Wicked

Wicked; Impeccable casting fulfills Chu’s exquisite vision of interpreting all elements and adaptations of Oz. Every single aspect is meticulously crafted, titillating the eyes, ears and heart. Balances its running time with humour, intrigue, fantasy and romance, much like its original source; A

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band; Looks to the past to inform how the tour is made up of various footprints. Uses specific songs to explore a half century of history that goes into modern day legendary performances. Captures band members’ individual contributions to the whole;A+

Lore

Lore; A WWII story that sidesteps the soldier tales often told to focus on Nazi sympathizing children who must navigate the immediate moments at the end of the war. This take exposes the complications of learned hatred & what can & cannot be forgiven and who can or cannot be trusted. Interesting; B

Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour

Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour; Excellently captures a camera aware performer who has developed herself and her music to deliver an energetic show to an arena sized crowd. The joy explodes off the screen without losing the personal level of her heartfelt expression of a teen turning adult; A-
 

Will & Harper

Will & Harper; A testament to friendship between two funny people who navigate how a life changing decision affects the way they interact w/each other & encounter the world together. Hard truths are captured, some of it stark & ugly, but the beauty of true friendship shines through. Heartwarming; B

The Contender

The Contender; Actors aplenty excelling at what they do in a political game that tackles enduring issues of optics and impressions and the double standards across party and gender lines. Bridges, Allen and Oldman are perfect in their roles and the script and supporting cast deliver on top of it; B+
 

Rez Ball

Rez Ball; A very typical sports film that separates itself from the rest on the basis that it stars Indigenous individuals & includes their culture & language as an element of their overcoming obstacles on their way to compete for a championship. Why can’t we have a Native spin on a tired trope?; B

Never Cry Wolf

Never Cry Wolf; Amazing display of northern scenery, stunningly filmed & lovingly captured. Too bad it’s wrapped in silly scenarios of a protagonist who elicits little empathy or interest. His plight is self-made so whether he survives or thrives, we could care less. The animals are the true stars; C

Transformers One

Transformers One; Surprisingly fun with some great vocal performances. Animation looked great and if you look past the sheer lunacy of this being an origin story (do Transformers grow up?), the jokes land well and the core story comes across with emotional resonance. More than meets the eye; B

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice; Does an excellent job respecting the original while providing decent justification for revisiting the themes and circumstances all over again. The new blood meshes seamlessly and fits right in perfectly. Ortega is a draw unto herself, but O’Hara and Keaton are legendary; B+

Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch; Surprisingly sweet tale of family comes out of a galactic science experiment gone wrong. The island setting and rocking soundtrack keeps the movie bouncing along, stopping for hi jinx that ends up hitting your heart as much as it attempts for humour. Leaves an impression on you; B

A Quiet Place: Day One

A Quiet Place: Day One; Doesn’t offer anything overly novel to the franchise, though the urban setting and characters are a fresh take worth exploring in this sequel. Satisfactorily provides thrills and narrow escapes from deathly predicaments alongside emotional moments from solid thespians; B

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Dangerously strays into “so bad, it’s good” territory that used to be a hallmark of goofy comic book movies pre-Batman. The cast deserves better than this schlocky, hammy approach to what is one of the more compelling Marvel characters. C’mon! He’s more than his claws!; C-

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; There aren’t very many perfect films. This may very well be one of them. Gorgeously shot, capturing stunning vistas along with two ridiculously talented leads playing off each other with screen scorching charisma. Every minute is a cinematic masterpiece; A+

Unfaithful

Unfaithful; Erotic thriller of a tryst gone off the rails, spiralling into the dissolving of a long married couple. Excellent performances and solid directing elevate the material above its unexplained motivations of the characters so that it becomes watchable and enticing despite its flaws; C+

Petit Jésus

Petit Jésus; What has potential to be a clever, introspective family dramedy or a hilarious, farcical comedy of errors, or both, instead settles into benign, harmless trifle that neither produces any big laughs nor pulls on any serious heartstrings. Mildly funny, mildly moving, mostly boring; D

The Hunger Games:The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes; Better than expected, yet still suffers from trying to find sympathy in an irredeemable character. It’s neat to see earlier versions of the Games, with fun takes from new cast members. Still grossly centered around child slaughter for sport; B-

X2

X2; Sequel knows key to X-Men success lies in Wolverine, and maintains focus on him and his backstory, while offering up some new mutants that explode off the screen. Some excellent set pieces and character combinations make for poignant dialogue exchanges filled w/allegory. Storm still sucks; B+

X-Men

X-Men; Great start to the film series, giving us a sense of the characters and their motivations, while keeping the moral allegories intact and underlying throughout. Centres on Wolverine, which is understandable given he’s always been the most popular mutant and Jackman doesn’t disappoint; B+

Slap Shot

Slap Shot; A relic of a bygone era that oddly has echoes of influence in our time. Sexism, homophobia, and rampant misogyny aside, the film certainly informed future comedies like Anchorman and Dodgeball. Difficulty distinguishing what’s parody and what’s sincere makes it a fascinating watch; B-