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4/10
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Silent Night
(2023)
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Siddhant Adlakha
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A boring, weightless revenge experiment that quickly goes awry, Silent Night features none of the charm or visual panache that made John Woo one of Hong Kong and Hollywood’s foremost action stylists.
Posted Nov 27, 2023
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7/10
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Leo
(2023)
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Jesse Hassenger
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Robert Smigel, Adam Sandler, and their collaborators have made one of the funniest movies of the year that doubles as a love letter to the complexities of teaching kids, in or out of the classroom.
Posted Nov 22, 2023
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7/10
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Napoleon
(2023)
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A.A. Dowd
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As a historical epic, Napoleon is handsome but a little impersonal -- you can really feel the absence of texture lost in getting it down under three hours. But between the textbook bullet points, a very funny anti-Great Man biopic peeks through.
Posted Nov 20, 2023
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6/10
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Trolls Band Together
(2023)
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Jesse Hassenger
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Trolls Band Together continues the series’ tradition of turning a negligible toy line into an inventively animated, short-attention-span musical. But like its predecessors only more so, the emotional backstory and life lessons are thinly conceived.
Posted Nov 18, 2023
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6/10
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Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain
(2023)
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Jesse Hassenger
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Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain has way more laughs than the standard direct-to-streaming comedy, with some gloriously silly running gags and hilarious non sequiturs. But it lacks any real point of view behind that silliness.
Posted Nov 18, 2023
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5/10
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Wish
(2023)
|
Carlos Aguilar
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Wish’s visually appealing celebration of Disney’s 100th anniversary mostly lacks inventiveness and gravitas but features some memorable music.
Posted Nov 18, 2023
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7/10
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Thanksgiving
(2023)
|
A.A. Dowd
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That the director of Cabin Fever and Hostel made something this diverting has to be considered a holiday miracle.
Posted Nov 15, 2023
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8/10
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Godzilla Minus One
(2023)
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Katie Rife
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A rousing, spectacle-filled blockbuster, Godzilla: Minus One takes the king of the monsters back to his roots in post-WWII Japan. The story is character-driven, but the monster scenes are exciting and effective.
Posted Nov 14, 2023
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7/10
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David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived
(2023)
|
Hanna Flint
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Not a deeply probing Hollywood documentary but filled to the brim with fun behind-the-scenes footage. The Boy Who Lived is a likable, grounded, and heartfelt portrait of a Harry Potter stuntman whose career was cut far too short.
Posted Nov 14, 2023
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6/10
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It's a Wonderful Knife
(2023)
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Katie Rife
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The Christmas slasher It’s A Wonderful Knife commits to its pithy premise -- “It’s A Wonderful Life, but with a masked killer” -- with self-aware wit. Solid fundamentals carry the film’s suspense scenes, but the comedy produces more mixed results.
Posted Nov 10, 2023
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7/10
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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
(2023)
|
Emma Stefansky
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Actors Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler are brilliant additions to the franchise with equally magnetic takes on their very different characters, but aren’t given enough time to fully flesh them out.
Posted Nov 09, 2023
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8/10
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The Marvels
(2023)
|
Amelia Emberwing
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Both funny and heartfelt, Nia DaCosta’s MCU debut will have you asking when she and her leading ladies are coming back immediately after the credits roll.
Posted Nov 08, 2023
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7/10
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Divinity
(2023)
|
Siddhant Adlakha
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A super-charged genre throwback that obscures its meaning but has an alluring visual texture, Divinity is completely unique in its conception of sci-fi dystopia, for better and for worse.
Posted Nov 02, 2023
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4/10
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Five Nights at Freddy's
(2023)
|
A.A. Dowd
|
Expanding the game's simple, primal premise with a surfeit of character melodrama, it's a Five Nights at Freddy's that labors under the bizarre assumption that the loyal fanbase wants a lot of extraneous plot surrounding the fun-center horror.
Posted Oct 26, 2023
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6/10
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Cobweb
(2023)
|
Martin Carr
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Beneath the slapstick comedy and engaging central performances, Cobweb suffers from an imbalance of style over substance that draws attention away from anything more serious it might have been trying to say.
Posted Oct 26, 2023
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4/10
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Freelance
(2023)
|
Matt Donato
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Freelance is an eyesore of horrendous digital effects, features uninspired action, and wastes the few big names in its cast.
