Kristy Puchko

I’m Your Man promises Dan Stevens as a rom-com dreamboat, but what it delivers is far more intriguing and rewarding.

Though Chbosky’s staging is uninspired, the songs — both old and new — are nonetheless powerful, which might be enough of a lure for fans of the show or musicals in general. Sadly, Platt’s calamitous casting dooms this adaptation to cringe-worthy awkwardness.

Even if you loved Host, skip Dashcam, Rob Savage’s provocative but woefully shallow, ugly, and cruel follow-up.

Though Jessica Chastain delivers a heartfelt performance as Tammy Faye, her faith in the filmmakers can’t save this drama from falling flat.

Ultimately, this storied provocateur deals out shocking imagery and disturbing scenes, but he refuses to lay down a thrilling climax much less anything satisfyingly entertaining.

Co-writer/director Julia Ducournau delivers a superb sophomore effort, which surpasses her cannibal horror-comedy Raw in provocative content and twisted laughs. Newcomer Agathe Rousselle is an extraordinary find, hurling herself face-first into grisly violence, lusty dances, and nerve-rattling emotional terrain.

It’s frankly galling that a princess movie is this utterly lacking in grandeur. All Cannon has delivered is a cringe-worthy eyesore that’s deadly dull and intellectually shallow.

The cast is wasted in such lame roles, and the horror story’s uncertain tone falls far short of intriguing. So, despite one supremely frightening moment, this movie is not scary. It just stinks.

Director Lee Haven Jones elevates this ripe premise with a masterful use of color and a garnish of gore. This makes for a feast of the eyes, bursting with visuals gorgeous and gruesome. Tied together with a surreal tone and topped off with a generous sprinkling of carnage, The Feast serves up a heady and haunting experience that sticks to your ribs and rattles your nerves.

Phil Tippett’s Mad God unleashes decades of pent-up creative darkness into a trippy and troubling ride with astonishing craftsmanship, but little substance.

Hellbender, a coming-of-age movie from a family that’s built their own indie horror house, is a captivating, smart, and delightfully witchy tale.

The Last Thing Mary Saw is an intriguing and atmospheric but uneven horror offering, with a disappointingly lackluster romance at its center.

Ultimately, Materna feels like a hodgepodge of half-finished drafts from one-act plays, pompous short films, and dusty first screenplays.

Whatever its intentions, Annette is remarkable. It’s an exhilarating collision of cinema, live concerts, stage shows, and celebrity culture, shaken up and let loose with abandon. Its message might be lost, but the emotions still hit hard, particularly in a finale that strips away the flash and artifice to concentrate on something pure, painful, and unforgettable.

Free Guy delivers a first hour that is outrageously entertaining, stuffed with gonzo action, goofy gags, star power, big ideas, and plenty of Easter Eggs for lovers of movies and video games. However, in its second half, the joyful journey is derailed by a slog of a side quest, falling short of the potential set-up.

The Green Knight is truly astounding.

Fear Street Part 3: 1666 becomes that final puzzle piece that clicks into place, making the big picture clear. On its own, it's spooky fun, reveling in shadows, suspicion, and twisted reveals. In the broader context, it’s a climax that’s sensationally bold, thrilling, and joltingly entertaining… and perhaps not just an end, but also a new beginning.

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions twists the puzzle premise of its hit predecessor into an unsolvable slog.

While Fear Street Part 2: 1978 still offers some thrills, it's not a cut above its predecessor.

It’s astonishing that the helmer of The LEGO Batman Movie followed that vibrant, funny, and wildly entertaining offering with an action movie that is such an inane eyesore. And yet that turn still makes more sense than the plot of The Tomorrow War.

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 is a film rich with character, world-building, Easter eggs, and scares. Horror fans will be grinning over a visual allusion, then be pulled to the edge of their seat by this slaughter-packed adventure, then catch themselves screaming at a harrowingly portrayed murder.

Though entertaining, the funky flourishes offered in plotting, visuals, and voiceover ultimately become a superficial rebellion, draped over a disappointingly stale form. Basically, it’s like sticking safety pins on a t-shirt pre-torn at The Gap.

