Review: Chilean Film Ema Tells a Fiery Family Story With a Pulsing Beat
Ema, a film by Chilean director Pablo Larrain, is the story of an unhappy family set to the pulsing, percussive beat of reggaeton music and images of fire. But its […]
Review: Shallow, Predictable Respect Ultimately Disrespects the Great Aretha Franklin’s Legacy
How is it possible for a music-centered biopic to feature fantastic music, heartfelt performances, and a story about triumph over trauma and still end up teaching us nothing about its […]
Review: Set in a Video Game World, Free Guy Features Vibrant Visuals But Mediocre Humor
The challenge I’ve always put to filmmakers who choose to adapt a video game into a movie is to make it accessible to someone who has never played a modern […]
Review: An Original Musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Vivo Mostly Works as a Lesson in Music and Friendship
In roughly the last year, the world has celebrated the past works of award-winning songwriter and performer Lin-Manuel Miranda with the filmed releases of Hamilton and In the Heights, but […]
Review: With James Gunn at the Helm, The Suicide Squad Brings Characters with Depth and a Story with Plenty of Fun
After working almost exclusively for several years on the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies (as well as contributing in no small part to the last couple Avengers movies […]
Review: A Sensitive, Contemplative Narrative, Nine Days Heralds a Promising New Filmmaking Talent
The feature directorial debut from Edson Oda, Nine Days is a powerfully contemplative narrative about all the contradictions that come with being born into this unpredictable, often unfair thing called life. […]
Review: A Wholly Original Movie Musical, Annette is Sometimes Messy, Always Enthralling
Ah, the movie musical. That universally beloved genre with its big dance numbers, show-stopping staging and legendary movie stars. The charm. The romance. The wholesome happy endings. And then, there’s […]
Review: Based on Disney’s Hokey Attraction, Jungle Cruise Struggles to Capture the Same Charm, Comedy as the Ride
There’s a great deal of plot and a great number of characters packed into the latest Disney theme park attraction that has been turned into a feature film, Jungle Cruise. […]
Review: The Green Knight Is a Visually Arresting, Haunting Adaptation of the Medieval Morality Tale
Scholars of the Middle English tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight will have a lot to appreciate in David Lowery’s lush, visually arresting adaptation of the story, The […]
Review: Ride the Eagle Sends Jake Johnson on a Quest to Get to Know His Mother and Himself Better
After seeing so many movies lately that were made pre-pandemic (as well as a handful quite obviously made during), it was genuinely refreshing to see a film about a character […]
Review: Matt Damon Deftly Portrays a Father Seeking Answers, Forgiveness in Stillwater
Something that becomes clear early on in Stillwater, the latest from director Tom McCarthy (Spotlight, The Station Agent), is that lead character Bill Baker (deftly played by Matt Damon) is […]
Review: The Boy Behind the Door Follows Two Young Best Friends through Frightening, Suspenseful Circumstances
A film that debuted a year ago at Fantastic Fest is finally making its way to Shudder this week, but in that year, co-writers/directors David Charbonier and Justin Powell have […]