Chris Evangelista

After an opening kill sequence that bucks convention and suggests a much better movie, Scream 6 grows tedious as it attempts to catch us up with the returning characters and introduce new ones.

The action and the scenes with Grant's sleazeball arms dealer are the only situations where "Operation Fortune" feels genuinely alive and not like a collection of tired jokes and so-so set pieces.

Elba is his usual dependable self — the man oozes charisma, even when threatening people with violence. And Serkis is clearly having fun playing such a repulsive bad guy; the type of villain we can't wait to see get his comeuppance. This all results in a sturdy little thriller that runs a little long but mostly gives you what you want.

Indeed, I sure hope "Creed" doesn't take the "Rocky" route and pump out sequel after sequel. Whether or not that happens will surely be up to studio execs and box office returns, but if this is the final round for the "Creed" series, it's a fitting, if predictable, end.

We Have a Ghost can't escape its overstuffed nature, and that hampers the entire experience.

I'm all for rampaging animal movies. I'm all for ultra-silliness. I'm all for lots of gore. But after a while, the repetitive nature of Cocaine Bear began to wear me down, and the humor started to fall flat.

The end result triggers a wave of empathy; not a kind of patronizing empathy, but genuine empathy — the type Ebert was talking about all those years ago. I doubt you've seen anything like The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic before, and you might never see anything like it again. Certainly not from Hollywood.

Tension is the name of the game, and Shyamalan knows exactly how to build it. It rises and builds to the point of breaking. This might be the filmmaker's most intense film to date, and while there are occasional bursts of genuine humor, "Knock at the Cabin" is more concerned with leaving you perturbed and unsettled by what you're witnessing. On that front, Knock at the Cabin is a success, even if its script can't quite match the visual intensity. Whatever is lacking here is balanced by Shyamalan's filmmaking. Say what you will about the director, but he's still got it.

Blackk makes for a great protagonist, and Haddish gets some big laughs here and there, but the rest of the cast feels slightly lost, primarily because the story introduces them only to then have them fade into the background.

The Philippou brothers have a great grasp on nasty, shocking, Raimi-like horror, and that goes a long way toward tipping the scales in a favorable direction. Sure, the characters are making dumb choices, but there's enough creepy, spooky, bloody action to keep you hooked.

The dreamy, deliberate pacing of all of this never feels overlong. Instead, the film gathers you up in its hands and carries you along with it, resulting it what will surely be one of the best films of 2023.

One of the things that makes You Hurt My Feelings so enjoyable is that it's simply a film about adults having adult conversations. They drift around New York, or hang out in apartments and bars, and just ... talk. That might sound boring, but the snappy script and hilarious performances keep everything buoyant.

What The Pod Generation lacks in cohesion it (mostly) makes up for in laughs.

If "Cat Person" could just strip away all the nonsense and instead focus on its more realistic, genuine elements, it would be something special. Instead, it ends up being a mildly amusing mixed bag. 

Cronenberg creates an atmosphere of nauseating dread through it all as things grow increasingly deranged. No fooling: this is not an easy movie to watch. It gets under your skin and makes your flesh crawl. It infects you. You'll probably want to take a shower after the credits roll, and then take another shower just to be sure you're extra clean.

Magazine Dreams will alienate some viewers, but even those who aren't able to get on board with what Bynum is doing will be unable to deny how incredible Jonathan Majors is here. It's the type of unique, highly memorable performance people talk about for years to come.

The film drags considerably — at one point I thought it was almost over only to realize there was a full hour left — but the over-the-top religious hokum is too fun to ignore.

There are snapshots of something greater here; hints of a grander mystery, a bigger twist, a better climax. Alas, we can only ponder, weak and weary, over what that better film could have been.

Avatar: The Way of Water overstays its welcome but it sure is thrilling when it wants to be.

There's something near-magical about the strands of multicolored lights that occupy nearly every frame of the film, offering a winter wonderland contrast to all the carnage. 

From a filmmaking standpoint alone, "Nothing Lasts Forever" is one of the more memorable recent documentaries. But it helps that the narrative being told is so fascinating, scooping us up into this globe-trotting world where money talks and everyone — and every diamond — has a story, true or otherwise.

And underneath it all is a beating heart; a tribute to both Boseman's loss and legacy. The emotional punch is more impactful than the physical one here, and whatever the flaws of "Wakanda Forever," its emotional heft is strong — and honest. There's no sense of manipulation here, only a sense of grief coupled with acceptance. What else can there be?

Watching Lawrence and Henry act off each other is what really makes "Causeway" worth watching.

