Polite Society

Polite Society; Chugs along at a breakneck pace & gets to the fight scenes in a Scott Pilgrim style w/a Hot Fuzz funny to it. The tone is fun w/enough sinister underlining to keep you intrigued beyond the silly antics. Fights pack a punch and don’t hold back for female fists; A-

Stephen Curry: Underrated

Stephen Curry: Underrated; Underwhelming in dramatic terms, but a good glimpse at the perpetually overlooked and overachieving athlete. Choice to highlight his academic path and parallel his collegiate career w/his 4th NBA championship, work well, yet doesn’t dig deep enough; B-

Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer; What happens when you gather the greatest talents in the industry & they make something so technically marvellous on every level, one wonders why they chose to make this, of all things. Compelling, but like most Nolan work, more cerebral than emotionally moving; A-
 

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion; Captures essence of ride’s tone, w/equal parts ghostly and comedy. Cast is well chosen & nods to theme park aspects are highlights. Suffers from a jumbled third act and what seems to be edits to character moments and scenes. Wish it were better but still fun; B

They Cloned Tyrone

They Cloned Tyrone; Far out performances by the three leads elevate a blaxploitation style concept straight out of Undercover Brother that’s played for chills as much as laughs. The tone shifting works for the most part, w/wickedly delivered dialogue shot in a compelling way; B

Barbie

Barbie; Perfect casting propels the film from silly concept to full blown cultural moment. More sad and intense at times than it is hilarious, Canadian Kens (and Alan) really bring the laughs. A small indie film wrapped in a big budget toy seller succeeds on several levels; B+

The Social Dilemma

The Social Dilemma; Somehow simultaneously already out of date yet still pertinent for everyone to fully understand how social media works. Having those with a moral conscience give pained interviews speaks volumes. Could use more of the immoral types to drive the point home; B-

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One; Nods to spy films over the years paired w/breathtaking stunts, fights & chases. Franchise continues to deliver by way of its returning cast gelling well w/new characters, who are great in this instalment. Pure fun w/high stakes; A-
 

Nimona

Nimona; Silly, borderline irritatingly jokey main character may be someone’s cup of tea, but much like the animation style, not up this reviewer’s alley. Moves along at a zippy pace, w/enough entertaining scenes & shape shifting to appeal to audiences w/short attention spans; B-