Justin Lin knows exactly what makes a great Fast & Furious movie. He’s directed several. For the latest, he re-teamed with cast and crew to allow this fantastic film series do what it does best. He delivers bold plot twists, grit-teethed gravitas, and out-of-this-world action to create the kind of cinematic spectacle that demands to be seen on the biggest screen with the loudest sound system possible.

Infinite is a chaotic film. Plucking from well-worn cliches, it’s familiar enough to scratch the itch of action entertainment. Yet its world-building is so wonky you might do better to switch off your brain and let the flashy stunts wash over you.

Cruella's gonzo fashion, complicated characters, and truly bonkers backstory are compromised by obligations to be kid-friendly and its time-consuming need to over-explain everything it does.

Hayes and Papadimitropoulos' script is meticulous in its capturing of the internal contradictions that make up real people. Stan and Gough fearlessly embrace it all. Together, they give us such an honest and intimate exploration of an adult relationship that Monday feels almost like prying. Yet the most fascinating element of this rich drama is that there is no determination of judgment. No easy blame may be laid.

Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer have sparkling screen presence, but can’t thrive under Ben Falcone’s utter lack of vision. Thunder Force doesn’t work as a superhero movie or a buddy comedy, as it refuses to revel in the big moments of either.

There are moments in The Unholy that strive for shocking, even sacrilegious. But Spiliotopoulos lacks either the imagination or the guts to create something truly soul-rattling.

André and company give a familiar premise fresh verve with an onslaught of outrageous pranks that would do Jackass proud. André and Howrey share crackling chemistry that weaves together the friendship at the film’s core, while heralded scene-stealer Haddish embodies a badass who can make us cackle. Remarkably, the unwitting witnesses to their mayhem are not regarded just as marks, but as co-stars, who pop with one-liners, memorable reactions, and shining humanity.

In the end, Violet feels less like a film than a pitch meeting. A frenzied flurry of ideas, devices, and character sketches chucked out to see what sticks. It’s flashy, but not fascinating, which leaves this drama of inner conflict and deep thoughts feeling horridly shallow.

Whether you're a theater lover, who aches for playhouses to reopen, a cosplayer who yearns for the return of Comic-Con, or a sci-fi fan who dreams of making an Alien of your own, Alien on Stage is a must-see.

While it's not as wonderfully weird as it could have been, the latest SpongeBob movie still delivers silly, family fun.

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is extraordinary because – like its fluffy-haired heroines – it makes no apologies for what it is. Mumolo and Wiig have created a story that is proudly deranged, setups that are savagely silly, and centered all that around two delightfully daffy caricatures of middle-aged women that feel fresh yet familiar.

A Glitch In The Matrix is a solid sibling to Room 237 and The Nightmare. Once more, Ascher offers an empathetic space to conspiracy theorists and dreamers, creating a superb setting for honesty, earnestness, and vulnerability. Employing keen editing, he illustrates their arguments with pop culture references and panache. However, he also offers the shadow of a doubt, allowing the viewer a safe space to question.

All in all, Finding 'Ohana is a superb entry into the annals of kid-fronted adventure. The familiarity of concept and character welcomes you into the cozy romp of it all but provides surprises and spectacle unique to its Hawaiian environment. There are laughs and thrills aplenty, spiked with a bit of pathos, but not so much to derail the fun.

Fennell's film is a reflection of its antiheroine, a live-wire, exciting, dazzling, and dangerous. Fennell coats this heady blend of humor and horror in candy-colored palette of pinks dusted with pop music perfection and enriched by performances from a crackling ensemble cast.

Rebellious game developer Midway's rise and fall gets a surprisingly tame retelling in the doc Insert Coin.

Ultimately, it's bland, not bold, and achingly absent of enchantment.

The performances range from wooden Moussi to full-on Cage, so it's tonally all over the place. As a whole, it's an absolute mess, which makes it kind of perfect for 2020. Still, within this swamp of style, wildness, and TOO too much, there are some truly exhilarating treasures, chief among them Cage. In short, it's not good, but maybe being a lot just enough.

