Observer

It's too long, too uneven in some places, too slow in others, and too flawed to be a masterpiece, but even with its drawbacks I could not take my eyes off the screen.

Posted Dec 23, 2021

2/4

The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

Nearly everything in this movie-which fittingly features a black cat named Deja Vu-exudes a sense of been there, done that.

Posted Dec 22, 2021

3.5/4

The Lost Daughter (2021)

Emily Zemler

There is perhaps no relationship more fraught than that between a mother and her daughter, and in The Lost Daughter that tension becomes so brittle it snaps.

Posted Dec 21, 2021

3/4

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

A film destined to be enthusiastically embraced by both old-school web slinger junkies and fans of the multi-film corporate franchise in which he is currently ensnared.

Posted Dec 20, 2021

2.5/4

The King's Man (2021)

As toxically regressive in its politics as it is impeccable in its tailoring,The King's Manis a jaunty, ludicrous romp through an alternative history of pre-World War II Europe.

Posted Dec 20, 2021

2/4

The Tender Bar (2021)

As happens sometimes after spending too many hours drinking too much at your neighborhood local, one is left to wonderwhat was the point of that?

Posted Dec 20, 2021

3/4

F9 (2021)

At its very best, there's something positively life-affirming about F9, the fifth Fast & Furious movie directed by Justin Lin.

Posted Dec 20, 2021

4/4

West Side Story (2021)

Mr. Spielberg did not waste his time-or ours. The new West Side Story is simply fabulous.

Posted Dec 13, 2021

2.5/4

Don't Look Up (2021)

For a film to find glimmers of beauty amidst such bleakness is nothing if not commendable, but Don't Look Up also doesn't achieve this until well into its 145 minute runtime. Ironically, it may be too little, too late.

Posted Dec 10, 2021

A-

A Bug's Life (1998)

Rebecca Long

Critics who write off A Bug's Life focus on the surface-level plot about Flik's individual perseverance ... But under this palatable veneer is a story about workers' rights.

Posted Nov 30, 2021

4/4

The Summit of the Gods (2021)

Christopher L. Inoa

One of the truly great animated films this year...

Posted Nov 24, 2021

3/4

House of Gucci (2021)

Like it or not, see this lavish soap opera and you'll know you've been to the movies.

Posted Nov 24, 2021

3/4

Encanto (2021)

Rafael Motamayor

From its predictably gorgeous yet unimaginative visuals, to its familiar songs and predictable story, the film does feel rather safe despite being superficially groundbreaking for the studio.

Posted Nov 24, 2021

3.5/4

Licorice Pizza (2021)

[Licorice Pizza] is anchored by the aesthetic meld Anderson has perfected in recent years, and by a pair of truly stunning debut performances that bring to life two of the most fully-formed, deeply complicated Hollywood characters in recent memory.

Posted Nov 24, 2021

1/4

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Reitman's film is guided by a barely hidden contempt for the intelligence of the fans it so desperately courts.

Posted Nov 19, 2021

3/4

Mayor Pete (2021)

Considering what we've been through recently, I'd rather fawn over a hero in the making than moan over a rotten past.

Posted Nov 19, 2021

3/4

Belfast (2021)

I must admit I went away grateful for the professionalism involved, and touched by myriad images of my own. A vibrant but vexing experience indeed.

Posted Nov 13, 2021

3/4

Spencer (2021)

It's also a good film-a very good one, in fact-that frequently threatens to be great, but it seldom lives up to the weighty themes promised by its dialogue, and it comes achingly close to scaling the heights Kristen Stewart reaches with her performance.

Posted Nov 4, 2021

3/4

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (2021)

his fascinating but dismally depressing Swedish documentary is well worth seeing, but never fully escapes the feeling that it's all been seen before.

Posted Oct 31, 2021

1/4

Last Night in Soho (2021)

The problem with this movie is the way it continually defies logic to the point of silliness. That's all today's target audience for Edgar Wright movies asks for.

Posted Oct 29, 2021

3/4

13 Minutes (2021)

Written and directed with an overload of talent by Lindsay Gossling, it rarely falters and leaves a viewer grateful for a whirlwind of character-driven suspense and humanity instead of the usual Hollywood cliches.

Posted Oct 26, 2021

3.5/4

Eternals (2021)

This is a film that asks on a grand scale questions we grapple with every day. How do we navigate and understand difference? Why do we value humanity so much when humans often do not seem to value each other?

Posted Oct 24, 2021

0.5/4

Halloween Kills (2021)

A film that so completely sucks the vitality out of John Carpenter's and Debra Hill's original vision that one would be tempted to call it a desecration if that didn't make it sound like more fun than it actually is.

Posted Oct 19, 2021

3/4

The Harder They Fall (2021)

Rafael Motamayor

The entire cast brings their A-game to the film, which helps make The Harder They Fall feel like a major event that the genre has been waiting decades for.

