John Fink

The characters are just complex enough and the action is just engrossing enough to keep us interested, but Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, working from Jeanne Ryan’s novel, haven’t quite built a solid-enough foundation to foster a genuinely compelling commentary on today’s social media obsession.

Duck Butter remains a subversive treat for much of its running time, even when it falls into familiar patterns.

Perhaps the director’s most no holds barred picture yet, it expresses the anxieties and political division of the Trump era.

The film, although likable in passages, keeps the problems it explores local, with a narrow focus rather than creating a national call to action.

Superbly entertaining ... An engaging thriller first and a millennial can-do tale second, Tollman’s script sometimes tells rather than shows as it repeats points later in the picture. Yet the rapid-fire pacing is continually riveting, calling back to the great political thrillers of yesteryear.

Schroder and his subject do have a nice casual familiarity; hopefully he’ll check in on Ingels every ten years or so.

The film does fall short of being the rousing comedy it sets out to be, falling into a fairly predictable pattern with a neat resolution and concept that it delicately doesn’t turn on its head.

Foster and Fanning are predictably great together, cut from the same bayou cloth, both doing what they must to get by, but the script gives them too little to work from. Instead, there’s only enough material for a few touching, if not heavy-handed moments along the way.

Well-acted by lead James Freedson-Jackson, the film takes its subject matter more seriously than it takes its plot. It’s one of those films that captivates in the moment until it all falls apart.

Despite feeling too familiar, as far as late-summer comedies go, it’s hard to deny War Dogs is entertaining and skillfully crafted, playing fast and loose with the actual story, while remaining politically middle of the road.

Following the events that led up to Winner’s arrest––including recordings of conversations between Winner and agents who stopped by for a friendly chat, along with the efforts of her loving family to advocate on her behalf–– Kennebeck again has crafted an often riveting exploration of the state of national security.

Despite being energetic even if it wears out its welcome and fascinating even as it frustrates, it never quite commits to a tone in true punk rock spirit.

Take Me proves to be a tonal mess with weak comic timing.

The Beach Bum is a skillfully crafted and often hilariously entertaining, but like an evening with Moondog, it might leave you with a hangover.

The success of the film is in its performances, from Gabrielle Union’s sincere and quick-witted Rachel to Mo’Nique’s spirited performance as Aunt May, a cosmopolitan women who is has lived quite a life.

Apart from a few minor faults along the way, the film is an often exciting exploration of the world through the eyes of Lily Hevesh, who has put her ten thousand hours in prior to graduating high school and is now living the dream.

Yesterday, a sweet and well-meaning comedy, is a cautionary tale in taking on such an iconic musical output without adding much new to it.

Fearless writer-director-actress Marianna Palka has crafted an bold, dark domestic comedy with Bitch.

Zhu brings a great deal of sympathy to her performance, yet her directorial debut somehow feels a bit hollow, disconnected by design.

The New Romantic is the rare film that presents these relationships without judgment offering up the good, bad, painful, and confusing as a matter of fact.

Dabka is a visceral, engaging, fast-paced journalism drama with authenticity and a few rough edges.

Well-acted and handsomely lensed by Aaron Kovalchik, Blame is an engaging debut that subverts the male gaze that might be associated with this kind of teacher/student relationship drama. It is objective without being titillating as it delivers low-key character driven thrills.

Caught between a horror action flick that delivers gallons of splatter and a well-cast high-concept comedy, both seemed pushed aside for mediocre thrills and a few chuckles.

Run hits familiar beats and is often too guarded, leaving us grasping for a little more than its 78-minute run time can provide.

The film’s final revelations are underdeveloped and underwhelming, wrapping up events neatly in a way that lacked the humor of earlier scenes.

This is a dull, illogical, yet sincere and well-meaning drama.

Beat by beat, The Ticket offers one predictable, obvious revelation after another right down to its conclusion.

Sick and twisted for the sake of being sick and twisted, Kuso is a certainly not a film for everyone, or perhaps anybody. I imagine the experience is like being high on something spiked with an agent that can induce awful nightmares. Though I’m not sure being drunk or high will make Kuso a delightful experience.

While not terribly insightful, passages are undeniable electric as Robbins captivates an audience that has plunked down a lot of cash to see him.

The film progresses predictably with an easy charm even if it’s dragged down by occasionally clunky pacing and sitcom tropes while exploring the complexity and flaws of its characters.

With a conversational tone framed by extensive archival footage and access to Smith and his family, Clerk is an intimate overview of Smith’s universe, inner circle, and influence over the course of his 25-plus year career.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is a funny-enough summer comedy that never quite breaks free from the countless raunchy iterations that have come before it.

It’s a repulsive punk rock work that falls short of achieving what it sets out to do, finding itself parodying work that’s already a parody of itself.

Despite a third act that rushes what could have been a deeply profound conclusion, Clerks III is one for Smith’s loyal fellowship. He returns to the well with a mix of sharp, geeky humor and affecting life lessons—an outing that feels refreshingly old-school.

The Boss Baby is a run-of-the-mill offering from DreamWorks who have prioritized frantic action and one-liners over the rich complexity of its competition.

Instead of sinking in, I found myself yearning for the classics it has either been influenced by or is borrowing heavily from. If this were a more academic exercise it should have come with an extensive works cited page.

A patriotic war drama for its domestic audience, Operation Chromite looks and feels like a blockbuster, offering an occasionally compelling look at the tactics employed and their effect.