I absolutely love the first half of this film. Lister-Jones recaptures the magic of the original by welcoming the audience into a cool coven with warmth and radiant leads. It's a pleasure to tag along with this dynamic squad, whether they're dabbling in telekinesis, flirting with a crush, or taking on the forces of evil and misogyny. Slow-motion of moments awkward, lusty, and celebratory envelop us in the overwhelming emotions of the heady time that is teendom. Sadly, this spirited and powerful path is abandoned to lay the groundwork for a sequel that is -- as far we know -- not a certainty. Such plotting bogs down the rich and rewarding story of friendship, self-acceptance, and growth. Still, that franchise-forward choice aside, this sequel is wickedly fun and bewitching.

Saint Maud is an impeccably crafted, deeply unsettling, and wickedly engrossing religious horror film.

This journey from sun-soaked beaches to chilly English country, from heart-racing flirtation to soul-shattering stress, from new love to old regrets, feels dry and flaccid. Much like Mrs. de Winter, the long shadow of Hitchcock's Rebecca proves just too powerful to ignore.

Even with some questions left dangling, The Show offers a supremely intoxicating adventure, ripe with imagination, rank with decadence, and rabid with more, more Moore.

Nomadland is a radiant celebration of humanity and community.

Kemp Powers' thoughtful script gives us an insight into what might have been going on behind the sports and entertainment performances that awed us, and in doing so urges us to look at what's still going on now. Director Regina King's cast delivers some of the best performances of the year, unveiling the hidden pain of public figures. Through a keen focus and confident flow, she unfurls their struggles in a poignant display to show how they live on today.

Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill, is a toothless Fleabag with Sherlock coating.

All in all, An American Pickle is a solidly entertaining comedy. Its oddball conceit dares audiences to take the plunge, and Seth Rogen rewards them with Herschel, who is bold, thrilling, and a little bit bonkers.

Hamilton the stage musical may be a 10/10. But this filmed version falls short by repeatedly reminding the audience of what we missed by not being there.

There's a throbbing theme at You Should Have Left's core about what it means to be a man. But if subtext isn't your jam, you can kick back, switch off, and enjoy the eerie thrills and jolting scares of this satisfying horror-thriller.

The King of Staten Island lumbers from one thread to another, seemingly uncertain over what it's about.

Michael Showalter and company aren't reinventing the wheel here, but it's a solidly made wheel. Following in the footsteps of similar comedies, The Lovebirds offers a wild ride with outlandish action, plenty of popping punch lines, and a romance you can really root for.

It's for kids and it's cute. It's also an absolute eyesore, crassly overstuffed with retina-scorching color combinations and explosions of glitter. Frankly, it's disappointing that an animated movie with so much talent attached didn’t strive to be more than just "cute for kids." But hey, at least you can dance to it.

Bloodshot is unapologetically a popcorn movie of the switch-off-your-brain-and-kick-back variety. Diesel and company soldier through a wonky plot to deliver glowers, superhero poses, and loads of action. Director Wilson brings the heat with solid visual effects and a relentless pace. But keen-eyed viewers will notice the telltale signs of "fix it in post" fiddling.

All told, it's a terrifically entertaining tale filled with humor, heart, and allusions that are sure to delight fantasy fans.

The talents of Robert Downey Jr. and the all-star voice cast are wasted in the disastrous mess that is Dolittle.

There’s nothing fresh, exciting, or particularly unique about Nicolas Pesce’s take on The Grudge. His passion for character-focused drama fails to spark in a barrage of scenes that feel like tedious outtakes from Lifetime movies.

Charlize Theron's eerie turn as Megyn Kelly aside, Bombshell doesn't do justice to the subject matter it explores.

The Aeronauts is a film flawed from its first concept. By blending fact and fiction so freely, Thorne and Harper turned a story of scientific discovery into a muddling romantic adventure that crashes and burns.

While the destination is too easy to determine, this ride-along is solidly thrilling.