James Berardinelli

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.