You might argue there's no redeeming value to any of this, and I won't fight you on that. And yet, the "everything and the kitchen sink" vibe of the whole thing renders Terrifier 2 an above-average slasher extravaganza. Watching this gives one the sense that they're watching something new, and that's a feeling you just can't beat. Whatever bloody adventure Art the Clown gets up to next, I'll be sure to watch.

The Pez Outlaw ends up being so quick, breezy, and fun, that it ultimately does its job and, unlike the chalky sweet Pez candy, never leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

It's a type of slow-burn, psychological horror. The type of thrills and chills that don't register at first, but come creeping back when you're in bed, awake at night, unable to sleep, and the darkness starts to creep in.

Hellraiser was in bad shape, and what Bruckner has done here is lift the series out of the gutter to give it a touch of old-school charm. But I know he can do better, and I just wish this revival was more of an icky, gooey success rather than a moderately okay horror pic.

Once you overlook the commercialism of it all, this premise is fine, and has potential. But writer Billie Bates and director David Poag fail to explore it to its full potential.

There's real skill and artistry smiling out at us here. Too bad it's buried under so many secondhand scenarios.

Full of loud, shrieking, hateful characters and shaky camera work designed to hide anything interesting, only extremely hardcore fans of the series should apply for V/H/S/99. I couldn't even find one story to grasp onto here, and that's a problem.

Devotion is far more interested in what's happening on earth rather than in the sky. It's a character drama with occasional bursts of action, and while there's certainly nothing wrong with that, the film ends up rather muddled. You can see the bones of something greater here, and Dillard remains a filmmaker worth paying attention to.

Butcher's Crossing makes a lot of little, stretching its small budget to the extreme to create a nightmarish saga of violent men who seem convinced of their own superiority over everything, especially the land.

The Good Nurse is strangely flat.

With its deliberate (or sloowwwwwww, as some might call it) pacing and inherent lack of action, The Eternal Daughter might frustrate some looking for a more traditional ghost story. But The Eternal Daughter is plenty haunting. The ghosts here aren't the traditional specters returned from the grave. They're the type of ghosts that haunt us all — memories, both good and bad.

The set-up is sound, and the film is gloriously twisted. But The Menu also lags — once we're clued into what's happening, some of the fun is gone.

With The Fabelmans, Spielberg is grappling with his own mythology, and re-examining it, too. This isn't exactly how Spielberg's life unfolded; it's the Hollywood version, and that's fitting. 

The joys of "Glass Onion" involve the plot twists and shocking-but-hilarious revelations Johnson keeps throwing at us at breakneck speed. Every scene is loaded with lightning-sharp wit coupled with a genuinely engrossing mystery. Like Blanc, we're hooked on the idea of solving this mystery.

Pope's performance is so raw, so honest, that we're with him every step of the way.

There are more than a few moments in The Woman King that will have you fist-pumping and grinning like a goofball, amazed at energy of it all. And all that action is often aided by raw, real emotion which is handled deftly.

All of this unfolds at a rather brisk pace, but sooner or later, "Weird" starts to run dry. While the film is consistently funny — I laughed out loud, and I mean really loud, on more than one occasion — the narrative begins to drag, giving one the sense that Appel was right to make this a short film first, and that maybe, just maybe, it should've stayed that way.

I want to see more from Jessica M. Thompson, who has an eye for atmospheric creepiness that would be better served with stronger material. And I want Nathalie Emmanuel to land a lead role worthy of her talents. As for The Invitation, there's not much to sink your fangs into.

Again and again, the bleak truth is driven home: this is the society America built. One where helpful solutions are ignored as unrealistic, and violent action reigns supreme. Riotsville is a dream; a nightmare. It's a movie backlot that doubles as a boot stomping on anyone who dares to dissent.

David Coggeshall's script has more than a few tricks up its sleeve, including some jaw-dropping twists that I will confess I did not see coming. It makes sense — the first film had a jaw-dropping twist too, after all. The twist feels fresh and exciting here, and changes the entire film in a way that's wickedly enjoyable.

As far as Netflix movies go, Day Shift is inoffensive enough for your viewing pleasure. But I wanted more.

Fall doesn't break the mold, and there are a wealth of one-location thrillers that are much better than this. But when you're climbing that tower with Becky and Hunter, you can't help but follow along, nervous, but still exhilarated by the journey. Watching "Fall" on a big screen and experiencing the nerve-shredding vertigo that comes from the proceedings is the kind of pulpy fun that memorable late-summer movies are made of.