Posted Oct 26, 2023
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4/10
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The End We Start From
(2023)
|
Rafaela Sales Ross
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Mahalia Belo’s The End We Start From sees Emmy-winning Jodie Comer navigate a story as muddy as the flooded grounds of Hyde Park in a post-apocalyptic drama that fails to nail the human connection at its core.
Posted Oct 24, 2023
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6/10
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Late Night With the Devil
(2023)
|
Jarrod Jones
|
What ultimately holds the film together is David Dastmalchian -- one of today’s most intriguing character actors, revealing all new facets of his range.
Posted Oct 23, 2023
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6/10
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Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match
(2023)
|
Matt Donato
|
Cage Match feels like the simplest version of what it’s trying to be – a goofy riff on ’80s action movies – even when it comes to bone-shattering moves that take down the mightiest interdimensional demons.
Posted Oct 23, 2023
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6/10
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Malibu Horror Story
(2021)
|
Matt Donato
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The bedrock of Scott Slone’s Malibu Horror Story is sturdy, and its concept unique, yet the film’s back-and-forth execution leaves consistency to be desired.
Posted Oct 23, 2023
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8/10
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The Kitchen
(2023)
|
Leila Latif
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With a powerful lead performance from Kane Robinson, a striking aesthetic and witty dialogue, the 98-minute runtime zips by with aplomb and its ending packs an almighty punch.
Posted Oct 20, 2023
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9/10
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Maestro
(2023)
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Hanna Flint
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Maestro's dynamic cinematic language speaks to the heart. The caliber of Bradley Cooper's direction is matched by a transformative performance as the great American composer opposite a dynamite Carey Mulligan as his actress-wife.
Posted Oct 20, 2023
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6/10
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The Book of Clarence
(2023)
|
Leila Latif
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The film has plenty of style and some riotous comic moments, but the devoted religiosity and shifts in tone are occasionally too heavy a cross for it to bear.
Posted Oct 20, 2023
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7/10
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Butcher's Crossing
(2022)
|
Rafael Motamayor
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Butcher’s Crossing is not the freshest of Westerns, but it does offer some bleak and gnarly imagery, gorgeous vistas, and Nicolas Cage in a subtle but poignant performance.
Posted Oct 20, 2023
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9/10
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Fingernails
(2023)
|
Rafaela Sales Ross
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Not as much a cautionary tale, but a fondly conceived ode to the kind of love that refuses to forgo the unpredictable, messy, wonderful woes of passion.
Posted Oct 19, 2023
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7/10
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The Book of Solutions
(2023)
|
Martin Carr
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Returning to cinema with a heartfelt look at the creative process, Michel Gondry dives back into filmmaking without a safety net, channeling all his artistic angst through an onscreen alter ego.
Posted Oct 18, 2023
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7/10
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All of Us Strangers
(2023)
|
Lena Wilson
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You’ve likely never seen a movie that tackles the specific loneliness many gay men still face today, and this one is laudable for that alone. However, All of Us Strangers airs on the side of saccharine, especially towards the end.
Posted Oct 18, 2023
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9/10
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Anatomy of a Fall
(2023)
|
Lex Briscuso
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Justine Triet's courtroom drama-thriller Anatomy of a Fall choreographs a riveting dance between tragedy and the transference into survival mode via the manipulation of reality and the power of invention.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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9/10
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May December
(2023)
|
Siddhant Adlakha
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It takes a remarkably self-assured filmmaker to turn such a lurid tale of abuse into something so wildly entrancing and entertaining, but Todd Haynes’ mix of tenderness and camp is a perfect fit for May December.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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9/10
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When Evil Lurks
(2023)
|
Matt Donato
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When Evil Lurks is a capital “H” horror film that risks it all and hits the jackpot, pummeling its audience into submissions and still leaving us asking for more.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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6/10
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The Beast
(2023)
|
Emma Stefansky
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The various looming anxieties of The Beast want to make you scream, but ultimately it feels like a retread of things we’ve already seen.
Posted Oct 12, 2023
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4/10
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Dark Harvest
(2023)
|
A.A. Dowd
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Too silly for words -- a slasher movie with delusions of Shirley Jackson grandeur.
Posted Oct 12, 2023
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5/10
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Dear David
(2023)
|
Deirdre Crimmins
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Dear David tries its best to scare, but it never quite brings the spookiness it promises. It suffers from trying to do a bit too much with the living characters and not enough with the dead ones. Also, way too much lens flare.
