3 From Hell
Rob Zombie’s return to the Firefly clan contains flashes of the depraved inspiration that made the previous films in this trilogy–House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects–such grisly and renowned cult classics. Such flashes are disappointingly (and quite sadly) far and few between, however. In spite of a promising first act, the film continuously unravels into a complete (and increasingly unwatchable) mess that merely retreads the motions of its predecessors without grasping the essence of what made them so dementedly special in the first place.
GRADE: D+
6 Underground
If Michael Bay ever had a two-hour-plus orgasm, this is what the inside of his head would look like during it. Take what you will from that.
GRADE: B
Ad Astra
Underrated contemporary auteur James Gray delivers a moving and intense—though not quite spectacular—science fiction epic that is filled to the brim with realistic and relatable human emotions.
The film reaches for the stars with its ambition, unraveling its story with action, suspense, and horror until it eventually settles on a brutally stirring father/son drama in space. By aspiring to so many great heights, the film can’t quite decide on what it should focus upon, and it ultimately underwhelms as a result. Brad Pitt delivers an exceptionally mature and committed performance.
GRADE: B
The Addams Family
This Tim Burton-y, computer-animated, stop-motion-looking reboot of the darkly comedic franchise is an inventive and welcome alternative to the otherwise colorful selection of family-friendly titles that tend to dominate the market. It doesn’t quite live up to the charms of the sixties television series or contain anything that matches Angelica Huston and Raul Julia’s magical chemistry in the nineties movies. However, the film still provides plenty of laughs and entertainment to those looking for something a little creepier and kookier than the standard family fare.
GRADE: B
Adopt a Highway
Wow, this movie sure wants you to like it. And it could have succeeded if it addressed the fact that its entire premise—a recently released prison inmate (Ethan Hawke) finds an abandoned infant girl and decides to ineptly care for her without telling anyone—is kinda creepy. Hawke does his best to be innocent and lovable, but the fact that the ramifications of his questionable decisions are never fully explored makes the film amount to little more than wannabe feel-good fluff.
It should also be noted that Adopt a Highway houses the most obnoxious and trite portrayal of a manic-pixie-dream-girl-savior since Garden State.
GRADE: D
Aladdin
Gorgeous photography, innovative editing, and some rambunctious choreography can’t save this bloated, stagey, and completely unwarranted remake of the Disney animated classic. Aside from the always-great Will Smith (who does his own iconic twist on the iconic role forever owned by Robin Williams), the cast is flavorless and, much like the film that houses them, instantly forgettable. Uninspired additions to the original’s musical numbers and storyline only make Aladdin’s film’s two-hour-plus runtime feel all the more unbearable.
GRADE: C-
Anna
Writer/director Luc Besson’s critically maligned action opus is actually a pulpy, trashy, and thrillingly stylish return to form for the French action auteur. Impeccably paced, wildly structured, beautifully cast, and surprisingly funny, this is one of the most entertaining popcorn flicks of its year. Star Sasha Luss is a highly believable action movie badass.
GRADE: A-
Annabelle Comes Home
This third entry in the Conjuring spin-off series delivers enough scares and suspense to satisfy its audience. However, it’s not particularly innovative or engaging and it lacks the story and character development to compete with the quality of other films in its franchise. If you’re a fan, Annabelle Comes Home should, at the very least, appease you until a better film set in its universe comes along.
GRADE: C+
The Art of Self-Defense
Jesse Eisenberg delivers another top-notch, comically dry performance in this pitch-black quirk fest of an indie comedy. Working entirely on its own logic in its own absurdist universe, the film is a strange melding of Wes Anderson and Fight Club. The Art of Self-Defense leaves significant scars on our psyche but not without making us giggle the whole time at how cleverly strange and uncomfortable it is.
GRADE: A-
Avengers: Endgame
This is the epic finale to ten-plus years of twenty-plus movies. Unfortunately, it never matches the stakes of its predecessor (the excellent Infinity War) and is a rather disappointing send-off to this phase of all things Marvel. Endgame underwhelms due to an overwhelming plot cluttered with an even more overwhelming amount of subplots. These subplots may wrap up story arcs from different movies in the MCU, but they have nothing to do with the already-convoluted plot of this one.
Emotional sendoffs to beloved characters grow tiresome, and the most important one falls flat, playing more like an unintentional nod to Tropic Thunder than the tragic and memorable goodbye that the character and its fans deserve. That being said, Marvel never makes outright bad movies. Endgame certainly boasts some great visual effects, exciting action set pieces, and other memorable moments. It just would have been nice if the higher-ups were less concerned about making an epic movie and more concerned about making a good one.
GRADE: C+
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Tom Hanks lives up to perfect casting with his shaded and accessible portrayal of Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Director Marielle Heller and screenwriters Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster avoid standard biopic trappings by reflecting the icon’s kindness and sincerity through the eyes of a troubled writer (an excellent Matthew Rhys) who is doing a story on him. Though he partially remains a mystery, Mr. Rogers’ philosophies are still fully exhibited in the film with enough heart and intelligence to do the man and his legacy proud.
GRADE: A
Between Two Ferns: The Movie
Though it has a handful of Big Laugh moments and a number of memorably amusing ones sprinkled throughout, this adaptation of Zach Galafianakis’ hit Funny or Die series goes on far too long and spreads itself far too thin to work as a feature-length film. Galafianakis more than proves that his dry, committed, and straight-faced deliveries can carry a movie. Next time, he just needs a little meatier of a premise to justify his enormous talent.
GRADE: B-
Black and Blue
Naomie Harris delivers a sensationally strong and vulnerable performance in Black and Blue, portraying a rookie New Orleans cop on the run from her crooked fellow officers after witnessing a murder. This thoughtful thriller delivers just the right balance of character, social commentary, and suspense to rise above standard genre fare. Director Deon Taylor channels early Watler Hill and keeps the audience on edge with grounded, gritty action and tight, unrelenting pacing. Tyrese Gibson offers excellent support as an honest citizen caught in the middle of the mayhem.
GRADE: A
Blinded By the Light
Blinded By the Light follows a Pakistani Brit college student (Viveik Kalra) who struggles with his identity and finds solace in listening to the music of Bruce Springsteen. Highly inventive and overall well made, this eighties-set dramedy, unfortunately, suffers from a rather severe case of over-sentimentalization. While the film offers unique points of view on Pakistani culture and the intense, beautiful fusion of young people’s emotions with the popular music of their times, it can also be so embarrassingly sweet and cutesy that it sometimes comes dangerously close to choking on its own good intentions.
