there to be mixed on? Are some folks mixed about gargling spoiled milk? ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 5, 2026 Full Review The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) 86% C- EDIT “Writer/director Mona Fastvold and writer Brady Corbet yada-yada-yada over the stuff we want to see and take an interminable amount of time showing the stuff we don’t.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 5, 2026 Full Review Dust Bunny (2025) 85% B- EDIT “Writer/director Bryan Fuller was definitely restricted by budget for this high concept "What if John Wick came for the monster under your bed?" But it isn’t NOT satisfying and fun.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Feb 5, 2026 Full Review Send Help (2026) 93% B EDIT “There was a moment a little over halfway in when I realized "Oh crap, this can’t end in any manner that will fully satisfy me." It is the second worst thing you can think while watching a movie, right after "Wait, is that Jared Leto?"” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Jan 30, 2026 Full Review The Rip (2026) 79% B EDIT “If you’re even mildly inclined to watch a movie about a bearded Ben Affleck and a goateed Matt Damon playing "who is the dirtiest cop?" you are likely to get the precise amount of entertainment you expected and not a stolen cent more. ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Jan 22, 2026 Full Review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 92% A- EDIT “In the same way that Ridley Scott’s two Alien sequels were prosecuted for not being elegant repetitions of the first film, the widespread reception of the 28 Years Later series may not be what it deserves. ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Jan 16, 2026 Full Review Greenland 2: Migration (2026) 49% D EDIT “I am willing — nay happy! — to enjoy freewheeling and mindless disaster nonsense. The wheeling is not free. The disaster is minded. No thank you, please.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Jan 9, 2026 Full Review Hedda (2025) 89% A- EDIT “If you’re up for a "modern imagining of a theatrical classic" or even, you know, immediately knew that Hedda was referring to Hedda Gabler, you should probably watch this one.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Dec 26, 2025 Full Review The Roses (2025) 64% B- EDIT “This time out, Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Coleman are feuding. But first they flirt and fornicate, which is far more fun. Their friends are played by Kate McKinnon and Andy Sandberg. Ncuti Gatwa pops up. It’s generally a delight! ” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Dec 26, 2025 Full Review Frankenstein (2025) 85% C EDIT “At this point, with as many adaptations and incarnations have been launched, maybe there’s no fully fresh way to Frankenstein. We can probably leave it alone for a few hundred years, right?” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Dec 26, 2025 Full Review Oh. What. Fun. (2025) 34% B- EDIT “It feels over-hated because it is about how moms get hosed during the holidays (and frequently neglected throughout the year). This is to say, the ceiling for this was always "mildly pleasant," and it bumps its head right up against that.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Dec 26, 2025 Full Review Relay (2024) 82% B+ EDIT “ I am a full-throated advocate for seeing movies in theaters, but this also plays phenomenally at home. It is something you can spin with your dad, and it’s that or discussing tariffs.” – The Reader (Omaha, NE) Dec 26, 2025 Full Review
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