Alan Ng

Writer/director Nicole Riegel brings such richness to all of her characters that they feel authentic, garnering empathy.

No Time To Die tells a fantastic Bond story. It has everything you expect from Bond and appropriately honors Daniel Craig for his service to the Queen.

Sunday Best reminds us that Ed Sullivan’s influence went far beyond introducing legendary performers—he directly influenced the cultural fabric of America. His legacy endures as a testament to the power of television to unite people and move society forward.

Not since The Florida Project have I felt this emotional about a story of children forced to grow up way too fast.

Wicked: Part 1 is an incredible adaptation that captures the core of what fans adore about the stage musical while offering its own cinematic flourishes. Despite a few pacing hiccups, Jon M. Chu’s direction and the cast’s passionate performances create a magical journey worth experiencing.

It’s probably one of the best nostalgia documentaries to come out in years. It’s all feel-good and good-feels from start to finish and a surprise here and there.

The Man in the White Van is the perfect primer for someone thinking about getting into horror films but is a bit skittish. The killing is implied, and the gore is off-camera. Yet, the film is all about that uneasy tension that we feel, wondering what’s around the corner or what goes bump in the night.

It’s tough to watch, and you will fight the urge to walk out but stick with it.

Even if the corporate claims are true—that films like Pistachio Wars are anti-corporate propaganda—it’s important never to turn a blind eye to any issue where the only thing we’re being told is, “trust us… nothing to see here.”

In the end, Project Hail Mary works because it is thrilling, smart, and emotionally engaging, turning a giant cosmic problem into an exceptional adventure. It earns its emotional payoff by making every problem, every choice, and every human connection matter.

The best thing about the film is the repeat viewing value.

Sheep Without A Shepherd is good fun as both an action flick and a heartfelt crime-thriller at the same time. In case you were wondering, the ending is fantastic, which is traditionally problematic for thrillers in general. It wraps everything up nicely and in a satisfying way.

Whatever bias you may have about Sandler’s comedies fade away here. Sandler gives a genuine and physically brutal performance of a man who’s trying to stay one step ahead of total collapse.

It’s a fantastic World War II movie, the action is tense, and the stories on the ground are inspiring and heartbreaking.

I’m here simply for the brilliant performance of Cate Blanchett. She’s imperfect, incredibly flawed, and a villain who doesn’t know it.

With standout performances from Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza, it sticks the landing beautifully—don’t be surprised if it ends up on your favorites list, too.

Deep down, it’s a story about family and how the strong bond of the family comes in many different and imperfect forms. The cast gives it their all and finds the heart of this sweet narrative.

Boy Kills World is a two-hour roller coaster. You’ll leave exhausted and beaten, and yet feeling like maybe you too can defeat the fascist dictators in your life.

While simple, there is great depth to this uncomplicated story.

The film feels like a passing of the torch from some of Hong Kong’s veteran actors to the next generation. It’s sometimes brutal and gory, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Accountant 2 is a pleasant surprise. It scratches that crime procedural itch, along with paramilitary-style gunplay, for a winning combination.

Its complicated story, hero, and visual style are a great reminder of the beautiful thrillers birthed during the Golden Age of Hollywood, albeit with the help of modern technology to pull it off with a modest indie budget.

Solo Mio is good, sappy fun, and the perfect date movie for all the craziness going on in the world at the moment.

You’ll be holding your breath at times.

As a film, Reagan is about as perfect a biopic as you will get. The story flows quickly and feels cinematic for a man whose life plays out like a movie.

The Wedding Banquet is the kind of film that reminds you why we fall in love with movies in the first place—because they surprise us, move us, and make us laugh at how messy and magnificent life can be.

The Biggest Little Farm not only has by-the-minute drama and an ever-present tension between success and failure, but as an accomplished cinematographer, the film’s images of the farm is breathtaking.

In the final analysis, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is not as good as the first, but comes pretty damn close and is another example of a well-executed sequel. As cliched as it sounds, yes, this is a film for the kiddies, yet suitable for adults.

You’re definitely going to laugh and laugh out loud. Young has several hilarious moments with his subjects, and the absurdity of these musicals and songs create an endless stream of silly giggles.

Predator is a classic action/sci-fi film, albeit a dated action/sci-fi film.

I love Together Together because it’s a sweet and straightforward story surrounding surrogacy. It’s void of Hollywood dramatics and firmly places Ed Helms into that older best friend category on screen.

A compelling documentary.

The appeal here is a solid story of an aging mobster with all the charm of indie filmmaking.

Wild Rose is one of those films that you have to hunt for, and it’s well worth the effort.

Wolfwalkers is a beautiful movie for fans of animation and families with young children. If you want to ween the little ones off Disney’s overproduced glitz and turn them on to alternative forms of animation and storytelling, Wolfwalkers is a great place to start.

You must see Operation Finale solely for this interaction between Malkin and Eichmann (Isaac and Kingsley).

Joseph Sackett’s feature film, Homebody, finds a charming and fresh take on the body swap formula.