Trachtenberg and company have put together a crackerjack monster pic, full of clever new approaches to old material. Those looking for the familiar will recognize plenty of callbacks to other "Predator" films . . . while anyone searching for new thrills will get a kick out of the film's genre mash-ups.

Nope may not be Jordan Peele's best movie to date, but it is his most enjoyable. A true summer movie spectacle meant to be writ large across the screen, giving us thrills, chills, laughs, and that most precious of things: movie magic.

The new trilogy ends frail whimper rather than a T-rex-worthy roar.

Hustle manages to get by on charm and style, and Sandler gets to remind us again that he has range. "Hustle" isn't a slam-dunk, but it still takes it to the hoop.

Crimes of the Future is Cronenberg in his comfort zone, which is a zone choked with things both repulsive and fascinating. It's not quite as nasty as its pre-release reputation suggests, nor is it even the most graphic film Cronenberg has directed. But it's rife with the filmmaker's signatures and quirks; his fetishes and his dreams; his obsessions and his amusements.

Firestarter isn't offensively bad. It's not likely to make you angry, or have you calling it the worst dang thing you've ever seen. But it is aggressively average, bordering on mediocre. There's nothing fiery here. It's lukewarm at best.

No matter how you end up feeling, you will leave "Men" with questions; questions you'll have to draw your own answers to. There's something exhilarating about a new movie that dares to leave us groping in the dark, wondering where the hell we're going to end up.

"The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe" too often feels like it's merely scratching the surface and not trying to go much deeper. While I understand that the research of Anthony Summers is what helped shape this doc, Summers himself is far too present here, to the point where the documentary begins to feel more about him writing the book than it is about Monroe.

Ambulance is unlikely to convert those who loathe Michael Bay and all he creates. But if you're on board, you're in for one hell of a ride.

Morbius is the type of movie that fails to justify its own existence.

Those craving some gloomy, unforgiving post-apocalyptic drama might get a kick out of what's on display here. Everyone else might want to scurry away. You know, like a crab in the dark.

Ryder is honestly the only shining light here. ... But she deserves better than the murky slog that is "The Cow."

Do we really need yet another "Batman" reboot? The answer, after watching Matt Reeves' tremendous The Batman, is apparently a resounding yes.

This is a movie that very much wants to call back to the original — and in doing so, it inadvertently reminds us of how much better the original was, and how bad this is.

The plot grows more elaborate and fantastical, but the film itself has its feet firmly on the ground, and Soderbergh seems solely committed to giving us a quick, mid-budget, ultra-sturdy thriller with no pretensions — the type Hollywood doesn't really make anymore.

Bahrani's doc moves at a steady pace, but it also runs through bullet points rather than taking a deeper dive into Richard and his life.

The overall experience is chilling to the extreme. The type of chill that seeps its way into your bones and leaves you unprotected and unbalanced.

It's a handsomely constructed, often addictive documentary – but it's also repeating the same story we've been told again and again.

At times, "Nothing Compares" can feel like hagiography. It's all a little too slight — so much of O'Connor's life is left out, and the entire thing feels a little bit like the CliffsNotes version of the story. And yet, you also get the sense that if anyone deserves such lionized treatment, it's O'Connor.

Three Minutes – A Lengthening is not a ghost story, but it still feels haunting.

The problem is that You Won't Be Alone is a film about identity that doesn't have an identity of its own. It is far too indebted to other films.

It's all appropriately eerie and off-putting, but never quite as satisfying as it should be. Watching Watcher isn't a complete disappointment, but it sure would be nice if there was just a little more to look at.

Once again, Benson and Moorhead prove that they can produce a stellar, original film with a tiny fraction of the budget of bigger Hollywood filmmakers. The movie landscape is a far better, weird, and beautiful place with them in it.

Plaza's performance, which grows more desperate and more fierce, is what keeps things going. Tension continually mounts and builds, and writer-director Ford stages several anxiety-ridden set-pieces that inspire a sick-to-your-stomach feeling.

The film is so laser-focused on Joy there's often no room for anything, or anyone else. But I hope "Call Jane" finds a wide audience, and if the film's somewhat sanitized portrayal of events helps change a few minds in regards to the issues at hand, that will be a net good.

Awkwardness ends up being the name of the game here, with Eisenberg constructing an intentional cringefest; the type of movie that has you squirming uncomfortably as you're forced to watch oblivious characters make total asses of themselves.

It's a nifty, quick-witted slasher pic, and at this point in this particular franchise, that's more than enough.

