Christopher Schobert

Like the main character’s actions, Park’s film is rather undisciplined in its development. Yet it’s downright exhilarating to watch such a skilled director unleash his fury. It’s also deliriously funny.

Rental Family could have gone deeper, darker, and more boldly into the oddities of the human rental market. But that would be a different film. It seems silly to come down too hard on this good-natured comedy-drama––especially for offering a much more impressive performance than the one that earned Fraser an Oscar.

While Wake Up Dead Man fails to reach the highs of Knives Out and Glass Onion, it nevertheless solidifies Johnson’s reliability to deliver thoughtful thrills.

While Robinson’s full-length feature as star does not reach his show’s highs, it’s still a hysterically funny, pitch-black comedy.

Minahan and Klass struggle to balance the film’s many characters and disparate storylines, but at the same time they’ve created a film populated by people who are wildly compelling.

The result is a smart, emotionally satisfying exploration of people who may no longer have a place in modern Las Vegas.

Eden wants to leave the audience brimming with respect for the survival skills of Floreana’s inhabitants. Unfortunately, the endless scenes of discord are what will be remembered. This is a script problem that’s never solved. Howard’s ambition is to be applauded, but that alone is not enough to make for successful cinema.

Bring Them Down is not a great film. It’s occasionally compelling thanks to its haunting, almost otherworldly locations in Ireland. Mainly, though, what stands out are performances of the ever-intense Christopher Abbott, Nora-Jane Noone, and, most notably, Barry Keoghan.

North of Normal is an affecting drama about the life-altering impact of a youth in the wild. Happily, it embraces subtlety rather than over-the-top histrionics, resulting in a study of teenage wildlife that resonates strongly.

Smith expertly weaves the words of Mothersbaugh and Casale with film clips, old commercials, and, eventually, actual footage of the band’s earliest days to clarify what de-evolution, Devo-style, was all about.

Broomfield has created the definitive documentary on the early days of the Rolling Stones; even more crucially, he has shown both how the Stones became THE STONES and the cost of that success.

The Peasants is a histrionic and often-ludicrous bummer, one that wastes the deeply committed performance of star-in-the-making Kamila Urzedowska. The Welchmans deserve credit for developing a unique style. Now it is time to write words that match these images.

With a little more Keaton charm, a sharper script, and a bit more filmmaking verve, Knox may have succeeded.

Ultimately, The End We Start From is a success because its focus is not on the tropes of post-apocalyptic cinema. Instead it zeroes in on the love between a mother and her child, and that makes all the difference.

In many ways Lee is a perfect festival crowd-pleaser––handsomely made, well-acted, based on a true story, filled with recognizable stars. While it is not a great film, it is undoubtedly a good one, and that’s enough to warrant a recommendation.

Little Richard was everything, and thanks to Lisa Cortés’ film his influence on everyone from Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix to Bad Brains and Harry Styles can never again be doubted.

I Get Knocked Down is both entertaining and insightful, and it is hard not to be moved by Bruce’s MO: “I don’t want to give up. I don’t want to just accept things as they are.” He may worry that he is a one-hit wonder. Still, a hit’s a hit, and getting up again more than 20 years later is admirable.

If Regan’s film is not very memorable, it’s also, without question, wholly believable. She captures the complexities of an abbreviated childhood and early parenthood with real insight, and with Georgie has created a delightful protagonist.

O’Connor, who also scripted, adroitly manages the feat of making a 19th-century period piece burst with contemporary feeling.

The warm, witty Fabelmans is Spielberg at his most revealing, and watching him reflect on his past is downright extraordinary.

While Glass Onion is not better than the 2019 outing, it is almost as enjoyable––a noteworthy victory in and of itself.

Undeniably funny, very well-acted, and wise in its tonal focus, Weird plays as entertainment that could have been much, much more. There is still much to admire and enjoy, not the least of which is a genuinely triumphant, note-perfect performance from Daniel Radcliffe.

Spin Me Round never reaches classic status, but works as an enjoyable, sometimes uproarious subversion of rom-com tropes. Pull up a chair, and mangia.

Whether you know the truth going in or not, My Old School is a hugely entertaining charmer.

Pirates is a fine film, and for Peters, Edusah, Elazour, and director Yates, it is undoubtedly a preview of even greater successes to come.

The stakes are low, drama minimal, structure formless. It makes for a viewing experience that is occasionally enjoyable and largely unengaging.

Had [Ponsoldt] truly trusted his young performers and crafted the script accordingly, Summering could have been something special. Instead he’s made a film as unfocused and forgettable as a rainy late-summer afternoon. These characters deserve better.

Speak No Evil is riveting and upsetting in equal measure. And I never, ever want to see it again.