James Berardinelli

Cyrano is a disappointment. The set design and camera work are first rate, as are the performances of Dinklage and Bennett. It causes one to wonder whether, had the songs been excised in favor a straightforward telling, Cyrano might have played better. As it is, however, it’s merely a handsome looking period piece with too many mediocre songs and a major downer of an ending. Not exactly a great way to ring in a new year.

The darkness isn’t skin-deep; it permeates the material. Nightmare Alley may not be the feel-good film of 2021 but it leaves a lasting impression.

The meandering nature of the screenplay causes the movie to seem overlong as it noticeably loses momentum following a key coming-of-age moment. The episodes that follow don’t seem as fully realized as the ones that come before and, by the time The Hand of God ends, it’s floundering. On the whole, however, this is a charming and at times moving reminder of what it meant to be young in the 1980s.

Spielberg’s West Side Story is a resplendent entertainment and a reminder that at least some of cinema’s great classics can in fact find new life in the hands of a master director who is more concerned about crafting a movie than making a blockbuster.

National Champions remains effective as an ode to cynical realism but it’s uneven at best as a slice of drama.

It’s a perfectly enjoyable piece of movie-making and a treasure for those who want a better understanding of how old TV shows were made.

Fascinating, garish, and compelling even with an overlong 130-odd minute running time, Benedetta dabbles in some of Verhoeven’s career-long weaknesses while highlighting a great many of his strengths.

Overall, The Power of the Dog probably isn’t as powerful or wrenching as Campion intended for it to be but it remains an unsettling piece of cinema. It’s also a reminder that the Western is a broad enough genre to encompass much more than just “Cowboys and Indians.”

Viewed from the straightforward perspective of a narrative-based motion picture, writer/director Nathalie Biancheri’s sophomore feature never gains traction. There are some interesting ideas but it becomes increasingly difficult to relate to the characters or the situation the more obviously divorced from reality things become.

Scott is by no-means a “can’t miss” filmmaker. Although this is far from the worst films he has made, House of Gucci is among his most disappointing. With such a strong cast and the pedigree of a high-profile true crime story, viewers are likely to expect something with more octane. But the movie is too long and starts to spin its wheels long before it reaches its destination.

The film is notable for continuing to expand the corporation’s reach into different cultures while displaying a welcome maturation of animation beyond the conventional American standard into something that, although no less family-friendly, is thought-provoking and stimulating.

The movie as a whole isn’t about moments but a synthesis of all the factors that enriched the girls’ tennis DNA. Regardless of how much is true, how much has been softened and reshaped to suit the movie’s perspective, and how much is fabricated, the end result is compelling drama with top-notch performances and a feel-good denouement.

The surprisingly intimate result is enjoyable in the moment but the mental footprint fades rather quickly.

Although director Jason Reitman (son of Ivan, who made the first two) has done a solid job of satisfying multiple needs while turning out a passably amusing and affecting story, the limitations of the Ghostbusters formula are apparent. Ultimately, however, nostalgia remains the main selling point and viewers attending for that reason won’t be disappointed.

Although there are certainly elements of tragedy in the storyline, this is first and foremost a crowd-pleaser. It touches the heart and, in addition to being Branagh’s most personal film, it’s also his most intimate. Unquestionably one of 2021’s most affecting motion pictures.

Considering the hype, it’s a disappointment. It might have been better to populate the movie with three unknowns and spend a little more on the screenplay. You can have The Rock, Wonder Woman, and Deadpool, but it doesn’t mean much if they don’t have clever things to say and meaningful things to do.

While The Beta Test does a solid job of presenting Jordan as the kind of person ripe for a comeuppance and giving us a high-octane performance to go with it, the movie falls down when it comes to basic storytelling.

Eternals, despite trying to be a departure from the superhero generic norm, misses wide of the mark and ends up being a major lapse.

It’s almost worth seeing Last Night in Soho for the glorious heights of the first hour as Wright manipulates the visuals and acts like a master magician in developing his illusion. It’s when the illusion evaporates that the movie disappoints and, because it starts out so strongly, that makes the lackluster final act all the more discouraging.

The movie has a magnetic quality that’s all the more welcome because of all the weighty issues forming its foundation. It’s a tremendous debut effort for Hall, whose work seems more like that of a seasoned veteran than a first-timer.

I could easily list a half-dozen movies about famous artists/authors that fall into the same general category as this one. Excepting Cumberbatch’s performance and the strong visual sense, there’s not a lot to separate this from any of them.

