Now In Theaters
Isn't It Romantic
Make fun of rom-coms all you want, but your film is as standard as they come; specifically, you’re a Metaphysically Impossible premise with two extra ingredients, a love triangle and a wedding. In other words, Isn’t It Romantic is 13 Going on 30 with a dash of My Best Friend’s Wedding and Bridget Jones’s Diary. Rather than separating itself from its Pretty Woman forefathers, Isn’t It Romantic is as basic a Mamma Mia as they come.
Comedy/Fantasy/Romance - 88 Minutes
Make fun of rom-coms all you want, but your film is as standard as they come; specifically, you’re a Metaphysically Impossible premise with two extra ingredients, a love triangle and a wedding. In other words, Isn’t It Romantic is 13 Going on 30 with a dash of My Best Friend’s Wedding and Bridget Jones’s Diary. Rather than separating itself from its Pretty Woman forefathers, Isn’t It Romantic is as basic a Mamma Mia as they come.
Comedy/Fantasy/Romance - 88 Minutes
Happy Death Day 2U
A gelatinous mess – the cinematic equivalent of if a bag of those “Be Mine” candy hearts melted in the heat and formed a clumpy blob of goo.
Horror/Mystery/Thriller - 100 Minutes
A gelatinous mess – the cinematic equivalent of if a bag of those “Be Mine” candy hearts melted in the heat and formed a clumpy blob of goo.
Horror/Mystery/Thriller - 100 Minutes
Alita: Battle Angel
From the combined creative energies of two master world-builders, Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron, Alita: Battle Angel is that rare sci-fi story whose inhabited world feels believable, original, and one you want to dive into and are sad to leave behind. Cutting edge visual effects and performance-capture laced with empathetic human performances create an absorbing, enigmatic, and exciting world both action thriller-seekers and sci-fi aficionados will devour with relish.
Action/Romance/Sci-Fi - 122 Minutes
From the combined creative energies of two master world-builders, Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron, Alita: Battle Angel is that rare sci-fi story whose inhabited world feels believable, original, and one you want to dive into and are sad to leave behind. Cutting edge visual effects and performance-capture laced with empathetic human performances create an absorbing, enigmatic, and exciting world both action thriller-seekers and sci-fi aficionados will devour with relish.
Action/Romance/Sci-Fi - 122 Minutes
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
Where The LEGO Movie presented a true adventure tale with more than a spice of existentialism, the sequel trades it in for kitsch and a lower common denominator. *Checks director's resume - Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and Shrek Forever After. Oh, I see.
Animation/Action/Adventure - 106 Minutes
Where The LEGO Movie presented a true adventure tale with more than a spice of existentialism, the sequel trades it in for kitsch and a lower common denominator. *Checks director's resume - Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and Shrek Forever After. Oh, I see.
Animation/Action/Adventure - 106 Minutes
What Men Want
It seems all the writers’ ideas got through when a no-nonsense editor should have been ready with the delete button. Nobody, not the writers nor the director, considered the film would punch harder with a more composed, thoughtful humor instead of its whoopee cushion equivalent.
Comedy/Fantasy/Romance - 117 Minutes
It seems all the writers’ ideas got through when a no-nonsense editor should have been ready with the delete button. Nobody, not the writers nor the director, considered the film would punch harder with a more composed, thoughtful humor instead of its whoopee cushion equivalent.
Comedy/Fantasy/Romance - 117 Minutes
Miss Bala
Director Catherine Hardwicke discards the empowerment and self-discovery themes in favor of firearm poses. Advertising Miss Bala as barrier-breaking and offering audiences a character they can identify with comes off as lip service considering how the filmmakers end up employing her. What better way to unleash the inner action hero than to stuff her into a series of evening gowns to win the beauty pageant?
Action/Drama/Thriller - 104 Minutes
Director Catherine Hardwicke discards the empowerment and self-discovery themes in favor of firearm poses. Advertising Miss Bala as barrier-breaking and offering audiences a character they can identify with comes off as lip service considering how the filmmakers end up employing her. What better way to unleash the inner action hero than to stuff her into a series of evening gowns to win the beauty pageant?
Action/Drama/Thriller - 104 Minutes
Velvet Buzzsaw
Any creative medium which takes itself too seriously is ripe for satire, but considering the money involved, the contemporary art world is riper than most. It’s about time the artwork gets a say in the matter - and it is not happy.
Horror/Thriller - 112 Minutes
Any creative medium which takes itself too seriously is ripe for satire, but considering the money involved, the contemporary art world is riper than most. It’s about time the artwork gets a say in the matter - and it is not happy.
Horror/Thriller - 112 Minutes
Serenity
Give writer/director Steven Knight an award for trying something different, but the sheer chutzpah of what he attempts to achieve with an A-list cast and an A-potential idea, is all washed away as Knight overplays his hand and earns the “you’ll never see this coming” ending the hard way.
Drama/Thriller - 106 Minutes
Give writer/director Steven Knight an award for trying something different, but the sheer chutzpah of what he attempts to achieve with an A-list cast and an A-potential idea, is all washed away as Knight overplays his hand and earns the “you’ll never see this coming” ending the hard way.
Drama/Thriller - 106 Minutes
The Kid Who Would Be King
The Kid Who Would Be King does not pander to youngsters, does not try and sell them toys, nor does it operate over their heads. Its messages of chivalry, standing up for what’s right in the face of evil, and implying these simple actions may help pull the world out of its funk are properly crafted and seen through to the end.