GRADE: B-
Bloodline
Sean William Scott just keeps getting more and more interesting as he ages. His once-manic energy is still present but more contained—which makes him perfect for the role of a Dexter-like guidance counselor who satisfies his murderous urges by going after the abusive parents of his students. The story features a number of surprising twists, all of which are classily and stylishly executed by director/co-writer Henry Jacobson.
GRADE: B
Booksmart
Booksmart is a raunchy and witty coming-of-age comedy about two teenage girls (Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) who decide to let loose the night before graduation. Mayhem ensues as the girls explore new adventures with sex, drugs, and pizza deliverymen. Booksmart is a funny film, but it tries so hard to be the female Superbad that it forgets to be as unique.
Standing on its own merits, however, Booksmart is a lively, moving, and clever comedy about best friends, growing up, and letting go. The blunt female perspective that director Olivia Wilde offers is original enough to make the film worth seeing, even if the events depicted within it are variations of things we’ve before seen plentifully. Dever and Feldstein have a vivacious and effortless onscreen chemistry, but Billie Lourd steals the show as an insane, drug-hazed pixie who almost always seems to be on hand to add the punchline to the film’s funniest moments.
GRADE: B
Captain Marvel
Marvel Studios manages to keep their tad-tiresome formula fresh with this addition to their multiverse. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck keep the pacing fast and the mood fun. Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Benning, and Clark Gregg are all excellent in supporting roles but it’s ultimately Brie Larson’s show as the title character. Larson effortlessly encapsulates the charisma, integrity, and fierceness required to make Captain Marvel another classic hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
GRADE: B+
Charlie’s Angels
This unjustified colossal bomb at the box office deserves a second life on home video. As far as unnecessary sequels/reboots go, this is actually one of the better ones in recent years. Star Kristen Stewart proves how lovable and lively she can be onscreen. Writer/director Elizabeth Banks showcases a flashy, funny style and a knack for staging memorable and involving action sequences. It’s just too bad nobody saw it.
GRADE: B+
Charlie Says
Director Mary Harron and screenwriter Guinevere Turner’s third feature collaboration (after the classic American Psycho and the underrated The Notorious Bettie Page) is a shockingly dull and highly unnecessary film about the attempted reformation of three of Charles Manson’s imprisoned cult members. Good performances, sturdy filmmaking, and a well-textured representation of the summer of ’69 don’t make up for the fact that the film forgets to say anything new about the horrific and well-documented crimes.
The film presents facts, but the characters are never properly developed. While Matt Smith’s intense portrayal of Manson certainly captures his insanity, the film never provides him with the chance to showcase Manson’s true horrors: his intelligence, charm, and ability to manipulate others to do his biddings. We never understand why these Manson followers ever fell under his spell in the first place, so we have no empathy for them when the film is over. Charlie Says is a disappointingly forgettable and pointless film made by some otherwise highly talented people.
GRADE: C-
Child’s Play
This disappointing reboot would have been wiser to simply rip off the original’s concept and keep itself as far away from the classic horror franchise as possible. In this new incarnation, Chucky the killer toy is now a malfunctioning piece of artificial intelligence rather than a demon-possessed doll. Though interesting enough in its own right, the film’s premise doesn’t capture the soul, humor, or horror of the original. This film simply doesn’t feel like anything that warrants the expectation-inducing title of Child’s Play.
GRADE: C
Climax
Gaspar Noé continues his cinematic parade of sex, violence, drugs, and madness with Climax. Featuring a non-stop 90s club music soundtrack, the film focuses on a dance troupe having a party. What starts off as a celebration (highlighted by some amazing and innovative dance numbers) turns into a nightmare when it is discovered that one of the members spiked the sangria with a heavy dose of LSD.
As per usual with Noé’s work, a description never comes close to the joyously intense and overloaded thrill of experiencing it. Climax is like Fame on hallucinogens if it were written by Harmony Korine and directed by Stanley Kubrick. Simply put, it is brilliant and beautiful insanity.
GRADE: A
Close
Noomi Rapace’s excessive talent is completely wasted in this generic actioner. Playing a bodyguard who takes an assignment to babysit a rich and spoiled heiress (Sophie Nelisse), Rapace’s intensity and focus still manage to stand out in this otherwise inept production.
Cowriter/director Vicky Jewson stages the action with some skill, but the characters’ emotional lives and relationships come off completely contrived. Nelisse—a wonderful young actress who showed a great deal of promise in 2017’s Mean Dreams—is given little to do but pout, whine, and screech. By the time the film reaches its highly underwhelming climax (did they simply run out of money at that point?), you can’t help but wish Rapace would just throw in the towel and leave the little brat to fend for herself. That wouldn’t necessarily make for a good movie, but it would, at least, be more memorable than this one.
GRADE: D
Crawl
A campy and schlock-filled premise featuring killer alligators is classily and expertly executed in this shockingly engaging horror/thriller. Though you have to suspend disbelief at times and suppress some giggles here and there, the film manages to keep its audience in some seriously riveting, edge-of-your-seat suspense for the entirety of its duration. Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper are both excellent in lead roles.
GRADE: A-
Dark Phoenix
Surprisingly, this is one of the better latter-stage X-Men films. Dark Phoenix interestingly explores the darkness and heart of some of the franchise’s more underdeveloped characters. By no means a masterpiece, the film manages to be an overall fitting and entertaining (likely) end to an overall stale and tired franchise.
GRADE: B
The Dead Don’t Die
Jim Jarmusch’s meta-indie-horror-zombie-comedy is as strange (and as esoteric) as you’d expect. A great cast (Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloe Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Steve Buscemi) makes up for a script that is occasionally too on-the-nose with its satirical observations. Minor faults aside, however, the film is still a fascinating, dryly entertaining, and quirkily unique horror movie that only Jim Jarmusch could create.
GRADE: B+
Doctor Sleep
It takes a couple of viewings to fully appreciate this sequel to The Shining for what it is. Is it the same level of masterful, unrelenting horror as the Kubrick classic? No, but it’s not trying to be. Just as The Shining was, at its core, a human story about familial abuse and alcoholism, Doctor Sleep is about growing up and facing such demons.
Whereas The Shining emphasizes feeling and mood, Dr. Sleep emphasizes character and enormous heart. Even with these qualities, however, the film is still reflected through a familiar and terrifying lens that makes it feel as if the ghost of Kubrick himself was watching over its creation.
