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4.5/5
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John Wick: Chapter 4
(2023)
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Preston Barta
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'John Wick: Chapter 4' is nearly a three-hour limb-breaking hurricane. Watch as Keanu Reeves and Co. smash bodies through walls, drive sharp objects through craniums and fire more bullets than what's manufactured, all in the name of fun.
Posted Mar 23, 2023
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Somebody I Used To Know
(2023)
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Preston Barta
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'Somebody I Used to Know' is a phony-less examination of humanity souped up with cool-kid kicks and intelligent humor. Franco and Brie have compelling observations about how time unfolds for people and the constant construction we’re under. It’s lovely.
Posted Feb 10, 2023
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Women Talking
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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'Women Talking' is a magnificent display of the weight and power of words. These exchanges are so well drawn and moving that the viewer’s mind can see beyond the narrative borders.
Posted Jan 13, 2023
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Two Witches
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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'Two Witches' conjures up a mesmerizing art display.
Posted Jan 02, 2023
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Babylon
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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Watching Damien Chazelle’s 'Babylon' may be as close as we’ll get to seeing a blown-out version of the “tunnel of terror” sequence in 1971’s 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.' It's spectacularly wild and hilarious!
Posted Dec 23, 2022
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Bad Axe
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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'Bad Axe' is a character-driven work connecting many resonating themes that encompass what it means to be an American. It’s one of the very best films of this year and the year’s very best documentary feature.
Posted Nov 19, 2022
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Enola Holmes 2
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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'Enola Holmes 2' is another delightfully engaging mystery with a grand sense of adventure, a chin-stroking historical touch and many jokes to tickle families.
Posted Nov 04, 2022
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Aftersun
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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'Aftersun' is about memory and flows like it. It may not be the movie you expect, but it’s worthwhile.
Posted Nov 04, 2022
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Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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An absorption of endless details, wildly compelling characters and dazzling camera tricks. You feel every ounce of its energy from scene to scene.
Posted Oct 04, 2022
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Vengeance
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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B.J. Novak directs a dark comedy set in Texas, steering away from caricature in favor of an American essay. It’s all meant to stir up meaningful conversations, and it does.
Posted Jul 28, 2022
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3/5
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Jurassic World Dominion
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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So, life, uh, found a way to make 'Jurassic World Dominion' mildly entertaining.
Posted Jun 10, 2022
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4/5
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Facing Nolan
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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'Facing Nolan' is that rare kind of triumph that makes you laugh and feel as much as it registers real human thought. Some life. Some movie.
Posted Jun 06, 2022
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4.5/5
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Top Gun: Maverick
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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Top-shelf popcorn entertainment buttered with genuine human drama and high-stakes action.
Posted May 28, 2022
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Hatching
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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Looking for a horror movie that isn’t served over easy? Finnish filmmaker Hanna Bergholm whips up a terror called 'Hatching' that creeps, dazzles and leaves emotional scars.
Posted May 21, 2022
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4/5
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The Innocents
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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A terror to absorb. Vogt’s latest work is a thematically rich well that’s not far from being a double punch of 'The Good Son' and something Stephen King would cook up.
Posted May 21, 2022
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5/5
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The Northman
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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Eggers' latest is wicked and delightfully weird without ever losing its grip on being a compelling character study engulfed in dazzling imagery. It’s his best film to date and the most confounding studio film of the year.
Posted May 08, 2022
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3/5
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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‘Doctor Strange’ sequel finds magic in Sam Raimi’s direction, but Marvel doesn’t seem to trust it enough.
Posted May 07, 2022
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3.5/5
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Ambulance
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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'Ambulance' is a true jolt of cinematic electricity, and it demands to be seen in theaters straight away.
Posted Apr 08, 2022
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3/5
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Morbius
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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Jared Leto trades in his clown shoes for fangs and, of course, its as silly and bad as you thought. However, its never not entertaining, and Matt Smith understood the assignment.
Posted Apr 02, 2022
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5/5
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The Batman
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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This is high art at the intersection of blockbuster entertainment. If ever a superhero movie were to be considered for big awards, 'The Batman' is it. See it soar.
Posted Feb 28, 2022
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3.5/5
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I Want You Back
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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Its commitment to being genuine amid its rom-com high jinks, the chemistry among its acting talent, and overall sweetness slap a goofy smile on your face that just wont quit.
Posted Feb 12, 2022
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2.5/5
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Home Team
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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What couldve been a fascinatingly complex drama wound up in the wrong hands and become a senseless comedy.
Posted Feb 06, 2022
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4.5/5
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Cha Cha Real Smooth
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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'Cha Cha Real Smooth' offers no basic steps in its warm-hearted stomp-a-thon. It certainly makes you laugh, but it also makes you feel more open to your better impulses.
Posted Jan 28, 2022
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4/5
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After Yang
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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You feel every ounce of passion, love, and hurt - and who you become on the other side makes for a beautiful, meditative journey.
Posted Jan 22, 2022
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5/5
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Fresh
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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It's totally insane, and I ate up every second of it. I almost want to bite my lip here not to reveal any more - just see it, and trust me on this.
Posted Jan 21, 2022
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3/5
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Scream
(2022)
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Preston Barta
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Despite not being the sharpest knife in the series drawer, the fifth installment offers enough blood-soaked thrills to keep it from dropping dead.