Without the pandemic, everything here would seem a tad fantastical. Now, we can't help but draw sometimes painful connections. Perhaps it'll hit too close to home. After all, the film makes it clear that there's only so long a person can remain trapped before they start getting desperate.

In Asghar Farhadi's fascinating, complex A Hero, nothing is simple. And no good deed goes unpunished — if it was even a "good deed" to begin with.

It would've been incredibly simple to give us a traditional "Matrix 4."  Instead, The Matrix Resurrections takes its big-budget and runs wild with it. And while there are more than a few stumbles here, any modern-day blockbuster that's this unafraid to subvert expectations is worth celebrating.

In the end, Affleck is the film's only real draw. His funny, uncouth, working-class schlub performance breathes much-needed oxygen into the film's lungs, but at the end of the day, this isn't his story, and it really should've been.

Worst of all, these final moments of the film make it abundantly clear that as a storyteller and a filmmaker, McKay has absolutely nothing to say about the topics he's skewering, and he shouldn't have even bothered to try. This is a hollow waste of time and talent; a comedy whose idea of humor is simply pointing a finger at something and chuckling obnoxiously. We, as a society, don't just deserve better leaders. We deserve better satire, too.

A wickedly enjoyable tale of freak shows, dark and stormy nights, innocent dames, morally bankrupt schemers, and a femme fatale to die for.

Spielberg's West Side Story is a knock-out. A dynamite blend of old-school musical showmanship and modern sensibilities. It's one of the best movies of the year, and one of the best movies of the acclaimed filmmaker's career. Yes, really.

Whatever the flaws of the previous "Resident Evil" series, those films were never as dull as "Raccoon City." Roberts doesn't seem to know how to milk anything resembling genuine horror out of the material here.

It's Lifestyles of the Rich and Clueless in Ridley Scott's House of Gucci, an odd duck of a film that wants to serve you both a scrumptious gourmet meal and greasy fast food in the same bite.

I don't want to get too hyperbolic here, but watching "Licorice Pizza" reminded me why I love movies so much; particularly the way they can drop us into another place and another time, and embed us completely into the lives of total strangers. If Licorice Pizza had stretched on for another hour, I would've been perfectly content to go along.

The way the filmmakers use their underwater setting is brilliant, and while there's not a whole lot of story here, they make every moment count.

While Red Notice may not be unwatchable, by the time the film ends with a deliberate sequel set-up, I was so turned off by the mercenary nature of it all that I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.

Hanks carries the entire film on his back, and this is yet another great bit of work from the actor.

Sometimes you want to sink your teeth into a gourmet meal, and sometimes you want junk food. Stylish, entertaining junk food. And that's what this is. So dig in.

while the action cranks up in the final half-hour, it's shot in such an incoherent manner that it renders the entire endeavor rather impotent. And by the time the film's confusing finale arrives, we're left with only one real question: "That's it?"

Young does her best to carry this all on her shoulders, and while she nails her early scenes playing up Margaret's instability, she eventually gets lost among all the scenery and abundant production design. Never quite as surreal as it needs to be, The Blazing World is an exercise in dream logic that stumbles over itself again and again.

As a sensory experience, Knocking is stunning. The heightened sounds mixed with a stuffy, collapsing ambiance create an unforgettable experience. Pity that the narrative in the midst of all of this fails to match that power. 

There are countless superhero movies better than this. Better written, better directed, better acted, better made. And yet, Let There Be Carnage has a weird, quirky heart, and sometimes, that's exactly what you need to see.

The Many Saints of Newark is smart enough to point out that Livia isn't an anomaly in this world — she's just another borderline-sociopath who has found her place among murderous men.

The cast is dynamite across the board. The way they converse with each other feels wholly natural, as if they've been talking for years.

Spencer will break your heart, but it will bring it warmth, too.

As social commentary, it's weak. As a comedy, it's unfunny. As a horror movie, it's not very scary.

The genius of Sundown is how little it tells us while keeping us glued to what we're seeing.

The Rescue is an edge-of-your-seat experience. Vasarhelyi and Chin shoot this thing like a thriller, combining both actual footage shot during the rescue with recreations featuring the actual divers, blending all this footage together seamlessly to create a wholly cinematic experience.

I'm sure Lakewood had its heart in the right place, and Watts, gosh love her, is really trying, since she's pretty much the only person on screen for most of the movie. But every step Amy takes towards the school is another misstep the movie makes, and by the time she gets to her destination, we've already mentally checked out.

The Forgiven runs the risk of becoming a thoughtless movie about a vile white man who is taught a lesson by wise brown people, but McDonagh, who also wrote the script, manages to (mostly) avoid that with a subtle touch.