GRADE: A-
Dolemite Is My Name
Biopic screenwriter auteurs Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (The People vs. Larry Flynt, Ed Wood) return to full form with yet another celebration of an under-celebrated American fringe celebrity. In this case, it’s Rudy Ray Moore: comedian, rap pioneer, and independent filmmaker. Director Craig Brewer brings Alexander and Karaszewski’s inspired screenplay to sparkling life, and Eddie Murphy delivers his best feature performance in decades as Moore.
GRADE: A
Domino
A basic police revenge thriller/drama becomes pretty damn confusing when secret government organizations and fundamentalist terrorists join the party in this film by (to some, at least) the great Brian De Palma. Despite its many rough edges, the film does exhibit a fair amount of the director’s stylistic ingenuity. That’s not saying it’s a particularly good film, however, as it is undeniably one of his weakest and most unrefined efforts.
Domino’s structure is beyond uneven and is, oftentimes, a mess. Supposedly, producers edited nearly an hour of De Palma’s work from the gutted 89-minute version that exists now. The finished film is jumpy, uneven, and contains a number of sloppy editing choices, making it clear that it is merely a shadow of what De Palma originally intended.
GRADE: C-
Dumbo
Tim Burton delivers another adaptation of an already classic film with this live-action production of Dumbo. While the film may not be the visionary director at his best, it is still a moving and heartfelt update of the original Disney film, nonetheless.
Dumbo doesn’t take the risks of Burton’s most noteworthy films, but it does have a sensitivity that hasn’t been so fully present in his work for quite some time. In Burton’s hands, Dumbo is another tale of an outsider told with sincerity and empathy. While it’s a bit too formulaic and safe to be as powerful as, say, Edward Scissorhands, the film still manages to capture the essence of Tim Burton’s whimsical beauty.
GRADE: B+
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
This feature-length Breaking Bad epilogue is enough to satisfy long-term fans but is, disappointingly, not quite great enough to appeal to new ones. Mildly enriching the fate of the beloved Bad character, Jesse Pinkman (an always-great Aaron Paul), the film serves as a modestly tasty dessert to an unforgettable and already-filling meal. Robert Forster steals the show in a supporting role that is, sadly, one of his last.
GRADE: B
The Fanatic
Not as bad as you’ve probably heard, this confused thriller/character drama/dark comedy from writer/director Fred Durst is effective and disturbing–but not without being terribly uneven. John Travolta does a solid and committed job of portraying a pathetic Hollywood stalker (just don’t call him that), and the film is a somewhat intelligent meditation on the complicated and disturbing relationship between celebrities and their fans. It’s just too bad that the film can’t make up its mind on what, exactly, it wants to say about it.
GRADE: C
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
This Fast & Furious spinoff hits all the right beats of the gloriously over-the-top action franchise but still manages to be its own thing. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham make a great pair, and their snappy, bickering onscreen chemistry keeps the pacing light and funny. Director David Leitch delivers some outstanding and (at this point in his career after Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2) predictably jaw-dropping action set pieces.
GRADE: B+
Ford V Ferrari
Its subject matter may be as fascinating as a round of golf and as safe as a cuddle with a teddy bear, but that doesn’t detract from how exceedingly well-made this historical depiction of Ford Motors’ 1966 auto racing rivalry with Ferrari actually is.
Director James Mangold intelligently focuses as much on the human aspects of the story as he does on the cool car stuff, keeping the viewer engaged on multiple levels. Matt Damon and Christian Bale both excel at portraying the underdogs we can’t help but want to succeed. Though the story isn’t exactly brimming with urgency or suspense, it will still entertain and appease just about anyone with its good ol’ fashioned (and overall unobtrusive) sense of Americana.
GRADE: B+
Fractured
The Machinist director Brad Anderson delivers another head-bending psychological drama with his latest feature. Sam Worthington is full-on gut-wrenching as a frantic family man trying to find his missing wife and daughter in a small-town hospital that may or may not have sinister intentions towards its patients. Fractured is an involving, character-driven thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.
GRADE: A-
Gemini Man
The blockbuster pairing of Ang Lee, Will Smith, and Jerry Bruckheimer is a solidly successful and disappointingly underrated one. Feeling like something out of the nineties (in a good way), the film is a thoughtful and artful actioner that reaches some interesting heights. However, it also dumbs itself down just enough to prevent itself from reaching greatness. That being said, the CGI alone, which enables a middle-aged Will Smith to battle a clone of his twenty-year-old self, is impressive enough to make the film worth seeing.
GRADE: B+
Gloria Bell
Julianne Moore gives another great performance in cowriter/director Sebastian Lelio’s English-language remake of his 2013 Chilean dramedy, Gloria. Moore plays a middle-aged, divorced mother of two grown children (Caren Pistorius and Michael Cera) who frequents L.A. dance clubs in search of love. She soon finds it in the form of an interested but distracted recent divorcee (the equally great John Turturro).
Sometimes the pacing drags, but that doesn’t take away from the film’s overall impact. Funny and achingly real, Gloria Bell is a romantic comedy made for adults, one that doesn’t end when the sun sets on the girl getting her guy. It’s a concurrently sad and hopeful tale of a woman slowly and painfully learning that she only has herself to rely on for happiness. Gloria Bell manages to leave its viewers with the enlightened optimism of a fairy tale without succumbing to comforting, crowd-pleasing lies.
GRADE: A-
Grand Isle
Sometimes, you watch a low-budget movie and you have to forgive its limitations. To be fair, there’s a case to be made (and this is only a guess) that Grand Isle might have run out of money before it was finished. It’s the only rational explanation for its near-incoherent and abrupt ending.
Nicolas Cage stars as an ex-marine who hires his strapping young fence repairman (Luke Benward) to murder his deeply unstable wife (KaDee Strickland). Cage gives his all yet again and delivers an unhinged performance that ranks amongst his most bonkers. His presence doesn’t exactly make the film good, but it does, at the very least, make it entertaining.
GRADE: C-
Greta
Chloe Grace Mortez plays a naïve and good-hearted New Yorker who finds a lost bag on the subway, then returns it to its rightful owner (Isabella Huppert). The two quickly develop a deep friendship until Mortez discovers she’s been snared into a trap by a very dangerous and psychotic manipulator.
Greta plays like a throwback to 90s psycho thrillers like Single White Female and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. It is unable to offer anything fresh or new to the genre, however, and is a frustratingly unsatisfying experience. Though the film features some skilled filmmaking from co-writer/director Neil Jordan and wonderful performances from Huppert, Mortez, and Maika Monroe, there’s nothing about its flat storyline that justifies the efforts of the undeniable talent that brought it to life.
