Graeme Guttmann

Luck may not reinvent the wheel — at this point, what can? — but it does what films like this do best, bringing forth a message about family and perseverance with humor, heart, and a lot of magic.

As a piece of horror, the film is certainly effective, achieving a kind of discomforting aura that is sometimes missing from the too-polished genre fare released all-too-frequently.

Along with its genuine humor and a frank exploration of the different ways queer people live today, Jimpa is an emotional experience that feels authentic in a way that can be difficult to capture.

In the end, Samaritan commits a cardinal sin of the superhero genre: It thinks a high-profile actor with vaguely defined superpowers is enough to make the film interesting when it clearly needs something more.

There are great moments in the quiet of Treasure, the scenes where director Julia von Heinz's camera lingers on a look, an item, or a landscape. But Treasure finds itself stuck in the middle of these tender moments and a heavy-handed way with emotion that has good intentions but doesn't land the same.

There are a few bright spots in Rise of the Beasts, but these are largely overshadowed by a lot of generic parts that would not be out of place in any of the previous six Transformers movies.

Cave's assured direction creates a sickly sweet, dreamy world, and though its story sometimes lacks the dynamism it needs to fully connect, Kidman, unsurprisingly, carries the film over the finish line.

The beauty of a musical isn't just in the songs themselves, but the feelings they leave us with as we exit the theater. Leave One Day opts for a cheerier disposition that undermines staying power beyond its infectious tunes.

Despite sturdy performances, Without Blood doesn’t fully come together.

As much as it tries to be a mash-up of several genres, it would've been much better had it picked one lane and leaned into it.

It needed something to make it feel fresh beyond dazzling visuals, but by stripping away much of what made the first film great, Pinocchio feels like the same old story, even if its fantastical elements shine onscreen.

There's something comforting about the way in which My Fake Boyfriend doesn't try to reinvent the wheel. It's content living in its charming version of New York where everything works out in the end.

The film is unsure if wants to be a portrait of a man on the verge, a slasher, or a psychological chamber piece, and it ultimately fails to live up to any of these ideas.

It never digs deep enough which, when looked at through the fairy tale lens, is appropriate, but ultimately seems like a missed opportunity for the film.

Rent Free doesn't veer too far into dramatic territory, but when it does, it feels earned, a sobering moment that snaps the blurry edges of our protagonists' perspective into crystal clear view.

The script is caught between wanting to be a full-blown horror movie and wanting to be a tense psychological thriller.

Serious People doesn't deal in cynicism. Its quiet ending wraps things up too tidily, but there's a strange sort of optimism to its idiocy that is quite endearing.