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3/4
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The Surfer
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
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Cage gives another memorably unhinged performance in this surreal tale about a crisis of masculinity.
Posted Apr 28, 2025
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1.5/4
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Until Dawn
(2025)
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Brian Eggert
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An unsatisfying horror smorgasbord.
Posted Apr 25, 2025
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2.5/4
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The Legend of Ochi
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
If The Legend of Ochi seems somewhat familiar to those who grew up with its antecedents, it will doubtlessly become a childhood favorite for a new generation of young moviegoers.
Posted Apr 24, 2025
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3/4
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The Accountant 2
(2025)
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Brian Eggert
|
The sequel takes more risks than the sometimes bland original, and in that, it accomplishes more.
Posted Apr 21, 2025
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3/4
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On Swift Horses
(2024)
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Brian Eggert
|
If the film doesn’t belong in the pantheon of all-time great romances, it’s at least full of compelling stars, deeply felt emotions, and heartbreaking turns.
Posted Apr 20, 2025
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4/4
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Sinners
(2025)
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Brian Eggert
|
Even while delivering the requisite thrills and chills of a vampire yarn, Coogler’s passion, energy, and politics pulse through every frame of Sinners, one of 2025’s most entertaining and intelligent films.
Posted Apr 16, 2025
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2.5/4
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The Wedding Banquet
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
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While the 1993 version was already a series of zany rom-com circumstances, this one overemphasizes the conflict with one too many swaps, coincidences, and misunderstandings to register as genuinely affecting.
Posted Apr 16, 2025
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3.5/4
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Caught by the Tides
(2024)
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Brian Eggert
|
Caught by the Tides is among Jia’s most experimental and unconventional films. In terms of structure, the film transcends the standards established during the last three decades of Jia’s output, even while ruminating on the same basic themes.
Posted Apr 15, 2025
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4/4
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The Shrouds
(2024)
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Brian Eggert
|
There’s no mistaking the deep hurt from which The Shrouds emerged. In that sense, it stands as one of the director’s most affecting works to date.
Posted Apr 14, 2025
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2.5/4
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Warfare
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
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Mendoza and Garland accomplish a film that is impossible to deny in its visceral execution, even if its perspective remains narrow.
Posted Apr 11, 2025
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2.5/4
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Drop
(2025)
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Brian Eggert
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It almost doesn’t matter that the resolution is underwhelming. When it’s all over, Landon has taken the viewers for a ride, and even if every twist and turn isn’t satisfying, it was fun while it lasted.
Posted Apr 10, 2025
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4/4
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Friendship
(2024)
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Brian Eggert
|
Friendship is the funniest movie I’ve seen in some time [...] DeYoung taps into the corrosive alienation of men who cannot communicate honestly, share intimacies, or have open discussions about their feelings
Posted Apr 09, 2025
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3/4
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The Amateur
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
The result is skillfully made and written, and its plot holes and more nonsensical aspects don’t nag at you until afterward. Even then, they’re not so bothersome.
Posted Apr 09, 2025
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3/4
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LUZ
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
If Lau’s film naively ignores the downfalls of losing oneself in virtual worlds, it shows that, in some cases, such devices may work as intended.
Posted Apr 07, 2025
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3.5/4
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Quisling: The Final Days
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
A timely historical drama that examines the complex, demented psychology of authoritarians
Posted Apr 07, 2025
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2.5/4
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Free Leonard Peltier
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
The doc tells a stirring and timely real-life story about the need to stand up to injustice. However, its sometimes unconvincing execution distracts from the message, leaving one thoroughly disappointed in the film and filmmaking.
Posted Apr 06, 2025
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2/4
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The Trouble with Jessica
(2023)
|
Brian Eggert
|
It might be more entertaining if mounted as a stage play and directed more for laughs; in movie form, it falls flat.
Posted Apr 06, 2025
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3.5/4
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Misericordia
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
It’s impossible to know everyone’s motivations, which makes the material so engrossing, as though Guiraudie invites us to understand despite admitting that most people’s desires are wholly irrational if undeniable.
Posted Apr 06, 2025
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2/4
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Hell of a Summer
(2023)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Hell of a Summer isn’t an incompetent production; it just doesn’t have that extra something that makes it memorable.
Posted Apr 06, 2025
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4/4
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Ash Is Purest White
(2018)
|
Brian Eggert
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Ash Is Purest White remains one of Jia’s most accessible and discerning films.
Posted Apr 02, 2025
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3.5/4
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Mountains May Depart
(2015)
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Brian Eggert
|
Mountains May Depart tells a sweeping story of history and change, with pronounced feelings and big emotional scenes. And while its dramatics present an unexpected deviation in Jia’s filmography, they're also part of a mounting evolution.
Posted Apr 02, 2025
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2.5/4
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Wake Up
(2023)
|
Brian Eggert
|
It’s worth a late-night viewing but isn’t a rewatchable genre classic.
Posted Apr 02, 2025
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2.5/4
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The Friend
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Siegel and McGehee direct an achingly considered look at the people left in the wake of suicide, furry or otherwise.
Posted Mar 31, 2025
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2.5/4
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Freaky Tales
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
[It] offers plenty of throwback fun, whether exploring music battles or the cinematic joy of seeing neo-Nazis receive their comeuppance, even if the filmmakers’ influences prove too obvious to feel original, inspired, or even particularly innovative.
Posted Mar 31, 2025
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1.5/4
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Death of a Unicorn
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
The movie tries to include too many genres—comedy, horror, action, satire, family drama—and does none of them well.