GRADE: C
Happy Death Day 2U
This unnecessary sequel to the Groundhog Day-esque 2017 horror/comedy–about a shallow college girl (Jessica Rothe) who has to repeatedly relive the day on which she is murdered– is more enjoyable than it should have been. Happy Death Day 2U takes it on itself to explain the mysterious phenomenon of the first movie and why it starts happening again in the sequel. While this specificity opens the door to the potential of a huge letdown, the sequel is surprisingly clever enough to pull it off without ruining what made the first movie succeed.
The film also manages to have some successful and moving dramatic moments without spoiling the silliness and fun of its primary tone. Rothe is as comically sharp and intensely focused as she was in the first film, but she is also given more of an opportunity to showcase an impressive emotional range in this one.
GRADE: B
Harriet
This well-intentioned and well-made biopic about Harriet Tubman—the heroic woman who escaped slavery and then helped free hundreds of other slaves– is a movie you want to love. It attempts to go places few movies dare and celebrates a historical subject whose story needs to be told.
Star Cynthia Erivo is one of today’s most exciting and talented young actresses, and she provides Tubman with a quiet, grounded grace and integrity. However, this far-too-polite production refuses to get its hands dirty (why does Erivo look like she just emerged from the make-up trailer when someone describes her as “near death?”) and comes off as a very well-produced but dramatically underwhelming special on the History Channel.
GRADE: B
A Hidden Life
Terrence Malick (somewhat) returns to narrative storytelling after releasing his ultra-auteurist trilogy of films (To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, Song to Song) that were so exclusive that you had to be Terrence Malick in order to fully understand them. A Hidden Life is as lyrical and poetic as you’d expect any Malick film to be. His beautifully nature-enveloped, nonlinearly edited style is present throughout the film. His work is also refreshingly more straightforward this time around, however, as it depicts an easily understood story and identifiable characters.
The film centers on a German man (a wonderful August Diehl) who denounces Nazi beliefs during WWII and suffers the consequences. The full emotional impact of the near-three-hour film is slightly muffled by Malick’s tendency to linger and create redundancies with his poetic experiments. In spite of a lack of brevity and discipline that prevents it from being one of his true masterpieces, A Hidden Life still manages to rank high amongst the auteur’s heavenly body of work.
GRADE: B+
High Life
An experiment on criminals in space turns very artistic and atmospheric in Claire Denis’ science fiction drama, High Life. Lead Robert Pattinson continues to prove himself as a dedicated, diverse actor. He provides the film with its only real source of humanity, as the rest of the characters (not to mention the overall story) are somewhat lost in the film’s overwhelming and almost fetishized focus on its own opaque style.
High Life is an interesting effort, but not a particularly engaging or memorable one.
GRADE: C+
The Highwaymen
The Highwaymen is a re-telling of the Bonnie and Clyde story told from the point of view of the law enforcers who stopped them. Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson both deliver performances that rank amongst their best. With a thoughtful script from John Fusco and classically expert direction by John Lee Hancock, the film is the perfect antithesis to the sensationalized and lovable outlaws seen in the classic 1967 Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway-starring interpretation. The Highwaymen intelligently trivializes Bonnie and Clyde’s public idolization by focusing on the pain and destruction that their chaotic rampages caused.
On the flip side, the film doesn’t easily succumb to making simplistic heroes out of Costner or Harrelson, either. They’re both wounded, complicated characters forced to make tough decisions out of duty and obligation—not glory or excitement. The Highwaymen is a mature and astute examination of crime that refuses to celebrate it.
GRADE: A
Honey Boy
Yet another addiction story is given a deeply personal touch in the hands of screenwriter/actor Shia LaBeouf and director Alma Har’el. The film is fractured in its narrative and guided by a style that combines hand-held grittiness, Malick-like ethereal beauty, and Wes Anderson-like quirkiness. Honey Boy’s presentation alone makes it memorable. What makes it truly special, however, is LaBeouf’s naked honesty with both his autobiographical screenplay and his flawlessly empathetic portrayal of his own abusive father.
GRADE: A
Hustlers
This is exactly what we’ve needed for a very long time: a fast, funny, gritty, and honest cinematic portrayal of strippers that was written and directed by a woman. In this case, that woman is the exceptionally talented Lorene Scafaria.
Star Constance Wu carries the weight of the film on her shoulders with dedication and ease, while Jennifer Lopez outright shines with a career-defining performance that manages to showcase her many amazing abilities as an actress.
GRADE: A
In the Shadow of the Moon
Director Jim Mickle continues to prove himself as one of the most capable and unique directors of atmospheric, genre-oriented thrillers. While this film is as entrancing and enthralling as his best efforts (Cold in July, Stakeland) in its first half, it fails to come to a proper intellectual or emotional conclusion in its confusing and unnecessarily convoluted second half. In the Shadow of the Man ultimately doesn’t live up to the expectations created by having such a gifted filmmaker behind it.
GRADE: B-
Isn’t It Romantic
Rebel Wilson proves she can carry a movie with Isn’t It Romantic, a cute film that simultaneously parodies and celebrates romantic comedies. Wilson plays a cynic who, after surviving a blow to the head, wakes up and finds herself living in a romantic comedy.
The film has a great time exploring all the clichés of the genre, but it struggles to reach its feature-length runtime and has far too much padding in the form of extended musical numbers and overplayed bits. A premise that should have been a great sketch or short gets somewhat tired as a feature. However, Wilson’s charisma and presence still manage to make it an overall good time.
GRADE: B-
It: Chapter 2
Though its near-three-hour runtime is somewhat bloated, this second half to 2017’s excellent first-half adaptation of Stephen King’s classic bestseller is equally effective, creepy, and moving. Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, and Jay Ryan all portray grown-up versions of the child characters depicted in the previous film. Every single cast member is pitch-perfect, but it’s easy to jump on the Hader bandwagon because it’s nothing short of a fact to state that he steals the entire show.
GRADE: A-
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Keanu Reeves is back to kick more ass in the most extreme, innovative, and borderline absurd ways imaginable in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Portraying the now-iconic hitman who is still suffering the ramifications of avenging his beloved puppy, Reeves is as brutally smooth and as lovably stoic as he’s ever been.
The third John Wick film is unrelenting, plowing forward with one action set piece after another. This starts to grow tiresome in the last twenty minutes or so, but that’s like complaining about being full after eating a great meal. The film’s violence is crafted by director Chad Stahelski in such an artful and engaging manner that you simply can’t turn away, even when your brain can’t fully process the carnage any longer. Considering the heights with which Stahelski started on the first John Wick, his ability to continuously raise the stakes is proving more impressive with each new entry in the series. John Wick: Chapter 4 can’t come soon enough.