For what we get, Dune: Part One is a great ride.

Those expecting an action film may be disappointed by what The Last Duel offers. While the climactic battle is rousing, suspenseful, and suitably brutal, the majority of the film is more about dialogue, perception, and character interaction.

Halloween Kills is one of the better sequels (put it alongside Halloween 4 and H20 and a shade below the 2018 production) and contains all the elements to make it popular among horror film lovers regardless of their ages.

The result, for those who can overcome the substantial “suspension of disbelief” hurdle, is engrossing and unsettling. As ridiculous as the premise might sound, the film is not easily forgotten. It lingers.

The film’s occasional overreaches aren’t always a negative; the high points are very high and, when it’s all over, most viewers will remember them.

If nothing else, The Many Saints of Newark recaptures the feel and aesthetic of David Chase’s The Sopranos, the TV series that was frequently cited as the best television had to offer during the eight years when it was on (and off) the air.

The Venom sequel checks all the generic comic book movie boxes and, if all one expects from a film adaptation is a straightforward translation with motion and live actors, it’s hard to knock Let There Be Carnage. But, in an era when most superhero productions are becoming increasingly complex, challenging one another for greater depth and storyline intricacy, the shallowness of both Venom movies stands out in an unflattering fashion.

It’s generic but not so bad that it becomes unwatchable.

here’s a dissonance between the film’s darker subjects and its seeming desire to offer something uplifting at the end. The coda feels dishonest and makes it as difficult to root for the film’s success as it does for the main character.

After a slow-burn first hour, the movie cranks up the octane with plenty of blood, guts, and bullets. The final 20 minutes feel a little sloppy, with one twist too many and an unfocused ending that may be optimistically hinting at a sequel, but everything else is solid.

Blue Bayou channels plenty of anger and passion and the narrative lynchpin is sufficiently compelling (despite a tendency toward melodramatic manipulation) but Chon’s capabilities as a writer don’t match those as a director and an actor.

A lively, crowd-pleasing story with heart to go along with the glitter and glitz, it’s better than a lot of what’s currently available.

As a chance for Isaac to re-familiarize viewers with his serious side after spending three films in a galaxy far, far away, it’s effective. But as a character study, it’s flawed and as a narrative, it’s erratic. There are too few high cards in the movie’s deck for it to be considered a winning hand.

I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. There. That just about sums it up.

As a stand-alone movie with no connections to anything else, Shang-Chi is an engaging piece of comic book art. It remains to be seen how it will fit into Marvel’s overall plan.

Undemanding movie-goers on the lookout for a movie featuring pretty people in a vapid rom-com that might find this movie to their liking. For everyone else, this is decidedly not “all that.”

This is one instance in which the return of a horror icon has a greater purpose than the exploitation of a recognizable brand. Would that more genre films were as thoughtful and thought-provoking, mixing substance with splatter in a fashion that builds uneasiness on more than one level.

Although Reminiscence is made with care and competence and features a strong underlying premise, the film as a whole is forgettable.

This is a creepily effective excursion into terror that, if watched alone in the dark, may generate post-movie jitters. It’s a quietly intense alternative to generic horror movies that provides its share of scares without the need to splatter the screen with blood and viscera.

Annette dares to be different and, at a time when so many movies feel like cookie-cutter representations of better past tellings, there’s more than a little virtue of taking an offbeat and oddball path, even if the detour is too long and has a few too many potholes.

While it’s easy to quibble about the choices of omission and inclusion made by screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson and whether a more adventurous, unconventional approach might have been a better fit for the central character’s personality, Hudson renders such criticism moot. Her performance as Aretha Franklin is more than worth the price of admission.

Reynold’s charisma and some solid gags hold things together for a while but the movie ultimately comes up short despite its promising premise.

With The Suicide Squad, Gunn shows that there are ways to keep things edgy while at the same time offering enough humor and action to maintain the crowd-pleasing elements.

Although Oda’s debut offers glimpses of a potentially gifted director, the project feels unfinished and fails to match his impressive vision with an equally compelling story.

While a majority of the movie is a rambunctious road trip with a few call-outs to Studio Ghibli (Michael Rooker’s Lutador the giant python would likely earn a smile from Miyazaki), there’s heart in the evolving relationship between Gabi and Vivo and a solid emotional payoff at the end.

They Shall Not Grow Old isn’t just a compelling motion picture; it’s an important slice of cinema.

The Green Knight has its share of flaws but there’s a freshness to Lowery’s approach that demands to be noticed.

