Brightest Young Things
Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating
Title/Year
Author
1
2.5/5
What makes this crop of shorts interesting, but ultimately somewhat tedious, is their thematic similarities.
Posted Feb 8, 2019
2
2.5/5
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
Gilroy replaces Nightcrawler's twisted logic with metaphors so obvious they would laughed out of freshman art seminars.
Posted Feb 1, 2019
3
3.5/5
Serenity (2019)
The constraints of traditional criticism are not equipped to do this film justice. It is too bonkers for that.
Posted Jan 25, 2019
4
3/5
Escape Room (2019)
The characters may freeze, drown, drop from great heights, and get poisoned, but nothing is more exciting than the tension of whether they can work together.
Posted Jan 4, 2019
5
88/100
The Guilty (Den skyldige) (2018)
Director Gustav Möller might be a hypnotist. The Guilty is gripping tragedy, and is strongest in its focus on sound and storytelling.
Posted Dec 26, 2018
6
97/100
7
5/5
If Beale Street Could Talk (2019)
This film shows us that love without risk is hardly love at all.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
8
Across the Universe (2007)
It's a little slow going in the start, but once their engines are revved up, every swirl and lick are thought out with care and love...
Posted Dec 14, 2018
9
4/5
The Favourite (2018)
It succeeds as the nastiest high stakes workplace comedy you'll see all year.
Posted Nov 30, 2018
10
4/5
A Private War (2018)
It's a reminder that the victims of war need their stories told, a responsibility that sometimes comes at the cost of the storytellers themselves.
Posted Nov 20, 2018
11
2.5/5
El Angel (El ángel) (2018)
At one point, a filmmaker must draw a line in the sand so his audience knows how to react. This movie dances across such a line until it is no longer there.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
12
5/5
Widows (2018)
Widows may be a tough film, but maybe we're all a bit tougher nowadays. This film knows we are up for it.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
13
4.5/5
On Her Shoulders (2018)
This is the rare, uncanny film that genuinely puts you in the shoes of its subject.
Posted Nov 2, 2018
14
3.5/5
Wildlife (2018)
A confident, melancholy drama that uses sharp observation to make larger points about the endless fissures in American family life.
Posted Oct 29, 2018
15
3/5
The Happy Prince (2018)
It is a poignant reminder of how intellect and desire do not simply disappear once we get older.
Posted Oct 19, 2018
16
4/5
First Man (2018)
Neil Armstrong left his family behind and traveled over 200,000 miles for work, and First Man understands what that says about him.
Posted Oct 12, 2018
17
2.5/5
The Old Man & the Gun (2018)
The trouble is that writer/director David Lowery drains the story of any tension, suspense, or conflict.
Posted Oct 5, 2018
18
4/5
Free Solo (2018)
This is the rare documentary that is more terrifying than a horror movie.
Posted Oct 5, 2018
19
79/100
Science Fair (2018)
When so much of our mental energy is spent in politics, it is refreshing to see a (largely) apolitical film celebrate humanity at its finest.
Posted Sep 28, 2018
20
94/100
Mandy (2018)
In the end, Mandy is either extremely for you or it is extremely not; I feel bad for you if you're in the latter camp.
Posted Sep 26, 2018
21
4/5
Blaze (2018)
As the film reaches its tragic final minutes, it is clear Foley is given the treatment he would want and deserve.
Posted Sep 21, 2018
22
2.5/5
Lizzie (2018)
This vision of Lizzie Borden is ultimately too timid and dispassionate to be transgressive.
Posted Sep 21, 2018
23
1/5
The Nun (2018)
If you're not going to be scary and you're not going to be interesting, you have to be fun.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
24
0/5
Peppermint (2018)
Garner's next revenge mission should be taking out whoever convinced her this was a good idea.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
25
2/5
At almost two-and-a-half hours, it has too much searching for answers for its own good.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
26
1.5/5
The Bookshop (2018)
It mostly feels like somebody pedaling in place on a stationary bike who thinks they're on a bonafide journey.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
27
2.5/5
Operation Finale (2018)
It's hard to ignore how excellent this story would've been, had it been told by filmmakers with a stronger grasp of the material.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
28
4.5/5
Crime + Punishment (2018)
The film's tone is angry, yes, but also shot through with sadness and exhaustion.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
29
2/5
Papillon (2018)
There's a reason studios rarely attempt to remake a Steve McQueen movie.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
30
3.5/5
Juliet, Naked (2018)
It's not necessarily challenging and leans on the audiences' love of the actors a lot, but if audiences are up for that task it's a really sweet, satisfying watch.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
31
.5/5
The Happytime Murders (2018)
Grossing out your audience isn't going to solve your problems and make your film work.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
32
3.5/5
White Boy Rick (2018)
Longtime fans of gangster movies may be surprised or even unnerved by what they see, but they won't soon forget it.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
33
4/5
Madeline's Madeline (2018)
Sound bonkers, right? I guess you'll just have to see it for yourself.
Posted Sep 7, 2018
34
2.5/5
We the Animals (2018)
Zagar's stubborn desire to keep things subjective are what make this a memorable film, although that same decision is also what undermines its ultimate impact.
Posted Aug 31, 2018
35
4.5/5
Support the Girls (2018)
It continuously upends expectations of where it will go, until it becomes a comedy of specific, deep empathy.
Posted Aug 24, 2018
36
92/100
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
A glamorous confection of a romcom. It's basically the film equivalent of a chilled, bubbly glass of champagne on a steamy August night: a refreshing, classy party starter.
Posted Aug 21, 2018
37
0.5/5
Mile 22 (2018)
It misses its target completely, creating characters whose supposedly charming perks only make them more off-putting.
Posted Aug 17, 2018
38
3.5/5
A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018)
They break some cardinal rules here, all in service of the show. It is the sort of creative latitude Shakespeare would admire.
Posted Aug 17, 2018
39
22/100
Krystal (2018)
The plot of this movie is simple at its core, but it spirals out to become increasingly bizarre.
Posted Aug 13, 2018
40
4/5
The Captain (Der Hauptmann) (2018)
This dark drama might be too much for audiences, so Schwentke adds two crucial elements to keep his film tolerable: elegant black and white photography, and gallows humor.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
41
3/5
Although its heart is in the right place, the film's lack of teeth and daring doesn't do its ideas justice.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
42
1/5
The Meg (2018)
Ultimately, the only one in here with a shred of recognizable humanity is the gigantic, prehistoric shark itself.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
43
4.5/5
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
The cumulative effect is like a bracing cold shower, a reminder that the fight is far from over.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
44
3.5/5
Christopher Robin (2018)
It is like Winnie the Pooh: it might be of Very Little Brain, but it's the Very Big Heart that matters the most.
Posted Aug 6, 2018
45
3.5/5
Far From the Tree (2018)
This film shows that love doesn't necessarily conquer all, but it absolutely helps.
Posted Aug 6, 2018
46
4/5
Custody (Jusqu'à la garde) (2018)
This is not a film to be taken lightly. In fact, it could be triggering for children of divorce and anyone who has experienced domestic abuse.
Posted Aug 6, 2018
47
93/100
48
84/100
49
78/100
Generation Wealth (2018)
Generation Wealth is a bit about money's impact on Generation X and their offspring, but it resonates thanks to a more micro, intimate examination of our culture.
Posted Jul 31, 2018
50
65/100
Love, Cecil (2018)