Posted Oct 11, 2023
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7/10
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The Bikeriders
(2023)
|
Hannah Strong
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An affectionate take on a much-romanticized subculture, The Bikeriders purrs along rather than zips, but its stellar cast ensures a smooth ride as Jeff Nichols offers some insights into the highs and lows of a legendary motorcycle gang.
Posted Oct 10, 2023
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7/10
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V/H/S/85
(2023)
|
Matt Donato
|
If you’re a V/H/S fan, V/H/S85 won’t be the entry that sours your tune – and boasts a steady enough consistency to win over doubters, too.
Posted Oct 07, 2023
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6/10
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Pet Sematary: Bloodlines
(2023)
|
Matt Donato
|
You take the good with the bad in Bloodlines, which manages to avoid a completely forgettable fate that might have buried this franchise six feet deep.
Posted Oct 07, 2023
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7/10
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Eileen
(2023)
|
Matt Donato
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Eileen is a nifty little shapeshifter of a thriller made of tremendous parts, just lacking a bit of steam upon exit.
Posted Oct 07, 2023
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8/10
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Fair Play
(2023)
|
Siddhant Adlakha
|
Fair Play transcends its shortcomings and becomes one of the most thrilling directorial debuts this year.
Posted Oct 07, 2023
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8/10
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Saltburn
(2023)
|
Martin Carr
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Aside from a few pacing issues, Saltburn delivers an uncompromising vision from Emerald Fennell, an Oscar-winning writer director with a unique voice.
Posted Oct 06, 2023
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4/10
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Foe
(2023)
|
Lena Wilson
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Despite a capable cast and crew, Foe is a muddled mess that feels more like Black Mirror Lite than powerful sci-fi commentary.
Posted Oct 06, 2023
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8/10
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Dream Scenario
(2023)
|
Katie Rife
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Nicolas Cage plays a mediocre stand-in for all 'canceled' men in this provocative cringe comedy, driven by a sharp screenplay and subtly surreal filmmaking.
Posted Oct 06, 2023
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6/10
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Tiger Stripes
(2023)
|
Rafaela Sales Ross
|
A visually rich film that finds moments of entertaining inspiration but suffers from a frustrating lack of focus.
Posted Oct 06, 2023
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6/10
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Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!
(2023)
|
Jarrod Jones
|
While Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! misses a few tricks, director Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton keeps things moving at a genial clip.
Posted Oct 05, 2023
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6/10
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The Exorcist: Believer
(2023)
|
Tom Jorgensen
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A serviceable horror movie on its own merits, but a disappointing revival for a cornerstone of horror cinema.
Posted Oct 04, 2023
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4/10
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Reptile
(2023)
|
A.A. Dowd
|
Benicio del Toro's understated performance as a soft-spoken detective is about the only interesting thing about this new Netflix thriller, which drowns a thin murder mystery in lots of ominous atmosphere.
Posted Sep 29, 2023
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5/10
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PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie
(2023)
|
Jesse Hassenger
|
This is still a time-waster designed to momentarily distract the smallest children in exchange for pitching them a new line of PAW Patrol action figures. Little kids will like it, but they can still do better.
Posted Sep 29, 2023
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7/10
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Totally Killer
(2023)
|
Amelia Emberwing
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Totally Killer may not reinvent the wheel, but its blend of Scream meets Disney Channel Original movie gets the job done quite admirably.
Posted Sep 29, 2023
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7/10
|
Saw X
(2023)
|
Amelia Emberwing
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Almost 20 years into the franchise, Saw X showcases an emotional depth that manages to take one of these stories higher than ever before.
Posted Sep 28, 2023
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7/10
|
The Creator
(2023)
|
A.A. Dowd
|
As pure spectacle, The Creator is often jaw-dropping in its imagery, its relatively frugal special effects, and the detailed depth of its futuristic design. It's shakier as drama and sci-fi...
Posted Sep 26, 2023
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6/10
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The Toxic Avenger
(2023)
|
Amelia Emberwing
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It struggles to deliver on the schlocky goodness of Troma’s stronger films. Still, what it lacks in so-bad-it’s-good silliness it makes up for with its heart and mostly practical slaughterfests.
Posted Sep 22, 2023
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