GRADE: A-
Joker
Joaquin Phoenix may or may not have done the unthinkable and topped Heath Ledger’s iconic portrayal of The Joker. At the very least, he matches it in this bleak, socially aware, and exceptionally daring origin story of the classic Batman villain.
Director/co-writer Todd Philips pushes all his ego aside, capturing Phoenix’s insanity, spontaneity, and vulnerability with a maturely detached—though slightly bent—presentation. The film gets under our skin without sensationalizing or glorifying its protagonist’s increasingly psychotic mindset. This is one of the most intelligent, disturbing, and adult-oriented comic book movies ever made.
GRADE: A
Judy
Renee Zellweger is flawless in her portrayal of Judy Garland during the later stages of her life and career. Though it is solidly executed and informative, the film fails to deliver anything special or inspired to make it rise above standard biopic formulas and trappings. For fans of Garland, however, the film should, at the very least, serve as a sweet and moving love letter to her ever-lasting legacy.
GRADE: B
Jojo Rabbit
Writer (based on Christine Leunens’ novel)/director Taika Waititi intelligently defies all tonal standards with this WII comedy/drama about a lonely German boy’s (Ronan Griffin Davis) relationship with his imaginary friend, Hitler (Waititi). With biting satire that is mirrored through the whimsical innocence of a child’s eyes, Watiti is able to depict some rather horrific and disturbing realities while still communicating hope and humanity.
Scarlett Johansson delivers her best onscreen performance to date while Thomasin McKenzie further delivers on the promise she previously displayed in Leave No Trace. Davis and Archie Yates deliver two of the most naturalistically believable child performances ever to take place before a camera.
GRADE: A
Kill Chain
Writer/director Ken Sanzel’s gritty little Nicolas Cage-featuring (not quite starring) thriller is a surprising discovery to come across. Fully shaded characters, compelling plot twists, and intense action scenes will keep you engaged from start to finish. Though it’s sometimes difficult to keep up with the crowded narrative, the film still significantly stands apart from other straight-to-VOD thrillers.
GRADE: B+
The King
From a technical standpoint, The King is just about flawless. It boasts beautiful cinematography, impeccably detailed set and costume designs, intelligent writing, and dedicatedly immersive performances. However, for all the artistry and talent involved, nothing can hide the fact that this retelling of the rise of King Henry V is tired, stale, and relatively flat. Rich production value is wasted with execution that lacks originality or inspiration. There isn’t a shot composed, a theme explored, or a character arc portrayed in this film that hasn’t already been done in countless other films before it.
On the positive side, Timothee Chalamet carries the film with a passionate and committed lead performance, and costar Robert Pattinson gives a deliciously inspired and utterly despicable portrayal of the Dauphin of France.
GRADE: C+
Knives and Skin
Writer/director Jennifer Reeder delivers a moody, emotional, and quirky cinematic poem about a missing high school girl (Raven Whitley) and the effect her disappearance has on her small-town friends and family. Though Lynchian in nature and design with dashes of Refn, Donnie Darko, and Heathers mixed in, the film is, ultimately, a wholly original experience that is intelligently aware of its own strangeness. Reeder delivers one of the most mysterious, nakedly vulnerable, and endearingly earnest cult films of its time.
GRADE: A
Knives Out
This fast, fun, and tongue-in-cheek Agatha Christie-style modern murder mystery showcases how inventive and skilled of a filmmaker writer/director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Last Jedi) is. Knives Out’s flawless ensemble (Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Toni Colette, Lakeith Stanfield) enriches an intelligent and amusingly complex tale of family dysfunction, greed, and, of course, murder. An undercurrent of astute social satire that targets entitled American attitudes pushes this already clever caper towards greatness.
GRADE: A
Late Night
This intelligent, feel-good comedy offers a refreshing and eye-opening look at the gender and racial politics that take place behind the scenes in show business. Stars Mindy Kaling (who also wrote the screenplay) and Emma Thompson light up the screen with their impeccable timing and chemistry. In addition, it’s always good to see Hannibal’s Hugh Dancy have a significant role in just about anything.
GRADE: A-
The Laundromat
Steven Soderbergh channels his inner Adam McKay with this satirical depiction of a true-life insurance fraud scheme. Soderbergh emotionally engages his audience throughout large sections of the film—particularly those featuring Meryl Streep or Nonso Anozi—but he also frustratingly can’t stay out of his own way. Obvious, flashy, and preachy asides only dampen the film’s overall dramatic impact. The Laundromat could have been a great film if it didn’t distract us from its point by constantly patting itself on the back for being so clever.
GRADE: B-
Leaving Neverland
This two-part, four-hour documentary focuses on two grown men who now claim that Michael Jackson sexually abused them as children. Gut-wrenching and soul-crushing, the film is an important examination of child abuse as well as the abuse of power that can result from fame and fortune.
Though Jackson’s accusers have faced a great deal of scrutiny, it’s very difficult not to believe their testimonies. The accounts from each participant are too similar, too emotionally complex, and far too specific to be vindictive defamations of character for personal gain. Those who still worship Jackson are unable to accept the image of him as a highly talented but deeply flawed human being. Leaving Neverland seeks to end the myth that allowed the events described in the film to occur in the first place.
GRADE: A
The Lighthouse
Robert Eggers’ uniquely unsettling character drama/psychological horror/mood piece is an expertly executed and impeccably acted (by stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) cinematic experience.
It is a tale full of sound and fury, for sure, exploring the themes and ramifications of loneliness, isolation, and madness. It’s just not entirely clear why the audience should care about any of it. Seemingly existing to stylishly build to an intentionally cold and ambiguous conclusion, The Lighthouse ultimately falls a bit short of greatness by favoring artistic ambition over human relatability.
GRADE: B+
Light of My Life
Writer/director/star Casey Affleck delivers an intense, moving, and innovative character drama about a father (Affleck) who has to protect his daughter (Anna Pniowsky) while traveling in a future where women are obsolete. Aflleck’s direction is classy, assured, and subdued, his writing is vulnerable and heartfelt, and his performance is as committed and natural as ever. Pniowsky offers fantastic support and delivers one of the strongest child performances of its decade.
