Brian Farvour

Hanging By a Wire is a nail-biting watch, one that never allows itself to become bogged down in excessive setup or backstory.

Previously, the filmmakers Franz and Fiala brought audiences into “The Lodge,” and 2014’s “Goodnight Mommy” and “The Devil’s Bath” is their finest, possibly most upsetting work yet.

Serves as little more than an exercise in striking photography mixed with a series of vignettes that’s as slice of life as one’s likely to find.

With nary a poor performance to be found and a tone that engages as much as it might cause one to shift uncomfortably in their seat, Bull is an engrossing experience. It’s not an instant genre classic but never strives to be, and in hitting such a simple goal, it, like Bull himself, somehow succeeds.

While far from a poorly-made effort, Late Night with the Devil tries to take on too much and only slightly hovers above average in this regard.

McKenzie may frame the journey with some bemused curiosity, but the movie lands somewhere much angrier than that. Fair enough. A system this shady doesn’t deserve awe. It barely deserves the dignity of confusion.

As Frankie, Mastroianni carries the film, and what could be considered an emotionless expression she wears nonstop carries far more than one realizes as the events unfold and whatever exists in Frankie’s life starts to unravel.

No matter how one tries to unpack the curious contents of “Big Gold Brick,” they’ll likely be unable to find much of anything outside of an unintelligible failure.

This film stands comfortably alongside its ancestors, a perfect detour in a time when it’s most needed and a wonderful experience overall.

While Out of Darkness is by no means bad, it’s far from the iconic status Cumming presumably hoped to achieve.

No one can fault the cast for giving it what might be seen as a decent shot, but if Star Trek: Section 31 leaves you with one thing, it’s that the final frontier, which is future spinoffs, might be best left alone.

Oxygen may not be the most unique film, but its terrifically panicky and suffocating qualities will leave you breathless nonetheless.

Fortunately, the events onscreen do little, if anything, to tarnish the careers of two beloved actors who are still consistently operating at the top of their game despite the seemingly accidental efforts of director James Ashcroft.

Let’s say Dangerous Animals gets the job done, but were it not for Jai Courtney, this would fall somewhere in the realm of any film about a kidnapee.

The overall point or purpose, beyond showing how a polar bear deals with a nearby human presence and vice versa, is conveyed relatively quickly, leaving the rest of the film to rinse and repeat until that final shot of a drowsy bear, resting atop a snow pile before a setting sun. It’s undeniably gorgeous, but what’s the greater message?

It’s hard not to smile as Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget wraps things up, even if said smile comes unexpectedly; admittedly, this is the sort of surprising delight that serves to both remind an audience why the original remains such a gem while acting as a worthy successor.

Finding ways to cope with any significant tragedy is hardly new, but in the hands of Foy and Lowthrope, it is.

Alas, boilerplate could best describe the events of Control Freak, despite the genuine commitment of Tran and Robbins, particularly with both oozing chemistry and dedication to whatever routine setup the movie provides next.

It’s inoffensive, possibly even heartwarming, and an undeniably terrific story in terms of adversarial triumph, and as history looks back on “A Million Miles Away” as much as it remembers the real Hernández, unlike the man himself, the movie will likely find itself forgotten.

To make it in show business, Carol Doda needed to show her business. These are almost exact words from the mouth of the woman herself, another example of her wit, appeal, and the type of trailblazer the world sadly lost before she got her proper due.

Unafraid to shy away completely from the occasional crude humor, especially an early scene begging to be led by Will Forte, it fortunately never overstays its welcome, and for those who enjoy the payoff of hanging onto every line of dialogue, the best jokes throughout are the ones tacked onto the ends of conversations, almost as a comedic afterthought. It’ll make sense once you watch, more so than the plot itself.

Even when it tries to swing for the fences as some commentary on what motivates hate speech, it may not always work, but Macdonald does the best with what he’s been given, and that’s enough to warrant a look, at least.

It’s not a bad movie by any means, but in its attempts to plant a seed audiences may remember in years to come, it’s a misfire.

With a film like Anniversary, any ideas formed from the jump best take occupancy at the door. This is not meant to establish an unexpectedly entertaining journey or incredible third-act twist, but rather something far more frustrating.

It’s feel-good at its best, and in this day and age, is anything more even necessary?

Overthinking Sting is a proper exercise in futility, and shedding such a tendency makes enjoying the adventure easy. It’s a minor little effort, with only a tiny venom, but its bite should do the trick for any genre head with 90 minutes to spare.

An admirable effort with just enough charm to keep audience interest where it needs to be with an unfortunate handful of shortcomings that ultimately relegate this film to the realm of average.

Settlers is ultimately little more than a bit of style and a smattering of substance.