Prisoners: Brute Farce
Prisoners uses competent visuals and juggernaut acting to hide behind an impression of mysteriousness that its screenplay never fully justifies.
M.C. Myers
The Mandalorian Season 3: Episodes 2-3 Review
Season 3 of The Mandalorian continues with high-concept stories stalled by low-effort screenplays.
The Unearned Absurdity of James Wan’s Malignant
Malignant suffers through genre tropes to get to its meaty creativity. The question isn’t whether it has any but whether it’s worth the wait.
Why Speed Racer May Be the Greatest Comic Book Movie
Speed Racer unconventionally adapted the comic book formula to a unique emotional high that now stands out in a crowded genre.
The Mandalorian Season 3: Episode 1 Review
The Mandalorian slides into its third premiere without a strong suggestion that this will be more than a content extension for a profitable series.
Visions of a Vision in Knock at the Cabin
M. Night Shyamalan continues his winning streak with a well-acted high-concept thriller about the end-times. It’s more smoke than fire though.
Illusions of Relevance in The Invisible Man (2020)
Whannell drenches the action of his remake in expository relevance to cover for a lack of basic thriller rationale in the screenplay.
The Tree of Life is Malick’s Memory Epic
The Tree of Life is an all-encompassing memory of a tiny life. It can’t help but stand in for all of us.
Wearily Wading Through Avatar: The Way of Water
Avatar: The Way of Water is a monument to James Cameron’s business model but stutters on every other artistic or dramatic criterion imaginable.
Missing Morals in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio shimmers with excited physical energy but never coordinates its new story ideas with its old moral responsibilities.
Misadapting Terror in The Pale Blue Eye
The Pale Blue Eye has the cast of a masterpiece and the script of a write-off. It’s inoffensive afternoon viewing, but Poe would have his name removed from it.
Why Scrooge (1951) is the Best Version of A Christmas Carol
The 1951 version of Scrooge effortlessly recreates its candleglow world. This classic story has never been better.
Dramatic Gaps and Tech Obsessions in The Shining
The unassailable influence of Stanley Kubrick’s horror staple hides its dramatic shortcomings behind an illusion of prestige.
What is Everyone’s Problem With Star Wars: The Last Jedi?
Star Wars: The Last Jedi continues to be debated out of passionate frustration. This is an exploration of what’s right and wrong with this bizarre movie.
The Pressure of Being Legendary in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis
Luhrmann’s obsession with the image of Elvis creates an issue of authenticity. He makes people love the icon without believing in the man.
The Crisis of Believability in A Quiet Place Part II
A Quiet Place Part II tries to squeeze more sequence out of a great concept. It succeeds despite straining for believability amid conflicting rules.
The Munsters is a Candy Corn Car Crash
Rob Zombie makes a twisted costume contest nightmare out of an idea of The Munsters that never overcomes its lack of inspiration or its cast’s shortcomings.
The Horror Dysfunction of Halloween III: Season of the Witch
The infamously misunderstood Halloween III is still little more than an unrefined pseudo-thriller on its own merits, unworthy of seasonal contention.
Why Halloween Ends is Exactly What the Series Needed
Halloween Ends has the power to finish its cluttered horror series meaningfully, even if this isn’t what some of the series’ fans were hoping for.
Werewolf by Night – The Middling Macabre
Werewolf by Night struggles for clarity within the constraints of an homage, sequel, origin story, and TV special in one. But it’s fun to watch it try.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – Imposter Horror
Invasion of the Body Snatchers remakes a great B-movie with intellectual terror. It knows that irony makes it even scarier. This is pure horror joy.
Cyrano (2021) – Glossing Over a Classic
Peter Dinklage is a powerful force for good in an otherwise listless adaptation that misinterprets whatever it doesn’t omit entirely.
Samaritan – Bum Rap
Samaritan accepts on faith that the audience thinks Stallone is a superhero. His charm, and almost nothing else, makes it sporadically watchable.
Sin (Il Peccato) – Holy Unhappiness
Sin is a portrait of an artist in pain, with god-defying amounts of melancholy. Lovers of classic art cinema will enjoy this more than he enjoyed himself.
Lightyear – Origin Sin
Lightyear was so tangled in its struggle for effective marketing that every aspect of its filmmaking became a lower, or nonexistent, concern.
Prey: Consent to Kill
Prey expresses a strong period aesthetic powered by fresh performances but relies on a screenplay that misplaces its series’ core values.
The Tragedy of Macbeth: Saggy Soliloquy
This well-endowed Macbeth strives for greatness without the stomach for it. Stylized visuals can’t cover for all the meaning it misses.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Prophet or False God?
Zack Snyder’s Justice League delivers on the promise to release every second of footage shot for its original cut, for better and not much better.
The House: Nightmare Meditation
The House shimmers with collective angst, a nightmare only stop-motion could make. So why does it make me feel so happy?
Black Widow: Explosive Tedium
Black Widow approaches genuine dramatic insight in parts but fails to make its title character more interesting than the performance is by default.