Posted Mar 25, 2025
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3/4
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Opus
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Opus is a little uneven but well worth the trip.
Posted Mar 25, 2025
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3/4
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The Penguin Lessons
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Movies like this one often feature solid performances from an excellent cast, some effectively manipulated emotions, and irresistibly sentimental stories based on real life. The Penguin Lessons checks all of those boxes.
Posted Mar 24, 2025
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2/4
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Locked
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
The experience runs out of steam after about an hour.
Posted Mar 19, 2025
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4/4
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A Touch of Sin
(2013)
|
Brian Eggert
|
A Touch of Sin addresses many of the themes and visual motifs Jia uses in his earlier work, except he exploits the moviegoer’s taste for genre violence, creating a cinematic spoonful of sugar to help his social critique go down.
Posted Mar 19, 2025
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4/4
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M
(1931)
|
Brian Eggert
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Lang’s film remains an urgent and engaging experience that still feels vibrantly made and acted—the product of a specific place and time in history, of course, but also vital, exciting, and timeless.
Posted Mar 13, 2025
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4/4
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Black Bag
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
A spy yarn executed to perfection, with a twisting plot, endearing and complex characters played by a talented cast, and sharp filmmaking—all remarkably satisfying for the skill and intelligence of its construction.
Posted Mar 13, 2025
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0.5/4
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In the Lost Lands
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
It plays like a bad imitation of better post-apocalyptic movies and video games.
Posted Mar 09, 2025
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4/4
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Mickey 17
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
A visionary achievement. Here’s a film so inspired, darkly funny, harrowing, energetic, and overflowing with story and themes that it’s bound to be polarizing—alternately deemed messy and unfocused or inventive and original.
Posted Mar 08, 2025
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3/4
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Seven Veils
(2023)
|
Brian Eggert
|
While Egoyan’s intricate and thorny film proves dizzyingly metatextual, it’s also so thoughtfully constructed and acted that it’s impossible not to feel intrigued by its layers.
Posted Mar 05, 2025
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3/4
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The Rule of Jenny Pen
(2024)
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Brian Eggert
|
While The Rule of Jenny Pen grapples with the grim aspects of elderly abuse, mental decline, and the depressing reality of senior living facilities, it’s also a stirring yarn about standing up to bullies.
Posted Mar 03, 2025
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1.5/4
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The Fetus
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Though it has the potential to be a fun late-night watch, The Fetus feels inauthentic and unfocused—its strives for controversy and relevance but without a clear point of view.
Posted Mar 03, 2025
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3.5/4
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The World
(2004)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Jia’s lively metaphor turns the World Park into a hollow place where workers remain exploited and confined, leaving them with almost no identity outside their constraints.
Posted Feb 25, 2025
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3.5/4
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Vermiglio
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Despite its nostalgia, serene visuals, and recollected details, it’s a quietly devastating experience.
Posted Feb 20, 2025
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2/4
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Cleaner
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
[Ridley] gives her performance everything she has and is entirely kinetic and convincing in action scenes. But it’s not enough to overcome the material’s formulaic situations.
Posted Feb 18, 2025
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2/4
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The Monkey
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
After it’s over, the movie reserves almost no space in the mind, leaving the audience neither happily diverted nor pondering the messed-up nature of mortality.
Posted Feb 16, 2025
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4/4
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Aniara
(2018)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Kågerman and Lilja craft a visionary film—one that is profoundly despairing yet also worthy of comparison to the great existential space epics
Posted Feb 15, 2025
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2/4
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The Gorge
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
However promising its setup, The Gorge is better in concept than execution.
Posted Feb 13, 2025
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3.5/4
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The Incredible Hulk
(2008)
|
Brian Eggert
|
The film takes the necessary steps to balance action and drama, making each of Hulk’s battles significant for Banner and his continuing growth.
Posted Feb 13, 2025
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3/4
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Captain America: Brave New World
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
While Captain America: Brave New World is only political in MCU terms, which is mild at best, the blockbuster lends some relevance to this goes-down-smooth scenario, instilling hope for the MCU’s future with an entertaining installment.
Posted Feb 13, 2025
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2.5/4
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Parthenope
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Sorrentino’s affinity for surfaces means he sabotages his film’s ideas by inadequately conveying Parthenope’s inner life.
Posted Feb 06, 2025
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3/4
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I'm Still Here
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
Such a middlebrow approach offsets the material’s full cinematic potential, which might have confronted the viewer more and rendered I’m Still Here unforgettable. Instead, this is solid if unexceptional filmmaking, anchored by a strong central performance
Posted Feb 06, 2025
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2.5/4
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Armand
(2024)
|
Brian Eggert
|
What begins as a straightforward, claustrophobic drama unravels into a borderline avant-garde piece. While fascinating and filled with superb performances and confident filmmaking, Armand doesn’t always add up to a clear artistic outcome.
Posted Feb 05, 2025
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3/4
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Heart Eyes
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
While there have been body count movies about masked killers who spoil the romantic mood of this Hallmark holiday before, none have also been a worthwhile rom-com at the same time. Heart Eyes is a rare exception.
Posted Feb 02, 2025
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3.5/4
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Companion
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
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Companion entertainingly wraps its shrewd critique in a tense sci-fi suspenser with dark humor and lively performances.
Posted Jan 30, 2025
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2/4
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You're Cordially Invited
(2025)
|
Brian Eggert
|
It’s too silly for its themes about healthy boundaries, honest communication, and the importance of family time to land with much impact. And it so often attempts to create genuine feeling that the silliness of its humor can feel incongruous.
Posted Jan 29, 2025
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