Olympic Dreams offers a little love in a fantastic location.

All is True does justice to the Bard, and devout fans of Shakespeare are sure to find a place for it, if not on the shelf alongside his classics, but in a small place in their hearts.

Human Capital is a fantastic study of people being pushed to their limits, not just financial, but emotional and social.

The basic story structure is still intact, but with a significant portion of the blood and gore removed.

Moon, 66 Questions is a movie made for adult children reluctantly forced into the care of their parents. Lentzou brings their struggle to the big screen with great empathy and introspection in that says you’re not alone.

What sets Robert Fisk apart from the rest is he’s on the ground and in the middle of the action. He is amazingly able to travel (sometimes) to both sides of a conflict and personally eyewitness the event from both perspectives. This is the heart of This is Not a Movie.

In the end, Plane is a high-adventure thrill ride. Unplug your brain. Suspend disbelief and strap in. No lectures, moralizing, or virtue signaling. Just an everyman trying to get home to his family. It may also serve as motivation to take a few wilderness survival courses.

Premature is teen love portrayed in an adult manner. Its grit and realism distinguish it from other teen love stories that force sappy, profound one-liners meant only for a good trailer moment.

Yes, Make Me Famous highlights the life and work of a brilliant artist, and just for that, the documentary is worth watching. The film also vividly describes what life as an artist was like on the Lower East Side of New York.

Beauty aside, Toy Story 4 captures the heart of the entire saga in its own way.

Not sure if anyone wants to hear this, but A Good Person is a simple yet complex drama with the intention of bringing some good to this world.

For a sequel/reboot, Ghostbusters: Afterlife delivers the fun of the original, albeit in very different ways.

The world of Calle Málaga is small. It takes place on a simple street in a simple town where everyone knows everyone else. Everyone is cordial and competitive at the same time, as the film focuses on the place we call home and how leaving can be a bitter pill to take. In the end, this family drama hits you in the feels like a warm cup of cocoa before turning in for the night.

Ultimately the success of Summertime comes from director Estrada and his crew, who put the film together with a small semblance of a story. They masterfully piece each poem and poet together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Eating Up Easter is another documentary exploring the tension a society faces when confronted with potentially being left behind in a rapidly changing world. Documentaries such as this, always paint progress as the antagonist, and rightfully so. The struggle to hold onto one’s past is an underdog fight and, at times, an unwinnable one.

Jesus Revolution is one of my favorite faith-based Christian movies, of which I’ve seen more than my fair share. I associate three things with faith-based films: bad acting, an outrageous, overly positive message, and a shoe-horned sermon. Thankfully, this film avoids all three elements.

As Sawyer, Hermione Corfield is probably the most famous of the film’s cast. She is the film’s solid foundation and carries it to the finale. She’s believable, strong, and sympathetic.

I dare you to watch Black Outside and not think about wanting to do this journey for yourself. There’s something irresistible about this film, and indeed, there is something within you that must be released, and a 2,600-mile hike might be what the doctor ordered.

Own The Room is fun, hopeful, and inspiring to any future entrepreneur and a must-watch.

The Pod Generation is a science-fiction film with something to say and forces us to confront our future by asking questions. Just because we can screw around with biology, should we? Sophie Barthes’ futuristic tale is worth watching just for the conversation that’s bound to happen afterward.

In the end, Past Lives plays with your brain and heart. It’s one of those films that leaves you thinking about and yearning for what might have been.

Limbo stands out as a competent cop-drama noir. Our three heroes are put through the wringer and barely come out with their sanity and their lives. Cheang holds nothing back.

The reason Titane works is director Ducournau and actors Lindon and Rousselle’s commitment to their characters and stories. Each performance is played straight without a single wink to the camera.

It might be easy to write off Dating Amber as yet another “coming out” film, but what it ultimately is is just plain ol’ good storytelling.

The Persian Version is a comedic and beautiful portrait of a Muslim immigrant family caught between the struggles of two cultures and two generations, featuring two outstanding performances that should not be missed.

The beauty of the film is just how genuine and down-to-earth the performances are and how Gyllenhaal maintains a natural, authentic tone throughout.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover has the look, feel, and beauty of your Merchant-Ivory high-brow English dramas. Simply add sex and nudity.

What I can say is Jake Gyllenhaal is fantastic in this movie. I was skeptical about bringing in Mysterio as the potential antagonist (villain), and he exceeded my expectations. The FX-team transferred Mysterio’s powers from comic book page to the big screen beautifully.

There is a good amount of dialogue in Waterlily Jaguar, but the dialogue informs us about the character. Bob is not a chatty person, but Le Gros’ portrayal speaks volumes about Bob. Miro Sorvino continues to show she has range and can elevate any character she takes on.

Knock at the Cabin is a thriller with great performances and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

What Richard Curtis brilliantly does with this well-worn storyline is bring in elements to make it feel fresh.

Personally, I found the subject matter fascinating. I love some sports. Auto racing is not one of them, but I also love stories about saving lives and how innovation and technology is a part of that.