Posted Oct 19, 2021

1/4

No Time To Die (2021)

The film's sole distinction is the fact that it's the James Bond epic that finally manages to make 007 a crashing bore.

Posted Oct 19, 2021

2.5/4

Dune (2021)

The film itself is mostly fine, with breathtaking visuals broken up by a less captivating story that often drags its feet. But its place within Western traditions-both real and imagined-is strange, unsavory, and fascinating.

Posted Oct 8, 2021

3.5/4

Petite Maman (2021)

A poignant and moving coming-of-age story, and an example of the way cinema can make real both memories, without losing their bitter honesty, and dreams, without compromising on their glowing promise.

Posted Oct 7, 2021

3/4

Mass (2021)

A film of rare ideas and smashing performances.

Posted Oct 6, 2021

3.5/4

Mass (2021)

Driven by four challenging, nuanced and completely distinct performances, Mass is an emotional razor-wire.

Posted Oct 6, 2021

3.5/4

The Power of the Dog (2021)

Campion's modern Western presses against a razor-thin membrane between gentleness and cruelty, acting both as a searing exploration and a gorgeous tapestry of the little, secret moments that make up a person

Posted Oct 4, 2021

3/4

Red Rocket (2021)

Bolstered by a hilarious, self-reflexive performance by Simon Rex of Scary Movie fame, who plays a manipulative, washed-up porn star trying to get his life together and failing to get out of his own way.

Posted Oct 1, 2021

1/4

Dear Evan Hansen (2021)

Let's face it, Evan Hansen is actually a hateful, self-serving character who becomes a phony symbol of peace, tolerance and compassion by using others for his own gain.

Posted Sep 28, 2021

4/4

Titane (2021)

Strange, frequently haunting, occasionally hilarious and ultimately masterful, Titane is a journey whose head-spinning complications are a vital part of its emotional impact.

Posted Sep 27, 2021

4/4

Flee (2021)

Documentary realism rarely goes hand-in-hand with animated un-reality, but in Jonas Poher Rasmussen's Flee, those two aesthetic worlds collide and create a feeling of being unmoored.

Posted Sep 22, 2021

3/4

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)

Jessica Chastain delivers an Oscar-worthy performance in the title role, and Andrew Garfield is nothing less than sensational as her soft-spoken, indifferent, and cloyingly ambitious preacher husband Jim.

Posted Sep 18, 2021

4/4

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster (2021)

This movie honors both requirements of any documentary you can call memorable. It educates and entertains at the same time.

Posted Sep 17, 2021

2/4

Best Sellers (2021)

If there's a central message we should take home and think about, it eludes me.

Posted Sep 16, 2021

2/4

Cry Macho (2021)

Brandon Katz

A dramatically turgid and thematically thin rumination on [Eastwood's] own iconography in its twilight.

Posted Sep 15, 2021

3/4

The Desperate Hour (Lakewood) (2021)

The filmmaking works in and of itself, but that Lakewood feels so emotionally in tune with its lead actress is a feat all on its own.

Posted Sep 13, 2021

3.5/4

The Card Counter (2021)

It's not for everybody, and it's far from perfect, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a more thrillingly necessary use of the filmmaking form this year.

Posted Sep 10, 2021

3/4

Violet (2021)

[Olivia] Munn's performance, and the film's eventual narrative trajectory, are incisive enough to get around its visual shortcomings.

Posted Sep 9, 2021

3.5/4

Mogul Mowgli (2021)

Emily Zemler

This is an intimate story, sometimes uncomfortably so, but it's also an expansive one, about whether our societies allow people to live outside prescribed boxes and whether it accepts them when they do.

Posted Sep 4, 2021

2.5/4

Vacation Friends (2021)

Brandon Katz

Sure, it's a silly R-rated raunchy comedy in which we get both testicle and poop jokes (classic). But it's proudly open hearted and a funny, if absurd, champion of friendship. I can't wait to take my next vacation.

Posted Sep 4, 2021

3.5/4

Together (2021)

The writing is strong and the two actors have a surfeit of both chemistry and charisma.

Posted Sep 4, 2021

1/4

Reminiscence (2021)

The corny script and the static direction are both by Lisa Joy from the TV show Westworld. This is her first feature film. It probably won't be her last, but hope springs eternal.

Posted Aug 25, 2021

2/4

The Night House (2021)

Rarely have I seen a movie in which simply everything demands clarification.

Posted Aug 25, 2021

3.5/4

Candyman (2021)

Brandon Katz

Candyman feels like a reclamation project of sorts. One that will scare the pants off of you, yes, but also one that adds depth and resonance to the once-static slasher format.

Posted Aug 25, 2021

2.5/4

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)