Liz Shannon Miller

It’s the sort of odd curio made possible by the streaming age, and even if you’re not a huge fan of Lopez’s work, it’s fascinating to see just how much and how little she’s ready to say about herself; an experience more presentationally honest than truly honest about her life and her choices.

Grant’s performance makes this film worthy of note. But expect to leave Heretic with perhaps less faith in mankind than you had already. (Wherever your levels were to begin with is a whole other question.)

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.

If you don’t mind your action comedies laced with a bit of meta, Red Notice is a treat.

As a viewing experience, Oppenheimer is a whole lot of movie, a man's life given the epic treatment — because he did do truly epic things, things that elevate his life story beyond the limitations of genre. And thus, the film proves exceptional at drawing the audience into the experience, when it lets the power of its images do the talking. Its best moments stand out as some of the most original and exciting filmmaking of the year, highs that do a lot to counterbalance the sequences which dive back into bureaucracy and comparatively petty rivalries.

The stakes might technically be high, but at a certain point, Argylle abandons all connection to reality to deliver pure romp from beginning to end. Yes, this at times tips over into silliness, but during a time of real geopolitical upheaval and political uncertainty… maybe there’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s the fresher lines, not the repeats, which draw bigger laughs — in fact, in some cases it feels unfair to the actors, making them recreate scenes that were already stellar in the original.

Venice, if nothing else, is a pleasant reminder that stories can be spooky without aiming for hard scares. Sometimes, the vibes of Halloween can feel like an all-or-nothing proposition, but for us scaredycats, sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy autumnal vibes with just a hint of terror in the air, like the first whiff of wood smoke while walking through your hometown on a brisk October day.

While not bursting with ambition or any interest in deviating from proven formula, A New Era does exactly what you hope it would do, and give series fans a little more time with beloved characters, even daring to alter the status quo in one or two major ways.

The Long Walk offers a gripping premise, a lot of characters who feel more like loose sketches than fully-realized personalities, and a narrative that maybe has some minor pacing problems towards the end, but is pretty impossible to turn away from.

The film drags to some degree in the middle, but that’s because Domont isn’t afraid to wallow in the messiness of watching this relationship fall apart almost in real time. This is also the sort of movie that makes the viewer very, very grateful to see in the credits that an intimacy coordinator was involved, especially as things get darker towards the end.

See How They Run feels like it was designed in a lab to please fans of this genre, with Mark Chappell’s script keenly identifying the most beloved tropes of classic murder mysteries while playing with them just enough for freshness.

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.

For any parents reading this — it might not be the best film of the year, but you're going to be able to watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie more than once without losing your dang mind.

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.

The suspense is solid, with just enough glorious gore to satisfy most audiences, and there are little touches throughout the film that sometimes feel plot-motivated, sometimes don’t, but all prove compelling.

A relatively accessible, often enjoyable adaptation of the best-selling video game of all time, its family-friendly good heart unencumbered by its overstuffed narrative.

It feels like a true labor of love, someone having a good time with funny people making something truly absurd.

For those who love stories about found families, East of Wall is essential viewing.

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

Brave New World drags in places, losing momentum thanks to the plot’s inability to build up any real suspense over what’s going on... However, much of the action features nice clean direction, and while the humor is sparse, supporting cast members Danny Ramirez and Shira Haas get some fun moments.

A Complete Unknown manages to avoid the worst of it not just with its focus on a set time period, but more importantly with its acceptance of the fact that for a figure like this, we’re never really meant to understand the full scope of the man he is. Because it doesn’t matter if we understand Bob Dylan or not. We just need to appreciate what he did.

During the film’s livelier moments, there are some real laughs that erupt, and watching Tatum and Johansson play off each other is a charming reminder of a simpler time. One when America dreamt of the moon, and stars were still the reason audiences went to the movies.

As successful as its biggest, wildest swings are, it'd really be nice if the plotting of The Marvels lived up to those elements. That said, those other elements are hard to oversell. It might not be the most coherent MCU entry of 2023. But it's perhaps the most purely enjoyable.

A far more intimate portrait of the detective than one might expect.

Mickey 17 is at its best when director Bong really leans into exploring the dirty details of blue-collar space exploration.

Like a bullet fired by the Equalizer himself, this third film is efficient, effective, and entertaining, with a narrative that eschews twists on top of twists in favor of drawing the viewer into this small town where Robert’s found refuge.

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.