Into the Wild; A little too in love with itself, but a beautiful film regardless. Excellent cast explores living off the grid with romanticized results. Relationships shine along with the scenery and soothing soundtrack. Intriguing but answers less questions than it brings up; B+
Blood Quantum; Will satisfy horror fans with its Walking Dead worthy makeup effects, blood splatter and kill shots. Deeper societal meanings are present too but not fully explored or realized. Well done genre film that happens to break new ground for Indigenous arts; B
Blinded by the Light; There’s a gritty, gripping story here with as much lyricism as a Springsteen song but it never fully materializes due to shoddy execution and subpar performances. Subject matter and story idea would work in more gifted hands. Disappointing yet serviceable; C
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales; Actors, orchestral score & visual effects work overtime to try and redeem story beats that aren’t up to par. The fun is there but far from former heights of the franchise. New actors fail to entertain as well as old returnees; C+
Good Boys; Definitely exhibits the merits for a filthy tween age Superbad style film. Trio of young actors sell it well and earn every laugh while convincingly conveying the dramatic aspects underlying the insanity. Gags work more often than not. Sweet, not so innocent fun; B+
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!; Argument for veganism continues w/entertaining exposé of Big Chicken. Spurlock is entertaining to watch, elevating genre in a way Michael Moore did B4 him. The setup to the final punchline is well worth the journey. Doesn’t need the sequel tag; A-
Trolls World Tour; Serviceable sequel doesn’t hit the heights of the original in terms of catchy hits & emotional stakes but offers plenty of fun new characters to the Troll cornucopia. Bloom is particularly excellent in the limited screen time she has. Harmless frivolous fun; B
A Quiet Place; Eerily directed and paced to great effect. The family cast works so well together, so that we believe their interactions and the danger they are living with. Right amount of suspense balanced with timely threat reveals stemming from the actions of the characters; A
Anna & the Apocalypse; Uneven tone makes for a tricky balancing act of horror, heart, and high school movie. Mostly succeeds, though musical numbers perplex in their swing from parody to tragedy. Cast is game, and Ella Hunt cements herself as a star. Certainly original; B
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw; Perfect pairing of two leads complemented by great supporting cast amplifies the action expected from the franchise and stars. Trims the fat of F&F for those uninterested in fuel and Diesel, yet keeps the octane level explosive and fun; A-
78/52; Film school done well in documentary form. Cleverly selected and respected artists in the film industry break down the Psycho shower scene (and the movie and career of Hitchcock in the process). Elevates the source material while being interesting in its own right; A-
Charlie’s Angels; Trio of talented actors make a fun, fight fueled action flick that shines on account of their personalities. Without the franchise baggage, this combination of script, style, actors and action could create its own franchise. Loved every minute of it; B+
Zombieland: Double Tap; Exactly what you’d expect from some fun, solid actors playing around in the zombie genre. Gory, gruesome kills and silly banter make it an enjoyable romp, though none too surprising or overly original. New cast additions are fun and mix in well; B+
Onward; Pixar was once high and above all others but this flick rests with your average excellent animation in look, character and story. Fun adventure that exposed too much in the trailers and didn’t leave many surprises. Themes are heartfelt and score emotionally driven; B+
Sonic the Hedgehog; Not quite the caliber of video game human world hybrid as Pokémon, even w/Jim Carrey in classic plastic faced villain form. Aside from the laughs he provides, not much to get excited about. Feels like a Hop retread w/Marsden talking to a CGI animal again; C+
Knives Out; Layered murder mystery mixes up all the elements of movie making to concoct a pleasure trove of nods and odes. Brilliantly played by the cast, working at multiple levels, political, social, theatrical, without a missed beat. Delightfully entertaining; A+
Jojo Rabbit; Devastatingly funny. Feels like a Wes Anderson directed Monty Python film. Equal parts whimsical, stylistic and gallows humour. Cast is so good at playing the humour without sacrificing the horror of the situation. A real triumph of filmmaking. Sheer comic genius; A+
Birds of Prey; Insanely well directed psychotic blend of DC Comics characters. A literal funhouse of action scenes with fresh fight styles and staging. All the leads exhibit complete joy inhabiting their roles and playing up the chaos and irreverence. Lots of fun; A-
Little Women; Latest adaptation reflects our current times as much as it envisions the era. This has mixed results, as the casting works but the narrative lacks a cohesive through line. Still, it’s not a shame for each generation to have its own adaptation of this beloved book; B
John Leguizamo’s Latin History for Morons; A definite must see. Leguizamo’s one man shows are always delightful, filled w/heart, humour & a joie de vivre (often displayed through dance & music). This one exceeds its predecessors with a bite & relevance both grand and personal; A
