Liz Shannon Miller

When Supergirl takes big risks, they tend to pay off. There aren't enough of those moments, though.

What Toy Story 5 reveals is that this approach may have indeed peaked with Toy Story 3 — and that we may have found the limit to what a toy’s perspective on the world has to teach us.

Disclosure Day is both small and massive in scope — focused on a few specific characters over the course of a few days. That tightness could feel claustrophobic, except it allows the film to explore huge themes about faith and aliens, and how the existence of one might affect the other. In between the car chases, that is.

Given the choice between a silly take on this material and a grounded one, the silly version feels far preferable. If nothing else, the film is doing its best to have fun. The way playing with one's toys should feel.

There have been some exciting new stories told in this universe since the premiere of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, but watching this latest installment of Lone Wolf and Cub in space just confirms the degree to which Star Wars feels like it’s spinning its wheels.

Anyone who’s ever been to a great concert knows that it’s the very rare movie that can fully capture the transcendence of live performance. Hit Me Hard and Soft gets damn close thanks to the dual perspectives of its directors: The artist at the peak of her abilities, and the observer in awe of what he’s witnessing.

Mortal Kombat II ends with a pretty clear set-up for a third movie, which is already in development, and fingers crossed it'll do what this movie did: Improve on what came before, take the piss out of itself whenever possible, and never forget, at the end of the day, the reason people want to watch movies like this in the first place.

Turns out crafting a happy ending out of today's publishing apocalypse is tougher than staying upright on five-inch heels.

This is a movie terrified to explore the interiority of its protagonist, and that approach will work just fine for the fans who just want to watch an uncomplicated ramble of a movie that plays all the hits.

It's a quiet little underdog story, but with enough charm to engage any audience.

Is it a ride that includes clear story structure, comprehensible stakes, or narrative momentum? Not really. Is it a ride featuring a lot of bright colors, familiar characters, and the occasional deranged moment? Absolutely.

Project Hail Mary is a movie that believes it’s possible to save the world. It dares to hope. And that’s more beautiful than all the stars in the sky.

The Immortal Man is very much not a jumping-on point for newcomers to the Shelby gang. But it does capture what made the original series so watchable: The grand scope of history as seen from the ground, the daily grind of crime in sharp contrast to world events, and the everyday men and women just trying to survive it all.

Although "Wuthering Heights" remains a deliciously horny film, it does summon a certain degree of pure romance, especially in the few moments when its leads are able to see past their misunderstandings and actually connect.

Describing Melania as a documentary implies that there’s meaningful, thoughtful intention to its construction, which is very much not the case. Call it a document, instead, of 20 days in the First Lady’s life circa January 2025, with all the weight and depth of a Post-it.

The Best Summer is a must-see for music fans — or anyone charmed by the bittersweet beauty of remembering the past.

Lady manages two remarkable achievements at once: Delivering both a slice-of-life narrative, rich with cultural details, while at the same time telling a galvanizing, even inspiring story about what it takes to activate a person towards speaking out for real change.

The cinematography's warm lamp-lit hue also stands out, and Lambert proves to have a solid grasp of tone, building a quiet yet casual intimacy between Noah and Rebecca that leads to some of the film's best scenes.

The Bone Temple once again pulls off the 28 Days Later trick of finding moments of grace at the end of the world, with enough beautiful moments to balance out the grotesque ones.

A silly yet successful enough distraction from the holiday chaos — A gag gift from someone who cares.

As personal as some of this material feels, it feels like a real collaboration of artists, all enabling Cooper to tell a heartfelt story with universal scope. Cooper’s not one of our finest filmmakers, but like Alex, he’s getting better with each effort. And whether you’re talking about relationships, comedy, or life itself, effort counts for a lot.

Everything is always loud, from the music to the visual design to the emotions. It's an approach ensuring that Cameron's message will be heard by even the most distracted viewer.

It’s the strongest Benoit Blanc movie yet, thanks to the way that the best artists learn and grown from their previous works, applying those lessons to their future projects.

For Good doesn't successfully sell Elphaba's decree that "no good deed will I do again," one of the movie's many muddled moments. It does, however, reflect an age where every message feels muddled, no hero can be trusted. All we know is that something is rotten here.

The Running Man does also offer a more anarchic message than we might be used to from our standard Hollywood blockbusters, but that message gets drowned out, leaving behind a loud violent romp that's almost a bit too on the nose for these loud violent times of ours.

Badlands doesn’t compromise anything we’ve previously understood about one of cinema’s most terrifying villains. It simply opens up a whole new way of thinking about them, and what they represent. Never thought I’d use the word “beautiful” in reference to a Predator movie. But that’s what makes it such a wonderful surprise.

Bugonia, the newest movie from Yorgos Lanthimos, features a simple-enough structure, some stunning performances, and some twists that make it damn hard to write about without getting into spoilers.

It’s a committed portrait of an artist, with White’s devotion to capturing Bruce’s soul almost overcoming the lack of physical resemblance… And you do eventually get used to that. For he’s not trying to be the definitive Bruce Springsteen, either — just a ghost of a man who was lost, and found what he was looking for in his music.