Jeff Ewing

The Rule of Jenny Pen has a lot going for it. Lithgow and Rush pull off strong performances, the escalation of tension is well-developed regarding the scenes taken as a whole, and the central conceit of the doll is used to strong effect.

Uppercut, by director Torsten Ruether, benefits from Ving Rhames' strong screen presence, but a lack of believability in both character development and plotting keep the character study from working.

It's an oddly cobbled-together hodgepodge of ideas and little real inspiration that could have graduated to fun schlock with a little more love.

It's a film that largely rests on an edifice of clichés, contrivances, and ungrounded choices, needing greater development to actually land.

It's a well-balanced animated actioner that captures everything fans already love about Geralt of Rivia while exploring the complicated politics of monster hunting.

It's a heartbreaking on-the-ground look at the human cost of the Israeli government's settlement policy that must be seen.

Some elements and moments are effective, but they're layered with subplot details, character performances, and related choices that don't work as well as intended, firmly grounding an otherwise promising concept.

Alarum is a genuine disappointment, putting a set of strong performers (who do quite well in action-heavy projects) in a situation that could produce memorable, excellent action scenes. It needs extra shine in the script and a stronger directorial vision to do so, which essentially damns the film to action thriller purgatory.

There's certainly good here, but it's hard not to wish certain key moments were allowed to thrive.

The idea is good, but in practice The Prosecutor doesn't fully feel like a legal drama, nor does it feel like a martial arts film. It's a decent film with strong direction, but laden with regrettable missed opportunities.

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

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 good adaptation that stays true to the source material, but Chapter 2 still falls short of adaptational greatness.

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.

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.

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.

Your Monster is an engaging showcase of Barrera's considerable talents, as well as proof that Dewey can nail a charismatic rom-com lead role under any circumstances.

Brothers is a largely enjoyable comedy, predominantly thanks to its talented central duo and smart direction by Barbakow, though it admittedly suffers from a host of issues baked into the script itself.

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.

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 film with several strong elements, though some issues in the scripting and execution limit its ultimate impact.

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.

The finale could use a little honing (greater context, a little more clarity, some tighter thematic context and background information), but it's still full of enough twists, tension, and surprises to have a solid time at the theater that audiences will be thinking about afterward.

It's a fun, action-packed outing with surprisingly effective emotional resonance, adding layers to existing Transformers lore while being a worthwhile story in its own right.

Altogether, it's a solid dark comedy in the trappings of a psychological horror film.

It's a tense, mostly successful thriller with a talented cast, but greater artistry in the thematic development and greater novelty in the plotting would enhance the freshness of the crime drama.

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.