GRADE: A
Lucky Day
Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary’s return to the director’s chair after his fifteen-plus-year hiatus is an overall chaotically charming effort. The first half of Lucky Day teeters so far towards obnoxiousness with its overly aware hipness and flashy violence that the satiric intelligence of its second half can’t entirely salvage it–though it does come close. Crispin Glover gives a wonderfully bizarre performance as a clinically insane hitman hell-bent on revenge.
GRADE: B-
Ma
Octavia Spencer breaks new ground for herself as a mentally unstable middle-aged woman who starts supplying alcohol to teenagers for their gratitude and company in Ma. Spencer soon becomes dangerous, however, and the film dives into some rather effective (though familiar) psychological thriller territory. Director Tate Taylor has an intelligently restrained approach to the material, not to mention a fantastic eye for inventive camera angles. His execution gives the film a unique and painfully human flavor, even as it slips further and further into a standard slasher horror formula by the time it reaches its climax.
Spencer helps elevate the film to a higher realm of psychological drama and terror. She is a complex villain, one who preys on our empathy just enough to mess with our minds before she makes us squirm in our seats. Juliette Lewis is equally compelling in a supporting role as one of the teenagers’ increasingly concerned single mother.
GRADE: B
The Man Who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot
The Man Who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot is a surprisingly heartfelt, somber, and character-driven film that is more a meditation on loss and aging than it is the corny, b-level camp fest its title suggests. Sam Elliot plays a celebrated veteran who secretly killed Adolf Hitler during WWII, He is then recruited in the present day to hunt down a disease-spreading Bigfoot.
Though the film is a tad uneven and suffers from a sluggish pace in sections, it still succeeds on multiple levels. Elliot’s quiet integrity and wholehearted commitment to the material keep the film grounded in reality. Writer-director Robert D. Krzykowski avoids the temptation of dwelling too heavily on the story’s more outlandish qualities. He lets all of its elements exist equally (though some are more successful than others), opening the door to a wealth of strong ideas and emotions that sneak up on the viewer in many memorable ways.
GRADE: B+
A Marriage Story
Writer/director Noah Baumbach’s film is an emotionally wrenching experience that presents a simultaneously hopeful and scaldingly painful examination of divorce. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver both excel in lead performances, though the emotional realities of their characters would have been better suited for actors at least a decade older. Laura Dern stands out as a charismatic and ruthlessly, comically vicious divorce attorney.
Grade: A-
Men in Black: International
Another tired and stale franchise nobody seems to care about anymore is given yet another reboot with this underwhelming effort. Despite its noteworthy cast (Liam Neeson, Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Emma Thompson, Kumail Nanjiani), the humor is mostly forced, the story is flat, and not much happens onscreen that justifies the film’s existence.
Men in Black: International is a waste of time, money, and talent. It does manage to pick up steam, however, and be mildly entertaining by the time it reaches its humorous (thanks in large part to Nanjiani’s vocal talents) and inventive climax.
GRADE: C
Midsommar
Ari Aster’s follow-up to Hereditary centers on a young couple’s (Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor) horrific misadventures with a Swedish pagan cult. While the film is an ingenious exercise in mood and atmosphere, it is also a frustrating example of how even the most brilliant and innovative filmmaking techniques can’t cover up a sometimes-lazily written screenplay. As effective and unsettling as it often is, Midsommar is ultimately a brilliant build-up to something that isn’t particularly special or inspired.
GRADE: B
Motherless Brooklyn
Writer (adapted from the novel by Jonathan Lethem)/director/star Edward Norton’s self-proclaimed magnum opus is an ambitious and finely executed effort. The 1950s-set thriller/drama/noir is socially aware, classically paced, and contains excellent performances all-around. Unfortunately, the film also comes off as a self-indulgent passion project that lacks objectivity. It appears as if Norton didn’t want to let go of anything in the editing room, as the film increasingly loses focus in its second half. Norton’s passion and talent are hard to ignore, however, even when they obviously need a little outside perspective to guide them.
GRADE: B
Never Grow Old
This somber Western from writer/director Ivan Kavanagh serves as an intense drama and as a sociological study of what occurs when temptation enters any population. Emile Hirsch stars as a well-intentioned undertaker who profits when brutal bounty hunters (lead by John Cusack) take over his town and re-instate it with gambling, liquor, and prostitution.
A great cast, solid filmmaking, and a thoughtful script make for an emotionally and intellectually stimulating film. Not exactly exciting, the film could have benefited from a tighter pace and a bit more action (most of which is saved for its last act). That doesn’t prevent Never Grow Old from being worthwhile and original, however, as it is not, by any means, a typical Western.
GRADE: B+
Noelle
Bill Hader, Anna Kendrick, and Shirley MacLaine are their usual lovable selves in this made-for-Disney+ feature about Santa’s daughter (Kendrick) taking over the family business. The movie is clever and cute, with a timely and moving message about female empowerment in male-dominated workforces. Though intended for the small screen, Noelle contains a spark of freshness and originality that is largely lacking from some of Disney’s bigger theatrical efforts.
GRADE: B+
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
This is the most thrilling and pure film that Quentin Tarantino has created since the 90s. It’s the first film the pop auteur has delivered since Jackie Brown that feels like it came from his heart rather than a fan-/critic-/studio-/self-imposed obligation to unleash yet another self-aware, monologue-filled, hyper-violent, reference-laden QUENTIN TARANTINO FILM.
Real characters, great performances, and loose, organic writing make for a human and relatable fairy tale that finally showcases the growth (while still celebrating the above-mentioned qualities) of one of the industry’s most talented—yet charmingly stunted—filmmakers of our time.
GRADE: A
Parasite
Bong Joon-ho delivers yet another masterwork with this South Korean social class satire. Parasite is scathingly funny, ruthlessly spot-on, and shockingly violent. Joon-ho’s use of genre techniques snares the audience’s attention with entertainment value, then makes it impossible to look away when his unsettling point is driven home in a beautifully executed and tragically uncompromising climax.
GRADE: A
Peanut Butter Falcon
A young man with Down syndrome (Zach Gottsagen) escapes from his nursing home to pursue his dreams of attending a professional wrestling school. While on the road, he befriends a brash traveler (Shia LaBeouf) who decides to help him reach his destination.
There hasn’t been such an earnestly sweet, sturdily grounded, and artistically executed film since David Lynch’s The Straight Story. Gottsagen, LaBeouf, and Dakota Jonson all deliver effortless, committed, and lifelike performances. A truly endearing surprise, The Peanut Butter Falcon manages to open your eyes without preaching and make you feel good without hating yourself for it.