Jungle Cruise runs about 15 minutes too long (what else is new these days when 2 hours has become the new 90 minutes?) but mostly offers a fun, breezy journey. It may not be another Pirates of the Caribbean but it exists as a reminder that inspiration can come from unusual places.

Old is as wrinkled and decrepit as the title makes it sound.

Although A New Legacy runs at least a half hour too long and generates zero tension with the central “basketball” game, it’s not without its share of small pleasures.

Those who are familiar with Bourdain from No Reservations or Parts Unknown will appreciate the opportunity to peer through the different facets of Neville’s prism. Those who don’t know Bourdain from Emeril Lagasse may not find Roadrunner as compelling but are likely to enjoy the warts-and-all approach employed by Neville in examining Bourdain’s life.

This isn’t a “big picture” movie in that doesn’t seek to answer questions that are beyond its limited scope but, within the parameters established by Kennedy and his writers, it leaves few stones unturned.

Black Widow represents the MCU looking back when it should be moving forward. Everything about the movie seems small, even the big action set-pieces. No doubt fans – and when discussing Marvel, there are a huge number of those – will be delighted to see the mega-franchise returning to the big screen but it would be a fallacy to consider this anything but a low-tier entry.

No Sudden Move represents [Soderbergh's] best post-“retirement” effort and this is a real treasure for those with an affinity for ensemble crime movies.

With Mexican-born director Everardo Gout at the helm (DeMonaco having stepped away from directorial duties following Election Year), the Forever Purge is adept at providing the violence and gore fans expect from an exploitation flick. And, despite its pretense of offering political commentary, that’s really all this movie is.

Although the film’s sci-fi elements are flimsy at best, it boasts some strong action sequences. The special effects sometimes feel a little too video-game-y but, for the most part, they get the job done.

The Ice Road may be the worst direct-to-Netflix movie to feature a major star. It may also offer the worst entry into Liam Neeson’s catalog of strong, resilient action heroes.

Are you weary of the high-octane, CGI-heavy action offered by the Fast and Furious series? If so, then it would be hard to find any reason to recommend the film.

The message is laudable and Luca’s heart is in the right place but its sledgehammer tactics make parts of the movie feel more like a homily than summer entertainment.

Perhaps the biggest (and most noticeable) fall-off from the first film is the lack of chemistry between Reynolds and Jackson. The two never connect. Rarely have I seen the volcanic Jackson look so disinterested; this is the closest he’s ever come to phoning it in.

Despite some sluggish narrative passages and tonal inconsistencies, this represents one of the most exuberant and energetic productions to arrive in the post-pandemic era and its mixture of feel-good elements and real-world concerns is a welcome change from horror movies and action mayhem.

The promise of an intriguing premise results in expectations that the film, which rarely diverges from the familiar feel of a post-apocalyptic road movie, is unable to capture.

It’s an adequate horror movie with the requisite atmospherics and jump-scares, and it provides Conjuring fans with their fix. However, as the latest chapter of what is now a trilogy, it’s a disappointment.

This is a perfect example of complete and utter mediocrity.

Devotees of either the classic animated Disney cartoon or the remake featuring real, live actors may find a few reasons to delight in Cruella. If one puts aside the film’s antecedents, however, what’s left is an unremarkable (although certainly not awful) family film (with a PG-13 rating) that lacks a compelling reason to exist.

It’s as worthy an extension of the first film as one can imagine and its existence does nothing to diminish A Quiet Place. Considering what has happened to too many movies gifted with unnecessary follow-ups, that’s an accomplishment in its own right.

Final Account may ultimately be more important for the voices it immortalizes than for its worth as a conventional documentary.

For zombie movie-fans, Army of the Dead provides a good blend of the fast and the familiar, all blended together into a concoction that hits the sweet spot. Snyder takes some chances, doesn’t skimp on the gore, and offers a shock or two. Perhaps that’s the best a zombie movie can hope to accomplish in 2021.

Although Tracy Letts’ adaptation is generally faithful to the source material, this is an example of something that can work well on the written page but loses a lot when condensed and brought to the screen.

Although Spiral pretends to mine the trope of one good cop investigating department corruption, that’s really just an excuse to present long, lovingly-filmed instances of sadism and torture.

This isn’t Sheridan at his best and, although it may provide Jolie with some exposure outside of voice work and Disney properties, it’s not going to resurrect her career as an action star or a serious actress.

No matter how one views it, however, it’s worth seeing for the story it tells, the tension it generates, and the glimpse of potential it offers for future productions employing this technique.