Dan Bayer

This isn’t just some quirky look at an obscure American event and subculture or a love letter to the filmmaker’s home state; it’s a sly indictment of 21st-century America, wrapped up in what looks like a trashy thrill ride. It is pretty thrilling, to be sure, but much like how our intrepid hunters learn that the hunt is much more driving around in the dark than stalking and killing snakes, it’s not what you expect. For both the hunters and the audience, that’s for the best.

Lowery, clearly fascinated by the plight of the modern pop star, has made “Mother Mary” with both the fervor of a fan and the insight of a fellow artist. The questions the film asks about the identity of pop stars as well as the ownership of their music, their image, and their very souls don’t all have answers, and Lowery doesn’t provide them. He does, however, provide plenty of food for thought as he asks these questions, interrogating the relationship between artists and their audience and what each owes the other.

You, Me & Tuscany has all the right ingredients; the recipe’s just a little off. Throw in a little more spice and add some depth to the central romance, and the next time Page and Bailey do this together, they might just make a classic.

You don’t watch a movie like this for character or dialogue, you watch it to see fierce, strong young women twirl, kick, and stab their way through a pack of mobsters to the sound of Tchaikovsky. On that front, Pretty Lethal delivers. Brava, ladies!

Given how well “Brian” works, it’s tempting to call it a miracle of a movie, simply because this humor shouldn’t play this well. But that’s not a miracle, that’s just everyone working on a film being perfectly aligned on how to tell the story they’re telling.

While it may be indebted to more modern storytelling methods than his previous features, Hokum still possesses enough of McCarthy’s dark magic that it will hold you in a vice grip all the way through. Considering how played-out many horror films feel nowadays, McCarthy’s mastery at scaring the audience is cause for celebration.

Instead of the sharp satire of modern-day relationships it starts out as, “Over Your Dead Body” becomes a gross-out comedy in its second half. While it’s very good in both of those modes, it can’t help but feel a bit disappointing that it takes such a sharp turn from something that’s both fun and perceptive to something that’s just fun.

The whole film has a surfeit of personality, thanks in large part to the multi-hyphenate Russo’s distinct voice permeating every aspect. In addition to writing and directing, Russo also edited and scored the film. That level of control may seem like a lot, especially for a first-time filmmaker, but when you have a vision as specific as Russo does here, it makes sense.

Boots Riley is a genuine original, and in I Love Boosters, he makes a statement as wildly entertaining as possible.

The story, while unique enough in its presentation of Tourette’s, follows the same patterns as any number of other feel-good disability dramas, but all the actors are so believably in touch with their humanity, in all its messiness, that they make the material sing.

While it’s impossible not to be moved by Holding Liat, Kramer also challenges his audience to consider the situation in Gaza carefully and really question what is best for the region going forward.

“Fire and Ash“reaffirms Cameron as one of our greatest storytellers and the Avatar series as the pinnacle of Hollywood blockbuster entertainment.

A near-perfect parody chock full of witty wordplay, ingenious physical comedy, and diabolically clever sight gags.

Disney producing a beautifully animated film full of cute anthropomorphic animals may not be much of a surprise, but the quality of the screenplay is.

Yes, it’s ridiculous. No, it doesn’t make perfect sense. But, damn, if it isn’t a hoot and a half to watch.

Honoring its protagonist’s struggle by embracing every bit of the difficulty of that struggle, while keeping a deliberate (if not exactly slow) pace, keeps the film grounded in a darkness that Fonzi ensures is always present. While that might seem overwhelming, it gives the film a sense of realism that lifts it above most legal dramas.

Ronan Day-Lewis makes a superb debut with this expressively shot and scored tale of familial reconciliation. The cast, led by the great Daniel Day-Lewis, is uniformly spectacular.

John Early's unique sensibility bursts onto the big screen with huge laughs in this loving recreation of '80s-'90s Lifetime movies that's just as heartfelt as it is hilarious.

Rian Johnson’s resurrection of the all-star murder mystery continues with yet another flawlessly cast, cleverly written, socially relevant, supremely entertaining entry in the “Knives Out” franchise

Either you’re able to get on Fuller’s wavelength or not, but the freshness and boldness of Dust Bunny are cause for celebration, regardless of which side you find yourself. There’s nothing else like it.