GRADE: A
The Perfection
A former child prodigy (Allison Williams) returns to her music school and soon begins to form a deep bond with the university’s current girl-in-demand (Logan Browning). From there, things get dark, depraved, and twisted in the most beautiful and shocking of ways.
Williams and Browning deliver star-making performances, both flawless in their painful, emotionally volatile depictions of female rage. Co-writer/director Richard Shepard expertly lets the events of the film unravel in a fresh and unpredictable manner until they all come together, both structurally and thematically, in The Perfection’sgrotesquely gorgeous final frames.
GRADE: A
Pet Semetary
A young family (headed by Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz) moves to Maine and soon discovers their new house is on the border of a bizarre burial ground for pets. When tragedy strikes the family, a well-meaning neighbor (the always great John Lithgow) explains that the pet cemetery might just have otherworldly powers that can help them.
This Stephen King adaptation (and remake) does a great job at making you feel uncomfortable, unsettled, and downright icky. However, it only partially succeeds at presenting an involving story or fully developed characters. While there is a great deal of potential to the premise, the film makes the mistake of settling more on easy shock scares than cerebral horror that truly leaves a mark.
GRADE: C+
Polar
Mads Mikkelsen stars as an assassin nearing retirement. His former employer decides they can save money by killing him rather than paying him off, but their attempt fails and all forms of comic book movie mayhem ensue. Based on the graphic novel by Victor Santos, Polar is a hyper-violent and excessively stylized comic book actioner along the lines of Sin City and Kick-Ass. It works as a bloody and brainless good time, but it falters with an occasional mean-spirited nature that spoils the fun with bouts of thoughtless and cruel sadism.
Mikkelson is great as always. His disciplined and quietly focused presence serves the character and the film well. The highly talented Vanessa Hudgens offers excellent support as a neighbor who gets caught up in the violence of Mikkelson’s life. The film has some intelligent and thoughtful character arcs—primarily revealed at its end—but they are somewhat drowned out by the sometimes obnoxious and unrelentingly aggressive style that dominates its tone. Polar is a colorful and bloody film whose entertainment value is hampered when it dwells on moments of downright ugliness.
GRADE: B-
Primal
It’s Con Air Goes Safari! in this ridiculous, though highly enjoyable, Nicolas Cage-starring actioner. Cage portrays a safari hunter whose game collection is set loose on a transport ship while at sea. He also has to elude the escaped and deranged killer (Kevin Durand) who freed them. The movie writes itself from there. Budget limitations prevent any hope of the audience taking what follows seriously, but they don’t take away from the charm that makes Primal so utterly amusing.
GRADE: B
Queen & Slim
This modernized, racially charged Bonnie and Clyde-like fable is an intense and mesmerizing achievement. Director Malina Matsoukas showcases a wonderful ability to effortlessly balance character, atmosphere, and story. Daniel Kaluuya is predictably brilliant, and Jodie Turner-Smith shines in a breakout performance that is certain to earn her space on movie screens in the years to come.
The film’s only fault is that it slightly over-stays its welcome in its final act, as it seems to be more concerned with creating its own legacy than wrapping itself up in the most efficient manner possible.
GRADE: A-
Rambo: Last Blood
Sylvester Stallone returns as everyone’s favorite, mentally scarred Vietnam War veteran who upholds American values through testosterone-fueled violence. Though the movie is sometimes overwhelmingly dark, it’s still very difficult not to be won over by an aging Rambo as he single-handedly takes on an army of sex traffickers in the bloodiest, most brutal, and most imaginative ways possible. What’s not to like?
GRADE: B
Ready or Not
The always-watchable and endlessly talented Samra Weaving stars as a new bride who is forced to play a deadly game of hide and seek with her rich, devil-worshipping in-laws. Part horror film, part thriller, and part pitch-black comedy, this film is a depraved blast from beginning to end. Ready or Not is a thrilling, unpredictable, and genre-bending film that is destined to find a specific but sizable cult of fans.
GRADE: A
The Report
Adam Driver further proves himself as a leading man in this tense political drama about Daniel J. Jones—a Senate staffer who investigated the CIA’s use of torture during interrogations post 9/11. Though the film isn’t exactly exciting, writer/director Scott Z. Burns impressively keeps the viewer engaged in its political observations without any flash, manipulation, or trickery. He simply relies on the strength of his script and his cast (Driver, Annette Benning, Michael C. Hall, Jon Hamm), and allows the audience to come to their own conclusions.
GRADE: B+
Running With The Devil
This lean, mean, and dirty little thriller manages to suck its viewers in with involving, shocking, and intricately detailed facts about the drug trade. However, it also falls a bit flat with an over-ambitious and hard-to-follow storyline. Though solid, the film doesn’t quite reach the heights it aspires to. Nicolas Cage and Laurence Fishburne breathe life and humanity into this uncompromisingly brutal and overall effective film.
GRADE: B
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
This sixties-set, kid-friendly horror flick is a fun, nostalgic, and icky adaptation of the popular book series by Alvin Schwartz. Suspenseful and creepy, the film makes being afraid fun, not traumatizing. It leaves a playful mark without creating a scar, making us jump in the moment without ruining our sleep for the night.
GRADE: B
A Score to Settle
This surprisingly moving dramatic thriller starring Nicolas Cage is another small-budget win for the risk-seeking actor. Cage plays a recently released prison inmate who suffers from a terminal form of insomnia. His end-of-life plans to exact revenge on his disloyal cohorts are interrupted by a newfound relationship with his estranged and troubled son (Noah Le Gros).
Though, at times, a tad clumsy in its execution, the film is aided by a strong screenplay written by director Shawn Ku and John Stuart Newman and by great performances from Cage and Le Gros. A Score to Settle is a thoughtful film with clearly defined characters that satisfyingly entertains and enlightens in equal measures.
GRADE: B+
Shaft
This reboot/sequel to the classic Blaxploitation movies is overall amusing, but it doesn’t pick up full steam until its last thirty minutes. Portraying three generations of the Shaft family, Jessie T. Usher, Samuel L. Jackson, and Richard Roundtree share a great and lively chemistry that ultimately makes the movie modestly worthwhile. While nothing spectacular, Shaft is entertaining enough to get the job done.
GRADE: B-
Spider-Man: Far From Home
This sturdy and well-made Marvel entry gets the job done, but also fails to deliver anything spectacular or worthy enough of its own feature movie. Tom Holland is as likable as ever, but the story is a bit bland and underwhelming, feeling more like an episode of a somewhat tired television series than it does an epic cinematic experience.
