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90/100
|
May December
(2023)
|
Philip Martin
|
The best role belongs to Portman, who will surely get major awards attention for her turn as ambitious, diligent and perpetually line-crossing Elizabeth.
Posted Dec 01, 2023
|
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89/100
|
Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party
(2023)
|
Sean Clancy
|
It's not for everybody, but for those who are drawn to the Birthday Party's brand of bleak, poetic nihilism, it's heavenly.
Posted Dec 01, 2023
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82/100
|
Napoleon
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
For all the film's refusal to canonize its protagonist, it doesn't have terribly much to offer beyond its mocking portrayal of the former general, and the peppering in of expansive battle sequences in between.
Posted Nov 27, 2023
|
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82/10
|
The Exorcist: Believer
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
The film's reasonably creepy first act laboriously sets up what might have been something good and jarring, only for the script to become a mishmash of barely considered ideas that mostly end up as demonic-hued piffle.
Posted Oct 06, 2023
|
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86/100
|
Golda
(2023)
|
Philip Martin
|
Mirren gets the job done, which is the important thing. She blasts away the old caricature of the grandmotherly, somehow doddering Meir without ever indulging in over-the-top actorliness.
Posted Aug 25, 2023
|
|
|
Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback
(2023)
|
Philip Martin
|
I was a little skeptical that "Reinventing Elvis" could justify its length -- at one hour and 26 minutes it's more than twice the running time of the original special -- but even those well-versed in Presley lore are likely to learn something.
Posted Aug 22, 2023
|
|
82/100
|
Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
The film goes down relatively smoothly, albeit blunt as a mallet to the skull, even as it never lets us forget for a second the corporation behind it all.
Posted Aug 19, 2023
|
|
|
The Miracle Club
(2023)
|
Philip Martin
|
It feels like a waste of [a] pretty spectacular cast, but it's not the sort of movie that reasonable people get mad at... Good intentions ought to count for something.
Posted Aug 14, 2023
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|
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Jules
(2023)
|
Philip Martin
|
Quirky and sweet, "Jules" has a certain predictability and Gavin Steckler's screenplay at times strains a little too hard, but nothing about it feels like anything less than an earnest choice.
Posted Aug 13, 2023
|
|
75/100
|
Haunted Mansion
(2023)
|
Dan Lybarger
|
The new Haunted Mansion still feels unsatisfying because it's hard to tell which audience Disney was trying to reach.
Posted Jul 28, 2023
|
|
|
Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, The Movie
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
The film simplifies [its] characters to the point they have no soul and no redeeming qualities.
Posted Jul 28, 2023
|
|
|
Oppenheimer
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
"Oppenheimer" is weighty, it's tragic, it's art. Dammit, this is everything cinema should be.
Posted Jul 21, 2023
|
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4/5
|
The Sting
(1973)
|
Keith Garlington
|
There's a playful allure that permeates much of the film and it has a cool retro style that calls back to the classic mob movies of Raoul Walsh and Lloyd Bacon. But it also has a touch of 1970s grit which helps sets it apart.
Posted Jul 21, 2023
|
|
|
Superman: Red Son
(2020)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
Superman: Red Son isn't a bad film. It's just a strange spectacle with a bit of uneven pacing and muddled messaging.
Posted Jul 19, 2023
|
|
|
Nine Days
(2020)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
There's not one wasted detail in [Edson] Oda's movie.
Posted Jul 19, 2023
|
|
|
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
(1969)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
In more ways than one, this simple story leaves complexity and nuance to its characters. They do the heavy lifting, and they look great doing it among a sea of creative cinematography from Conrad Hall.
Posted Jul 19, 2023
|
|
|
Theater Camp
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
..."Theater Camp" is exactly the type of risky production Hollywood needs to be investing in to keep itself fresh and alive.
Posted Jul 19, 2023
|
|
|
Biosphere
(2022)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
There's no CGI to hide behind. And the only accompanying music they get is a scat soundtrack. But Ray and Billy make it work. Their journey, their grief, their humor, and their chemistry take a risky experiment and make it a film worth watching.
Posted Jul 07, 2023
|
|
3.5/5
|
The Lesson
(2023)
|
Keith Garlington
|
Troughton keeps us engaged throughout, using all the pieces she's given to their fullest. And it's hard not to love the cast led by a deliciously noxious Richard Grant.
Posted Jul 07, 2023
|
|
|
The Gullspång Miracle
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
It doesn't solve any crimes, but it certainly offers a lot about human nature and our ability to cram the round peg of belief through the narrow square space of reality.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
|
|
|
One Night with Adela
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
Creating an atmosphere of dank dread is an accomplishment, but this one won't stay with you very long.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
|
|
|
Rather
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
Follows the greatest hits format, but hopscotches around between archived news clips from different eras, contemporary interviews with Rather and some of his professional associates, to produce an encapsulation of his life that feels properly vetted.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
|
|
|
Nimona
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
This isn't a mindless cartoon full of pop music and a minimalistic story to put on in the background. Nimona deserves your full attention. It's important and it's still an absolute blast of action and fun even for those who aren't LGBT.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
|
|
|
Asteroid City
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
Every scene feels handstitched by a man who clings so tightly to his own vision that he has become a household name in the same vein as Christopher Nolan or Tim Burton.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
|
|
|
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
(2023)
|
Dan Lybarger
|
It's almost as if DreamWorks themselves are admitting they can do better.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
|
|
86/100
|
Asteroid City
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
To be certain, there is still a lot to savor for Anderson fans, but with this film, he has reached a new level of complexity that might have plunged his already teetering emotional ratio into much less accessible territory.
