Jeff Ewing

It's anchored by a wonderful central performance from Susan Chardy, who finds layers of nuance in Shula as her anger over the situation bubbles to the surface. It's an excellent film, and a strong display of talent across the board.

The film captures the reality of an abundantly free, but unguarded childhood well, and the resultant dreamlike quality of certain scenes is thoroughly engaging. It's absolutely a journey to watch.

Mob Cops has an interesting true story at its heart, and a talented central cast to convey it, but there are self-imposed limitations baked into its core. There may have been a great movie here, but it simply doesn't achieve that potential.

It may not feel fully original, and some moments could be honed, but it's a solid, visually gorgeous outing from Huston anchored by an excellent central performance from Michael Pitt.

It's a strong and highly watchable thriller that shouldn't be missed.

A Man Called Otto has its moments, both humorous and heartwarming, and it works better than it should due to the strength of its performances. Unfortunately, it's also plagued by choices that blunt its overall coherence, seeming like Forster wanted to make an entirely different kind of film than the material dictated.

Some moments could benefit from lessened narration, a longer cut in an individual scene, or the maintenance of a less dreamlike tone, but it's a fine film that provides one of the most unique cinematic experiences in biopic history.

It would have benefitted from a greater inclusion of Pep's good times, allowing a more well-rounded exploration and understanding of the storied athlete, but thanks to a well-scripted narrative and excellent performances, it remains an excellent biographical look into the decline and fall of a featherweight empire.

It's a winner, with a surprisingly breezy pace for such a long action spectacle. Interested audiences should catch it on the largest screen they can.

Nosferatu shows Robert Eggers at the height of his powers, building an atmosphere of choking menace anchored by magnificent turns from Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgard.

KPop Demon Hunters is a charming action outing with fun world-building, catchy songs, and strong performances.

It's an excellent, if imperfect, crime thriller, capably indicting our era with the same insight that Kurosawa brought to the internet's potential to isolate in Pulse.

There's something to be missed from the first due to the predictability of his path in this iteration, but there are enough surprises and novelties (usually violent) to provoke delight and get adrenaline pumping.

The film is at its best when Heller is executing novel kills or blackmailing his bosses, and we're given just enough of those adrenaline-pumping scenes to make it all work together well. The Amateur strikes that delicate balance often (though not universally), but it works well enough when it counts, for an outing worth seeing.

Altogether, The Fire Inside is a strong directorial debut for Rachel Morrison, boasting excellent performances from Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry.

It's a film that subtly reminds the audience to slow down, be present, and enjoy what one has, because it can be gone in an instant, while also encouraging hope. It's a beautiful cinematic journey and one not to be missed.

It's a beautiful tribute to a legend, packed with footage and interviews that highlight his accomplishments and unique talents, though at times a greater focus on John Williams the man, or a follow-up on certain thought-provoking threads, would be welcome.

If Cheech & Chong's Last Movie is actually their last movie (a plausible hypothesis given that their last live-action feature together was back in 1984), it's a great curtain call. It's a breezy, engaging, but still informative look at the duo and their falling out, and it ends on a note that's surely welcome for fans of their comedic oeuvre.

Wicked defies gravity for a soaring, beautifully sung return to Oz with wonderful vibrancy and a true sense of scale.

It's considerably elevated by strong performances and some excellent directorial and cinematographic choices, but it ultimately is undone by details and narrative pivots that don't work.

From a horror standpoint, M3GAN could be scarier, but it's difficult enough for a film to balance suspense, a nuanced look at grief, and intelligently meta jokes, and M3GAN does all that surprisingly well. The long and the short of it is that, while M3GAN could perhaps be scarier and it doesn't feel entirely conceptually novel, it's a genuinely great addition to the horror-comedy canon.

The Long Walk exceeds even optimistic expectations to easily become one of the best Stephen King adaptations.

As a whole, Devara: Part 1 is a bold and engaging tale marked with a pair of excellent performances by starN.T. Rama Rao, Jr., alongside a bold antagonist outing from Saif Ali Khan.

Ne Zha II is a bold, action-packed, interesting celebration of Chinese legend, wrapped around the story of a growing boy who wants to determine his future. The new English dub translates these characters well to the screen, and its visuals are beautiful companions to the large-scale story.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle boasts stellar action, animation, and some wonderful performances, but it would be better as episodes than as a standalone film.

Altogether, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a fun MCU entry that finally starts to feel like the new Saga is pointing somewhere interesting.

It's a fun narrative, the action elements are well done and uncompromising, and the jokes work. Sure, the narrative could use a little shine in certain aspects, such as the conspiracy at the film's heart and the background of their newly deceased, estranged father, but as a whole, it's a stellar outing and a lot of fun, a blank check for a probable franchise.

The entity's visage is shocking, its effects personal and malevolent, and the film had some terrifying set pieces, creating a mysterious new supernatural creature to lose sleep over.