Posted Jan 14, 2022
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See for Me
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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A solid midnighter that subverts expectations with its cat-and-mouse high jinks.
Posted Jan 07, 2022
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4.5/5
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Licorice Pizza
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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A loopy, sweetly meandering coming-of-age story.
Posted Dec 25, 2021
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4/5
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The Lost Daughter
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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Prepare for it to work its subtle magic, wow you with its tender performances, and hurt and heal you with its moving, discomforting truths about mothers and daughters and the women struggling to be both.
Posted Dec 23, 2021
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4.5/5
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Don't Look Up
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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'Don't Look Up' very clearly has a lot on its mind. Ideas shoot out of it like a firehose, but there's a poetic, melancholic nature to all its insanity. One of the year's very best works!
Posted Dec 23, 2021
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3.5/5
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Nightmare Alley
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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[Del Toro's latest] plays you like a fiddle, looks gorgeous and is deliciously messed up.
Posted Dec 18, 2021
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3.5/5
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Red Rocket
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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This isn't a feel-good movie. It's a feel movie.
Posted Dec 18, 2021
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3/5
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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A simple but moderately effective adaptation, aesthetically and thematically existing somewhere between The 400 Blows and The Raven. However, one wishes it were a bit more inventive like the Coens' O Brother, Where Art Thou? was of Homer's The Odyssey.
Posted Dec 18, 2021
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4/5
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The Novice
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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It's truly a perfect assembly of storytelling components rowing in unison. Isabella Fuhrman [gives a] commanding and impressive performance.
Posted Dec 17, 2021
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4.5/5
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Spider-Man: No Way Home
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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There have been many creative spills with this franchise, but this latest entry manages to mop it up. You'll laugh until it hurts, become a sobbing mess and feel your heart grow for so many reasons. It's everything you could want this trilogy closer to be
Posted Dec 16, 2021
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5/5
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King Richard
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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Speak softly and carry a big racket. 'King Richard' is the year's best, most moving film.
Posted Nov 25, 2021
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3.5.5
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Tick, Tick... Boom!
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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'tick, tick...BOOM!' is a dramatic firework that explodes with creativity, heart and soul. Andrew Garfield sings his heart out in one of the year's top performances.
Posted Nov 25, 2021
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3.5/5
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Encanto
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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The powerhouse musical numbers, gorgeous animation work and encouraging messages about family all shape this into a must-see family event.
Posted Nov 25, 2021
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4.5/5
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The Souvenir Part II
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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Hogg paints a beautiful deconstruction of a reconstruction. Not only does she effortlessly expand upon her original film with imaginative aplomb, but she also weaves in a thoughtful language that makes 'Part II' work as a standalone essay.
Posted Nov 13, 2021
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2.5/5
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Belfast
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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Kenneth Branagh's love letter to home is artificially packaged. In addition to not having a fluid visual identity, 'Belfast' comes across as a messy collection of scenes that lack the emotional momentum to make it sing.
Posted Nov 12, 2021
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2.5/5
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The Power of the Dog
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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It has seeds of ideas about the secrets we carry, repressed emotions, masculinity and clinging to the past. Still, nobody seems to water them to blossom into a work with any lingering effects. All bark with little bite.
Posted Nov 09, 2021
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5/5
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Spencer
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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A two-hour tightening of a piano wire. It's motorized by feeling and observation, like a Richard Linklater character study filtered through a Terrence Malick lens. It's an experience, plain and simple, and a difficult one to shake.
Posted Nov 04, 2021
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3.5/5
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Finch
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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It's a thrilling, relatable and genuinely sweet tale that encapsulates thoughts about our purpose and the little things that keep our heart machine going. There's nothing here that's not wonderfully realized and lovingly presented.
Posted Nov 03, 2021
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Mass
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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'Mass' is a remarkable study of grief and acceptance that's both timely and important. It showcases four of the best performances of the year, and it challenges your own thoughts and feelings.
Posted Oct 29, 2021
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4.5/5
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Dune
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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Villeneuve's artistry is so infectious that he could adapt a phone book and make it an award winner. 'Dune' is an experience you won't soon forget!
Posted Oct 22, 2021
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4/5
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Titane
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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'Titane' isn't quite as organic and straightforward as 'Raw.' It's so heavy on symbolism that you'll have to detach yourself from casual viewing. But I haven't stopped thinking about it. So, that's saying something.
Posted Oct 13, 2021
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3.5/5
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Lamb
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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There's no silencing this one. Let it send your mind running into the darkest corners.
Posted Oct 13, 2021
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4/5
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Blue Bayou
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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'Blue Bayou' is easily one of the year's most moving and timely works. The performances and Justin Chon's artistry pull you to an emotional depth that deserves serious awards consideration.
Posted Sep 18, 2021
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3.5/5
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Copshop
(2021)
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Preston Barta
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Carnahan's saucy wordplay and perfectly cast ensemble add up to a thrill-a-minute blast that rains as much lead as killer-good laughs.
Posted Sep 18, 2021
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3/5
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John and the Hole
(2020)
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Preston Barta
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Often [resembling] the unsettling feelings of Gus Van Sant's 'Elephant' and Michael Haneke's 'Funny Games,' 'John and the Hole' uncovers a contemplative, symbolic and rewarding work.
Posted Aug 06, 2021
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