Film Reviews

Rough Night defies expectations with solid comedy and adds raunchy nuance (didn’t know that was possible) to the predictable drunken, drug-ridden fun of a cinematic bachelorette party.

The third installment of the popular franchise switches gears from the less-than-desirable Cars 2 by delivering a heartwarming story of ambition and maturity that flips the script with subtle subtext of inclusion.

Your typical indie comedy will give you honey-colored hues, beautiful shots of nature, and humorously deadpan conversations over heartfelt tension. Brigsby Bear starring and co-written by Saturday Night Live performer Kyle Mooney will give audiences all that and more with an unexpected twist that drives the emotional current for the full film.

In Miguel Arteta’s Beatriz at Dinner, the social anxiety is cranked up to full blast as very timely issues surface between the soft-spoken, yet strong-minded Beatriz and a self-centered, arrogant businessman to provide rousing dinner conversation and, in turn, one delightfully intense of a film about the division of class and race.

Director-writer Trey Edward Shults shows his savvy and brilliance in framing a quiet thriller, but even with all the scares and mystery, it leaves you unsatisfied and disappointed.

Balancing humor, grace, and the emotional dynamics of relationships with others and with oneself, The Hero is a moving film that serves as an example on how to treat and pay homage to cinematic icons.

The MCU approach to Universal’s Dark Universe of classic monsters hopes to revitalize a legendary time in Hollywood, but after watching Tom Cruise lead the charge in The Mummy, the studio may want reconsider their approach.

Captain Underpants is a much-needed jolt of joy amidst the action-packed drama of the MCU and the DCEU that reminds us that comic books are also fun, silly, and filled with wild child-like imagination.

Director Patty Jenkins sets a new bar for the movies in the DCEU, making Wonder Woman a unconquerable savior in a lineup of punch-happy heroes who like tearing down buildings and metaphorically comparing the sizes of their codpieces.

Despite its occasional melodrama and disposable tertiary characters, the film is an emotional surprise, serving up a brave and touching story about a woman and her dog that doesn’t seem like a made-for-TV sob pic.

The latest installment of the franchise breaks the mediocrity of the last two films as it returns to form with a fresh energy, “yo-ho-ho” humor, and high seas adventure that echoes the brilliance of The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Even with two huge marquee names leading the charge, this adaptation drowns itself in dated raunchy humor, stale dick jokes, gay panic riffs, and clunky writing that not even the Hoff could save.

The director who brought us stylized across-the-pond greatness like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels attempts to inject the same tough-as-nails swagger to Camelot lore but ends up making a tangled Arthurian mess.

The Jonathan Levine-directed comedy written by Kate Dippold and produced by Paul Feig is spirited, surprisingly emotional, and obviously fun, but it lacks an extra layer of zest to make it a hit comedy that the world will be talking about six months from now.

The latest installment of the sci-fi franchise twists the Alien storytelling formula enough so that it keeps the viewer engaged, the characters interesting, and doesn’t regurgitate the same story we have seen in these movies time and time again. It’s also bloody entertaining….literally.

From MPAA ratings to transwashing, the controversies surrounding 3 Generations weighed the film down and made it lose its primary storytelling focus — which didn’t seem well-executed from the start.

The Circle brings some very timely and heady topics to the forefront and even though I haven’t read the book from which it was adapted, I can already tell that this movie doesn’t do justice to its source material.

JD Dillard’s directorial debut, Sleight has been compared to Chronicle, Iron Man, and Dope. It’s more like a mashup of all three — a mashup that tends to have a hard time sustaining its flavor. Luckily, star Jacob Latimore adds enough charisma to the film’s fuel tank to make it entertaining enough to watch.

Vol. 2 may not top its predecessor when it comes to fun, but it still delivers top-notch sci-fi-laden action, emotionally driven family drama, and an adorably irresistible Baby Groot.

In the eighth installment of the multi-billion dollar franchise dramatically titled The Fate of the Furious, the fuel tank only reaches the 3/4 mark and could have used a couple more boosts of NOS to make it reach peak fun-filled ridiculousness.

Percy Fawcett’s story is an amazing tale of courage and wild passion for undiscovered truth. %here are moments when Gray’s adaptation captures those emotions, but the film is one of those movies you’re supposed to like for the sake of liking it. As adventurous as it is, it feels like a film that would have been better if it were released in the late ’90s or early ’00s.

Directed by Marc Webb and penned by up-and-coming screenwriter Tom Flynn, Gifted tells a heartwarming and pretty story about a down-on-his-luck, ruggedly handsome single man and his spunky genius mathematician niece — but it doesn’t add up to much.

In the world created in Charlie McDowell’s The Discovery, many think it’s best to waste no time in getting to the afterlife so they just commit suicide to get there, making this sci-fi drama one of the most gloriously gloomy things you’ll ever watch.

The valiant effort of United Colors of Benetton casting doesn’t make up for the fact that this movie blatantly took an Asian character and gave it to a white actress. Whitewashing controversy aside, this live-action adaptation of the popular magna is boring, robotic, and serves as an excellent sedative.

Dax Shepard and Michael Pena reboot iconic TV characters with new life and swagger, but it’s not enough to make this adaptation spectacular.

The adaptation is entertaining and fun enough to pass muster, but doesn’t break any molds. That being said, fans of the original can rest easy knowing that their childhood won’t be tainted by this diverse, edgy, and millenial-grade redux of Saban’s popular spandex-clad franchise.

The documentary Becoming Bond takes a refreshing approach to the story of one-and-done 007 actor George Lazenby while Bill Nye: Science Guy gives the iconic TV personality the scientific credit he deserves.

Comedy nerds will love how Nobodies puts an absurd slant on a specific part of the comedy community, while the ’90s-set pic Hot Summer Nights fails to pick a lane when it comes to tone.

Whatever you do, don’t call Mr. Roosevelt quirky. Thrift shop dresses are quirky. Ironic coffee shop wall art is quirky. This comedy is not. What could have been an ordinary, boilerplate indie rom-com of the SXSW ilk, is a solid feature debut with lively personality and perspective from Noel Wells.

Aaron Katz’s celeb murder mystery gives eerie vibes throughout, but as the film rolls along, the story loosens its grasp on the audience and makes for an ending that is simply satisfying rather than shocking.