Adventure/Family/Fantasy - 120 Minutes
The Kid Who Would Be King does not pander to youngsters, does not try and sell them toys, nor does it operate over their heads. Its messages of chivalry, standing up for what’s right in the face of evil, and implying these simple actions may help pull the world out of its funk are properly crafted and seen through to the end.
Adventure/Family/Fantasy - 120 Minutes
Glass
Exploring the gray area between heroes and villains is a worthy pursuit, nobody is all altruistic or all evil all the time - yet this theme feels unfinished. So does the characters’ search for their place. Mr. Glass, specifically, seeks revenge upon the world which has told him time and again has no use for him. It’s a shame even a film with his name as the title couldn’t find room for him either.
Drama/Mystery/Sci-Fi - 129 Minutes
Exploring the gray area between heroes and villains is a worthy pursuit, nobody is all altruistic or all evil all the time - yet this theme feels unfinished. So does the characters’ search for their place. Mr. Glass, specifically, seeks revenge upon the world which has told him time and again has no use for him. It’s a shame even a film with his name as the title couldn’t find room for him either.
Drama/Mystery/Sci-Fi - 129 Minutes
Stan & Ollie
It’s bold to create a biopic not about the famous person’s rise, their peak, or even their comedy in this case. Stan & Ollie follows their gradual descent, more gravitational than graceful. A career’s worth of baggage provides enough material to chew on, but this is more nostalgic remembrance about another time rather than a celebration.
Biography/Comedy/Drama - 97 Minutes
It’s bold to create a biopic not about the famous person’s rise, their peak, or even their comedy in this case. Stan & Ollie follows their gradual descent, more gravitational than graceful. A career’s worth of baggage provides enough material to chew on, but this is more nostalgic remembrance about another time rather than a celebration.
Biography/Comedy/Drama - 97 Minutes
The Upside
Offers nothing unique to audiences looking to laugh or enjoy the hijinks between polar opposites, but there is just enough chemistry between Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart to keep the film from drowning. While this remake will soon fade into obscurity, it will be remembered for wasting Nicole Kidman's time and effort.
Comedy/Drama - 125 Minutes
Offers nothing unique to audiences looking to laugh or enjoy the hijinks between polar opposites, but there is just enough chemistry between Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart to keep the film from drowning. While this remake will soon fade into obscurity, it will be remembered for wasting Nicole Kidman's time and effort.
Comedy/Drama - 125 Minutes
Aquaman
James Wan acknowledges Aquaman is unlike his superhero peers, but he is in on the joke, and that gives him license to experiment and run wild with madcap ideas. Feel free to laugh at Aquaman; yell at the screen and treat it like the Rocky Aquatic Picture Show. - the director wants you to.
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 143 Minutes
James Wan acknowledges Aquaman is unlike his superhero peers, but he is in on the joke, and that gives him license to experiment and run wild with madcap ideas. Feel free to laugh at Aquaman; yell at the screen and treat it like the Rocky Aquatic Picture Show. - the director wants you to.
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 143 Minutes
Bumblebee
Travis Knight takes the story back to the '80s, an era when the Transformers fan base first fell in love with the Autobots, and fashions a Spielberg-type coming-of-age tale about a girl and her car. The audience, who believes they know better after five sensory-numbing spectacles, inch cautiously toward a Transformers franchise which has jilted them before, but earns back some respect.
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 113 Minutes
Travis Knight takes the story back to the '80s, an era when the Transformers fan base first fell in love with the Autobots, and fashions a Spielberg-type coming-of-age tale about a girl and her car. The audience, who believes they know better after five sensory-numbing spectacles, inch cautiously toward a Transformers franchise which has jilted them before, but earns back some respect.
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 113 Minutes
Mary Poppins Returns
More remake than sequel, Mary Poppins Returns does not usurp the original, but the check-in on Cherry Tree Lane feels a full order of magnitude lesser in majesty and material. Most audiences will appreciate a return to the world of nanny magic, but that feeling of less is actually less hovers nearby. However, there is something about that nanny…
Comedy/Family/Fantasy - 130 min
More remake than sequel, Mary Poppins Returns does not usurp the original, but the check-in on Cherry Tree Lane feels a full order of magnitude lesser in majesty and material. Most audiences will appreciate a return to the world of nanny magic, but that feeling of less is actually less hovers nearby. However, there is something about that nanny…
Comedy/Family/Fantasy - 130 min
Vox Lux
I understand some will walk out feeling Vox Lux is a mess of conflicting ideas and moods, but Brady Corbet offers an exciting metamorphosis from low to high; a boundary-pushing shift in time and character directors rarely attempt.
Drama/Music - 110 min
I understand some will walk out feeling Vox Lux is a mess of conflicting ideas and moods, but Brady Corbet offers an exciting metamorphosis from low to high; a boundary-pushing shift in time and character directors rarely attempt.
Drama/Music - 110 min
Ben Is Back
Peter Hedges found a creative way to explore how the opioid crisis destroys families every single day and for the first half of his film, he almost achieves it. Unfortunately, the second half transformation into a mystery thriller obscures the family drama momentum ensuring the film's impact misses the mark.
Drama - 103 Minutes
Peter Hedges found a creative way to explore how the opioid crisis destroys families every single day and for the first half of his film, he almost achieves it. Unfortunately, the second half transformation into a mystery thriller obscures the family drama momentum ensuring the film's impact misses the mark.
Drama - 103 Minutes
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