GRADE: B-
Stuber
A down-on-his-luck Uber driver (Kumail Nanjiani) is forced to assist a detective (Dave Bautista) during a non-stop evening of danger, chases, and fights.
This rapidly-paced action-comedy delivers laughs and thrills in all the right places. Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani exhibit a natural and playful chemistry that always manages to keep the audience connected to the movie’s intentionally absurd and gleefully nonsensical events. Stuber is well-executed and highly entertaining popcorn entertainment.
GRADE: B+
Teen Spirit
A formulaic rags-to-riches story is elevated to greater heights in the hands of writer-director Max Minghella. A small-town girl (played by Elle Fanning with sincerity, passion, and determination) rises in the ranks of an American Idol-like singing contest. She is aided by her hard-drinking, surprisingly wise, and self-appointed mentor (Zlatko Buric, whose worn presence is one of the film’s most memorable attributes).
Minghella’s ferocious filmmaking (aided by Matt Waites’ highly innovative sound design) throws you into the tension, thrills, and confusion of Fanning’s roller-coaster journey. While his script lacks originality, he more than makes up for it as a director with artistically risky choices that surprisingly and repeatedly pay off.
GRADE: B+
Terminator: Dark Fate
Come on, guys! You had James Cameron and Linda Hamilton returning to the franchise in some capacity. You were wiping the slate clean for everything that came after T2! This was your chance! Why, WHY did you decide to simply retread ground already well covered and essentially do a “best of” compilation of the three sequels you discarded? Why did you immediately make the same mistake that Alien 3 made almost thirty years prior and proved very well should never be made again?! Why did you waste Mackenzie Davis’, Tim Miller’s, Cameron’s, and Hamilton’s talents? Why didn’t you focus on the best part of the story, the one featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger?! Wasn’t that, at least, obvious?! Why did you make the best aspects of the film afterthoughts and spend screen time on a new protagonist who has no personality or character whatsoever? Guys, I just don’t understand…? WHY?!
GRADE: D+
Toy Story 4
The talking toys return in Pixar’s fourth entry to their beloved franchise. While it is one of the most unnecessary sequels in movie history, Toy Story 4 still manages to be one of the most inventive and endearing. What should have been a soul-less, money-grubbing studio endeavor is saved by the movie’s enlightening and fulfilling theme of letting childhood go and allowing oneself to move on to the next phase of life’s adventures.
GRADE: A
Triple Frontier
Five retired Special Forces operatives (Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, and Pedro Pascal) reunite to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from a drug lord. Since there wouldn’t be a movie in it any other way, things go terribly, terribly wrong and violent mayhem ensues.
It is obvious that co-writer/director J.C. Chandor had grand aspirations with Triple Frontier. The characters are well defined and complex, the ensemble cast is flawless, and there are some truly thrilling set pieces on display throughout. However, the film’s overall impact is dampened because it can’t fully decide if it wants to be taken seriously or if it wants to be an escapist, high-octane, and multi-bromance action/thriller. A solid effort with many positive attributes, Triple Frontier is a thinking man’s action movie, but one that never finds complete harmony with its thought and its action.
GRADE: B
Uncut Gems
This high-energy modern noir/dark comedy from directors Benny and Josh Safdie is a brilliant exercise in tension to the extent that it’s basically anxiety porn. Adam Sandler flies off the screen with the greatest performance of his career as an obnoxious and despicable New York jewel dealer/hustler/gambling addict/compulsive adulterer who gets in over his head and has to suffer the consequences… over and over again.
Uncut Gems unravels with a searing momentum that makes it as wholly entrancing as it is almost unbearably nerve-wracking.
Grade: A
Unicorn Store
Brie Larson’s directorial debut is a whimsical, quirky, and highly entertaining adult fantasy about a grown woman (Larson) who decides to purchase a unicorn from a mysterious vendor (Samuel L. Jackson).
Heartfelt and unique, Unicorn Store feels like a simple (perhaps overly so) 80s comedy with light touches of Burton and Fellini. It is a moving and entertaining fable about staying in touch with your inner child while simultaneously letting her go. Larson shows a great deal of promise behind the camera.
GRADE: B+
Us
Writer/director Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Out centers on a family (Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex) whose vacation in Santa Cruz is interrupted by parallel (and extremely violent) versions of themselves. The ingenuity of the premise is executed with some fantastic suspense and atmosphere, and the strength of the flawless cast propels the film past any horror genre shortcomings.
However, Us falls slightly short in its final act with an in-depth reveal of the story’s details and mystery. This information makes everything far too specific to be terrifying. While the film’s satire and social commentary are clear and appropriately thought-provoking, its story suffers from a serious case of over-explanation. In spite of these flaws, Us still manages to be an effective and original horror movie that is worthy of its cast and Peele’s extreme talents.
GRADE: B+
Velvet Buzzsaw
An art gallery assistant (Zawe Ashton) in Miami Beach discovers some unique and disturbing artwork in her dead neighbor’s apartment. Her boss (a wonderfully callous Rene Russo) and an ambitious critic (a quirky and loose Jake Gyllenhaal) decide this could be their claim to fame and fortune. The only problem is that the artwork seems to be damned and starts causing the deaths of those who come into contact with it.
A fun and satirical horror premise is stretched thin by the talented writer/director Dan Gilroy. The film grows tired and redundant in its second half, and the story never justifies the film’s feature length. Velvet Buzzsaw’s premise would have been better utilized as a half-hour episode of The Twilight Zone or Tales From Crypt, where it could have made its point and exhibited its ingenuity without lingering and overstaying its welcome.
GRADE: C+
Yesterday
A very subdued Danny Boyle delivers a charming and clever comedy where everyone but one struggling musician (Himesh Patel) forgets that The Beatles ever existed. The film has plenty of great character moments and some clever fan references, but the story lacks the proper dramatic weight or conflict to keep the full attention of anyone but the hardest of hardcore Beatles fanatics. Yesterday has an interesting premise that doesn’t fully know how to work as a movie.
GRADE: C+
Zombieland: Double Tap
One of the fastest and funniest horror comedies of its time gets the sequel it deserves with Zombieland: Double Tap. The film is a continuation of the same flamboyant style and comedic wit that made the first Zombieland as beloved as it is.
Returning cast members Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Bretch exhibit a relaxed, playful, and familial chemistry that makes this zombie flick so endearingly human at heart. New cast member Zoey Deutch, however, steals the show with a fantastically committed and comically golden portrayal of a complete airhead.
GRADE: B+