The Greatest Hits might not inspire thoughtful essays, as a cinematic pop album it satisfies with a few somber notes, some lesser tracks, and a few terrific moments where it all just works.

A horror film populated by smart characters that take on the patriarchy by refusing to play by its rules, its anger and its heart is in the right place. The problem is how it achieves these ends with plot devices that feel borrowed from cheap studio cash grabs usually dumped in theaters in January and September.

In the end, The Legacy of the Whitetail Deer Hunter feels as innocuous and funny as some of the higher-tier films from Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production studio. It misses the mark on subversion, but it at least offers a few chuckles along the way.

The supernatural element with low-rent visual effects derails an interesting enough concept where the rules don’t matter. Finding a creepy, mysterious porn film is weird by itself, and while it need not be grounded in realism like 8mm or Hardcore, Porno doesn’t have to throw away the rule book to be fun and scary.

Vibrant and often hilarious––with a surprise appearance by Fred Durst, who becomes a spirit guide to help the kids “break stuff” and save humanity––Y2K is far from perfect, but it does try harder than most comedies in its densely accurate portrait of an era of angst awaiting the nightmares of the 9/11 era.

Students of the genre will know what’s coming and if you’re craving a few thrills, you can do far worse.

King Cobra is a lurid piece of business that, at times, goes gleefully over the top while lacking the kind of gut punch you might expect in the film’s third act.

The grand takeaway from Puerto Ricans in Paris, which delivers what you’d expect and not much else, is that someone ought to finally give Luis Guzmán the leading role of a lifetime. The film, however, is tolerable on cable or free TV.

I admire the film’s ability to commit to a rather simple idea, but that idea seems to lack the gravity and impact it ought to.

Unfortunately Nerdland doesn’t offer many surprises.

Occasionally clunky pacing aside, the film is a delightful bit of cinematic comfort food.

In the most disappointing miscalculation, Schumer and Hawn seem to be lacking chemistry together in a relationship that walks familiar ground without really offering any kind of subversive take on the material.

Fronted by a fine performance by Matt Smith, Mapplethorpe plays it safe with a subject that’s anything but.

As far as straightforward crude comedies go, The Brothers Grimsby succeeds at times, even if the confines of narrative cinema restrict just how wild Sacha Baron Cohen can be.

Despite overstaying its welcome through one absurd action sequence after another, it knows exactly what it is: an action movie your uncle would have liked after receiving on VHS from Columbia House. It’s just skillful enough to keep one engaged as we witness otherwise dull archetypes escape one tense situation after another.

A film such as this lives and dies by its leads, and both are wonderful on-screen together, creating a realistic love story that works well as they navigate the situation they both find themselves in.

There is something occasionally fun in watching a film with questionable choices bookended by over-the-top musical numbers. It’s not hard to imagine a spirited programmer getting a crowd excited for it at some point in the future.

Below Her Mouth is sexy and captivating, telling a familiar story with a fresh sexual frankness.

Despite the intimate, conversational style, A Private Portrait feels a bit cold and calculated, with a focus on celebrity versus art.

Neatly wrapping it all up in a bow, right down to big reveals and reconciliations, The Perfect Match offers not nearly enough twists on a tired formula.

Despite a few laughs, it’s a film that panders to a general audience with the funky musical score of a blaxploitation flick but none of the heart, spirit, or outrage.

Narrative risks aside, Outlaws and Angels takes the easy way out instead of allowing these moments the breathing room they need.

Occasionally entertaining and cringe-inducing, it’s largely more of the same: a retread of previous Jigsaw/Saw outings that sets the series up for new revenue opportunities without slaying larger dragons.

[A] paint-by-the-numbers product, which ought to have been released directly to VOD.

Rehashing some of the best and most memorable moments of Terry Zwigoff’s 2003 comedy, Bad Santa 2 is dirtier but certainly not funnier and it ultimately gives us less of a reason to care.

Upon a first glance, the film is somewhat hollow an experience, offering trite dialogue and an on-the-nose message about beauty and the horrors of genetic engineering taken to their extreme.

A game of Truth or Dare can actually be a great way to get to know each other, the only problem here is that these characters are so paper thin, that it’s hard to care what secrets they may hide.

Sleepless isn’t intellectually offensive or even all that embarrassing for the talent involved. Beat by beat, right down to its twists, it’s a predictable January thriller.

The material is simply too thin to support a 106-minute-long version of this story without veering into boredom as the path to the confession is a tediously predictable one.

Ambitious and deeply flawed, Acrimony may appeal to hardcore fans of The Room–it’s not every day a melodrama comes along that’s this fun precisely because it never takes itself seriously.

The craft is quite admirable, while the elements feel a bit recycled.

Well-directed and fun, if not a bit too long and perhaps concerned with a plot that’s not nearly as engaging as its leads, Vampire Academy is a little smarter than your average teen adventure, but it’s certainly not Heathers or Mean Girls.

Ultimately, Boo! A Madea Holloween is a comedy with few too laughs, a stilted made-for-TV look, and weak character development.

Mainstream summer comedies are not off to a terribly ambitious start this year and The House is one of the low points thus far.

Beautifully shot in Instagram-filter inspired hues by Tom Betterton and Adam Silver, After is occasionally aesthetically pleasing. Yet the talented cast is burdened by a dead on arrival screenplay that waters down what could have been an intoxicating tale of first love had it divorced itself from its dull formula that no doubt was influenced by committee and the studio’s desire to create what they think teen and tween audiences will enjoy.