Posted Jun 23, 2023
|
|
|
Past Lives
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
In Song's impossibly adept debut, she's able to find balance and harmony in the chaos of an ever-surging society.
Posted Jun 23, 2023
|
|
1.5/5
|
God Is a Bullet
(2023)
|
Keith Garlington
|
"God Is a Bullet" is hopelessly dark and dour -- a seemingly endless two hour 35 minute malaise of misery that eventually wears you down and even worse tests your patience.
Posted Jun 23, 2023
|
|
85/100
|
The Blackening
(2022)
|
Piers Marchant
|
The movie is a pip, a bracing rush of originality that gives one hope for the oncoming summer deluge.
Posted Jun 16, 2023
|
|
80/100
|
Elemental
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
A film that maintains a sloppy grasp of its own basic mechanics, en route to a well-worn story that feels laden down with its own attempts at Deeper Meaning.
Posted Jun 16, 2023
|
|
|
It Ain't Over
(2022)
|
Jack Schnedler
|
Longtime baseball fans can revel in black-and-white archival footage showing Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra in his prime... The universe of non-fans can savor Berra as a pop-culture legend, thanks mainly to his trove of purported Yogi-isms.
Posted Jun 16, 2023
|
|
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Extraction 2
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
I don't think it's often we see sequels that improve on the previous entry in a film series. But when it happens, it certainly makes me happy.
Posted Jun 16, 2023
|
|
|
Flamin' Hot
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
When judged solely on the merits of craft and fiction, "Flamin' Hot" is all that and a bag of chips.
Posted Jun 10, 2023
|
|
2.5/5
|
The Boogeyman
(2023)
|
Keith Garlington
|
The overall impression that "we've seen all this before" stymies much of the suspense and leaves the film feeling like pretty standard horror movie fare.
Posted Jun 09, 2023
|
|
90/100
|
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
The combination of art and story produce an extraordinarily entertaining spectacle.
Posted Jun 02, 2023
|
|
|
Kandahar
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
Don't treat Kandahar like "another Gerard Butler action flick," even for those who like them. Expect more from this movie. Because it delivers.
Posted May 26, 2023
|
|
|
Master Gardener
(2022)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
The latter half of this movie seems content with leaving most of the planted ideas buried in the soil.
Posted May 26, 2023
|
|
2/5
|
White Men Can't Jump
(2023)
|
Keith Garlington
|
I'm still trying to figure out why they even bothered calling it "White Men Can't Jump" considering how little it has in common with the considerably better original.
Posted May 22, 2023
|
|
78/100
|
Fast X
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
Dom -- and the film -- are so relentless with the notion of whatever family means, it all begins to feel like so much sentimentalist drivel, a colorfully patterned carpet designed to distract you from all the people losing money at the slot machines.
Posted May 19, 2023
|
|
|
The Mother
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
I can't say I was ever bored during The Mother, and I certainly appreciate that the story was kept simple. It's far too easy for writers to unnecessarily complicate an action movie with the intention of adding more depth.
Posted May 12, 2023
|
|
|
Knights of the Zodiac
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
The narrative and characters are swallowed by a storm of ill-conceived CGI and unfortunate writing, another title in the long list of live-action anime adaptations that should deter similar future attempts.
Posted May 12, 2023
|
|
87/100
|
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
This "Guardians" doesn't come with the same verve and moxie as the first two, but there is, at least, a sense of growth.
Posted May 05, 2023
|
|
|
Hannah Gadsby: Something Special
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
Gadsby's shows, including the newest production, "Something Special," feel like a separate class of comedy -- almost literary.
Posted May 05, 2023
|
|
86/100
|
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
(2023)
|
Dan Lybarger
|
Fremon Craig works well with her young cast and the grownups who accompany them. She also takes potentially heavy subject matter and delivers it in an entertaining and touching manner.
Posted Apr 28, 2023
|
|
|
Peter Pan & Wendy
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
When compared to the narrative catastrophes of most of the other live-action Disney remakes, Peter Pan & Wendy seems to have found more success than it had any right to.
Posted Apr 28, 2023
|
|
|
Beau Is Afraid
(2023)
|
Piers Marchant
|
It's not a film about all the things that actually happen as much as it's a film about the feelings these events conjure up in us, the way they stir and poke at our own subconscious' terrors.
Posted Apr 28, 2023
|
|
4/5
|
Evil Dead Rise
(2023)
|
Keith Garlington
|
Everything from the gnarly practical effects to the incredible makeup to the gallons upon gallons upon gallons of blood helps to create this a visually amazing buffet of grotesquerie that long-time fans are hungry for.
Posted Apr 28, 2023
|
|
5/5
|
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi - 40th Anniversary
(2023)
|
Keith Garlington
|
The influence of "Jedi" (and the original Star Wars trilogy as a whole) has gone well beyond the first three films and still entertains legions of fans today. It did me all those years ago. And it still does today.
Posted Apr 28, 2023
|
|
85/100
|
Chevalier
(2022)
|
Piers Marchant
|
It favors quick resolution and dramatic encapsulation to depth, a treatment that hardly does justice to Bologne. For a man who once bested no less than Mozart in musical combat, it's hard not to feel he deserves better.
Posted Apr 21, 2023
|
|
|
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always
(2023)
|
Courtney Lanning
|
"Once & Always" perfectly captures the vibe of the original series. The dialogue is cheesy, the story is melodramatic, the villains are outrageous, and I love it all.
Posted Apr 21, 2023
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