Alan Ng

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.

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.

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.

There is a great deal of heart in My Old School.

The King of Staten Island is big on heart, but short on laughs (in comparison to Train Wreck and 40-Year-Old Virgin), but that’s not a negative. I like that there are only a few over-the-top moments. The laughs occur as a way to break up the seriousness of the story. It balances drama and comedy perfectly.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is fast-food when audiences demanded a five-course meal.

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

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

While it trades sprawling vistas for tighter set pieces, it brings Ethan Hunt’s story full circle in a way that’s surprisingly emotional and—dare I say it—earned.

The Shadow of Violence has interesting things to say about violence and, ultimately, how far you would go for your family.

While The Last Tree is not a happy story nor a political one, it is a real account of immigration with no easy answers. Watch it because it is an honest tale, and Amoo’s masterfully handling of it puts you directly into the shoes of Femi himself.

You’ll like All Creatures Here Below because you connect with the leads and their story and want to take part on their journey…for better or for worse.

Great movies to me are stories that engage from start to finish and ask important questions at the end. The Dutchman does that from start to finish. Moral tales point out how flawed we are, and suggest a better way forward. And for Clay, that journey is far from over. Enjoy.

There’s enough good and exciting to recommend Sexual Drive, but oh, the sweet-savory possibilities that were missed.

While the film boasts an all Chinese cast, the story, culturally, is pretty tame.

Wander Darkly is a hard watch that is worth it, as the movie will pull a few tears from your eyes at the end.

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

If there was ever a film that screamed Best Actress Oscar-bait, it’s Judy. But damn, Renée Zellweger is absolutely fantastic in this role, and absolutely deserves Best Actress honors. Yes, I know the year’s not over yet, but the bar is set high.

At the risk of being hyperbolic, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a great movie. It offers laughs, thrills, and it’s a thinker; you will not be disappointed.

In the end, what we have with In Like Flynn is an homage to the action-adventure tales of old Hollywood, appealing to the fans of the adventure films of old.

Storywise, I’m good with the first two acts. It’s a new chapter in the series, and things have changed in the story. The world is evolving along with its primate inhabitants.

If they had gotten the music right, it could have stood by the original classic.

It’s a fitting tribute to Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse and makes you long for a time when storytelling was someone just telling a story.

Daisy Edgar-Jones is the star here and gives an incredibly endearing performance.

Although a standard story of teacher and students overcoming their environment, Critical Thinking has enough thrills, excitement, and, most of all, hope to recommend.

I like that Bull is shot beautifully in a slice-of-life style of storytelling. ... It’s a subtle tale about the bonds of friendship in times of hopelessness.

Benedict Cumberbatch proves yet again he’s a star and Merab Ninidze is equally brilliant at his Russian counterpart.

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.

Twisters delivers a thrilling, albeit scientifically loose, ride that taps into the nostalgic fun of classic disaster films. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell bring solid performances, capturing the high-stakes action and adventure with flair.

As a documentary, Rodents of Usual Size makes good use of animation illustrating how Louisiana got itself into this environmental disaster. The filmmakers interview a wide variety of citizens who come at the problem from their own unique perspective. They also capture some of the most once beautiful and now devastating images of Louisiana itself.

What The Phantom of the Open has going for it is a sweet and unconventionally inspirational story.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is good, when it should have been great.

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.

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

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 has way too much story crammed in its two-and-half-hour runtime, but the reason to see the movie is the Guardians themselves and how they’ve grown and evolved since they were first introduced.

The First Step works because it’s as honest about the state of government as it is passionate about doing so.

This is must-see mafia viewing.

Its politics will please no one, but for fans of story and characters, the movie succeeds in its primary goal: telling a good story about humanity, warts, and all.

Along with Hanks’ story and performance, the reason to see Greyhound is how it builds mystery and creates thrilling moments.

It’s funny, fast-paced, and just plain fun.

While Buffaloed is light on laughs, it’s Deutch as Peg that is the real joy to watch. She creates a character that is unique, energetic, and thoughtfully developed.

There’s much to like about The Electrical Life of Louis Wain — the Victorian setting, cats, Cumberbatch, and its visually stunning cinematography. But it may not be enough to spark enough life into a movie-going audience that wants something new.

Well Groomed serves more to alert you that creative grooming is a thing, but most likely will find it hard to win over those uninterested in the subject.

The Beach Boys documentary has everything you’d want in a music documentary— a compelling story behind the nostalgia, the main figures being open and honest about the rise and fall, interesting conversations, and great music.

In Amerikatsi, Michael Goorjian channels his inner Roberto Begnini and even Charlie Chaplin to bring humor and levity to a solemn subject. But the best part is he shines a light on the Armenian people and their resurgence to re-establish their culture after great tragedy.

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

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.

Empathy and balance is the reason you must see This Land.

The most intriguing aspect of Chef Flynn is its honesty.

While having all the key elements of a mystery, director Stacie Passon’s film is more a character study focusing on themes of the safety of sisterhood and self-imposed alienation.

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

The fun of Sigourney Weaver in directors Wallace Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes’ feature, The Good House, is watching a master actor create an everyday character so believable that she could literally walk into a room and pass as one of us. By the way, everything I said about Weaver equally applies to her co-star Kevin Kline as well.

Though I don’t think 100 Days to Live is necessarily a PSA on suicide prevention, it’s a damn good thriller. I’m still thinking about the morality of that ending even now.

As a comedy, Mark, Mary & Some Other People keeps the laughs light and the story grounded.

Do You Trust This Computer is informative at the least. Everyone and everything comes off as credible, and the philosophy comes off as plausible. It effectively plants the seeds of paranoia.

The Vandevere plot effectively turns the film from a cute animated story of talking animals into a thriller with corporate intrigue.

Ip Man 4: The Finale is a thrilling end to the Ip Man saga. The action is fast-paced, and the fighting is poetic. The story not only brings a modern twist to the legend but is just as relevant today as it was in the 70s.

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.

Ihara and Aw’s love story feels real and plays well as represented through fine cuisine.

It’s a story of very flawed people who followed the pied piper to a new world that doesn’t exist.

Enter Horse Girl with an open mind and enjoy the ride.

With this cast, the film should have been a knockout. Instead, it feels bogged down, heavy, and way too concerned with making statements instead of just being entertaining.

Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken is not only informative in the same way Super Size Me was, but his story about opening a fast-food restaurant and the journey he took to get there is entertaining and telling.

Ultimately, it’s fine. Yet, considering its cinematic history, fine is never good enough.

For those who appreciate uplifting stories with spiritual undertones, it delivers exactly what’s expected—and sometimes, God’s blessing is enough.

As They Made Us shines because of its cast.

Liesl Tommy extracts the proper emotion from every scene, and the music is like truffles on top of a fantastic meal.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is the story that began it all, laying the themes of Japanese kaiju that would endure for decades.

If you persevere, Stargirl will grow on you and ultimately pays off.

Blue Beetle is worth seeing, but it has many missed opportunities.

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.

Saltburn just goes too far, and its startling images shocked me out of the story altogether.

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.

Birds of Prey: and the Emancipation of one Harley Quinn is a fast-paced action movie with fantastic stunts and set pieces. We’re just not given any good reason to care about Harley Quinn, or her female compatriots needed to be emotionally invested in their ultimate victory or demise.

This film barely gets a recommendation only because it finally gets interesting at the end.