Messaging aside, there is such great nuance in both performances of Carice van Houten and Marwan Zenzari. You’re continually guessing their state of mind in a true psychological thriller manner.

To me, the story is the reason to see The Matrix Resurrections. Lana Wachowski brings unexpected freshness to this new evolution of Matrix stories.

For the UFO believers, Ariel Phenomenon is precisely the film you’re looking for as proof of alien existence. But for the unbeliever, Nickerson’s film is a mandatory watch to either chip away at your beliefs or make them stronger.

Serious actors will find a whole new respect for these women and their individual contributions to film and theater, who fought through way through a system made for men and blazed a path for those who followed. And fans of one or all the dames will see the object of their fandom be real, open, and honest.

In Making Montgomery Clift, you see how brilliant an actor Clift was. You see his love of the art of storytelling, developing characters with depth and dimension, and his willingness to put the final product over his own ego. He loved living life just as much as portraying it on screen.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an origin story, and director Destin Daniel Cretton, working from script he wrote alongside Dave Callaham and, Andrew Lanham did a masterful job telling a story that’s not only Asian-American but a Marvel movie at the same time.

Documentaries exist for many reasons. In the case of Ink & Linda, it’s to take us to a world that we may not be familiar with and show us something new, something interesting. Not only do we meet two unique artists, but we get to see them collaborate and create.

Affleck carries a great deal of weight in the movie, but its Pniowsky who shines as the young pre-teen learning quickly what it means to be an adult.

D.J. Caruso masterfully orchestrates this symphony of suspense, albeit a twenty-piece symphony, but a symphony nonetheless.

In the end, Sisu is all about the violence and blood, and there are buckets of both. This is one of those action films where you can just sit back, unplug your brain, and hop on for one wild ride.

The Protégé is just good action-y thriller-y fun with great repeat value. It falls in that mid-range budget for an action film, maybe just a few notches below the Bourne films. So it’s the perfect popcorn and movie outing for the weekend.

Up There succeeds where many dramas like this fail. It balances action beautifully with dialogue. Especially as dialogue-heavy movies tend to vomit exposition at a sickening rate. A hefty portion of character development and revelation comes from its performances.

If you love all things space, It’s Quieter in the Twilight is must-see viewing. A lot of technical information is unloaded upon the audience, but Miossi lays it out in digestible chunks.

Framed may not be the thriller you want, but it’s a fine drama and morality play.

You feel the horrors of those 12 hours. Abeckaser tells the right stories, from innocent festivalgoers to military-trained fathers, and to the mothers and children who perish. Before you utter the words, “Yeah, but…,” 12 Hours in October is pretty one-sided, and I’m not blind to the protests that have occurred in the streets and on university campuses in the U.S.

Jumanji: The Next Level is a fast-paced thrill ride, and fans of the original will not be dissatisfied. The writing is just as smart as the first, and the main cast revives its original magic.

It’s Odessa Young that does much of the heavy lifting acting-wise, though overshadowed by Moss, as she is the one who ultimately transforms throughout the story. It wouldn’t be fair to leave out director Decker’s visual vision for the film or Sarah Gubbins’ screenplay as they continually keep you off balance from the start and second-guessing almost everyone and everything to the end.

If there was one reason to see 40 Years in the Making: The Magic Music Movie is for its music. Constantly playing in the background, you’ll find an appreciation for how good this band was, how a band this good could never find success, and how the group’s dynamic tore it down.

It has to be said that the best thing about The Report is Adam Driver and Annette Benning.

A far as coming-of-age stories go, Once Upon a River is a very sweet story. There’s not a lot of fluff, but there is a lot of heart in a story based on a novel and feels in a way like a novel.

The deliberate use of CG effects, Dixie Egerickx’s performance, and its keen understanding of the true heart and message of the story make The Secret Garden worth watching and may find itself given the title of “classic.”

What you get out of Frozen II over the original is Anna and Elsa’s stronger relationship. They are together throughout most of the film, and their sisterhood is strong, fun to watch, and remains the heart of the film. Frozen II is a worthy sequel, and you’ll be glad Disney got greedy and made it.

I definitely enjoyed Avatar: The Way of Water much more than the first. Its message of family and the portrayal of a strong father and mother protecting their children is refreshing.

Rather than an over-reliance on special effects, Captive State thrives on the riveting performances from specifically from John Goodman. This is a cat-and-mouse game between the authoritarian pawns of the aliens with immense technological power and the resistance hiding in plain sight. This is one of those films that will have you thinking in the end.

The Paper Tigers presents a fresh take on an old genre.

I still can’t believe this is Wolff’s first film as writer and director. He shows an excellent command of storytelling. There’s a lot of backstory and very little exposition (which can be a first-time filmmaker trap). His dialogue is natural and authentic to the age of its characters, and the way eventual conflicts between the friends play out feels unforced.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a wild rollercoaster ride and reminds me of the days when I actively collected comic books.

Tim Roth is great as Neil.