Reviews

Turns on tragedy and never recovers, forgoing all its good instincts and boxing itself into a story that ultimately seems more interested in creating devastating moments than investigating subtle, difficult feelings.

Contains many important points about the world onscreen and off, leaving viewers with plenty to discuss once they stop laughing.

The rare teen comedy that argues for being yourself and actually wins its case.

Either the ultimate argument for being present or the most monotonous example of stakes-free randomness. I say the latter.

Doesn’t adapt horror conventions for April 2020 so much as deliver a “Scream” knockoff where the knife still vastly takes precedence over droplets.

A crackling intellectual thriller that really understands the essential, difficult work of journalists, and the courage it takes from all sides to bring truth to power.

“Ratatouille” meets “Saw” is really not a great pitch.

The rare three-hour movie you could watch twice in a row.

A plot that spins instead of spreads? Talented actors given one thing to do? Feeble knocks on Jared Leto and Jeremy Renner? Fork this.

It actually turned out to be a pretty good year!

The performances are so good and the scenery is so lovely that it’s hard not to wish, and even try to convince yourself, that “The Banshees of Inisherin” is a grand reflection on friendship and the priorities that can turn connection into distance.

Focusing on the aesthetics of something that’s cool to look at and miserable to watch is like raving about the singing on Adele’s (hypothetical, for now) album of Smash Mouth covers.

Distills being a parent and being a kid and just being a person into a fluid, experiential mix of confidence and uncertainty and slowness and blur that will very likely overwhelm you. It overwhelmed me.

Seeks only to complain about hypotheticals and worst-case-scenarios for the powerful—while ignoring the guilty and, you know, the victims.

A repetitive mess that never expands past its first idea.

The type of whodunit that used to be described as a good yarn, back when you could say “simply a good time at the movies” and it wouldn’t sound cheap or unconvincing.

A pretty funny movie that completely undermines its reason for existing.

A far-fetched, poorly conceived idea directed incredibly well.

Nobody wants to be the, “Your half-lamb/half-human story doesn’t feel real” guy, but I’m going to be.

The escalation of terror is genuinely exciting until the movie bogs down in CGI absurdity instead of reasonably credible survival.