Mae Abdulbaki

Messy, strange, and somewhat baffling, Gavras’ film is chaos personified. For this sometimes funny film, I wish that were a good thing.

The performances elevate a story that could have gone deeper, but is fine for what it’s trying to be.

While Senior Year has certain moments that are indeed funny, it’s not enough to overcome the film’s many flaws.

While there is plenty of fun to be had with the monsters and the buildup towards the final showdown, The New Empire’s story feels forced.

Palmer is fantastic in a film that needed more depth and time for Alice to acclimate to her surroundings. Without that, it leaves Alice’s realism and emotional core lacking as it veers wildly into one-note chaos.

The film makes up for some of the missed storytelling opportunities with its stylish, exciting action sequences, and its swift pacing, all of which combined make for a fun, overall enthralling time.

The film does an outstanding job elevating its horror with a sprinkling of disconcertment, but it takes a wrong turn by offering a muddled message.

Crowe’s performance is The Exorcism’s saving grace. His dedication to crafting a character whose struggles he wears on his sleeve elevates the lackluster horror elements that are consistently on display, but that don’t do much for the overall story.

The Book Club sequel will make you feel as though you’re reuniting with old friends for some wine and life lessons, and that’s enough.

Earwig and the Witch has all the parts needed to be a fun and memorable film, but seems to lack the manual for how to bring it all together.

Resort to Love doesn’t do anything unexpected or exciting and, despite its overly saccharine silliness, it is entertaining enough to watch in passing.

The Watchers is a strange film. It has disconcerting moments, but it never rises above its premise. The story itself is half-formed at best, and the ending is so outlandish that I was stunned by how badly it’s executed. Somewhere in the supernatural horror is a film that’s worth its salt. Sadly, The Watchers is not even worth the price of a theater ticket.

The film is melancholic and contemplative in a way that isn’t always the case with romance genre films.

Uncharted is joyless and has little to no personality.

House of Spoils is an exploration of witchcraft, land, and the respect it should be given, and a study of the perversion and stress of the restaurant industry.

Some of the best game movies have adventure, heart, humor & good characters. I wish I could say A Minecraft Movie had these things besides adventure.

From a horror perspective, the film is lacking, but it more than makes up for it with well developed characters and a killer who preys on secrets.

The film is bolstered by the strength of Cooke's magnetic performance and is energetically entertaining, heartbreakingly sad, and darkly humorous.

When a film is trying to tell three stories at once, it’s bound to get tied up in its own narrative misgivings, and Hold Your Breath is certainly culpable of that.

Paint could’ve been funny; it could’ve had more heart; it could have even been more fun and ridiculous, with something interesting to say. But it's a mess from start to finish.

Despite Foe’s shortcomings, it has plenty of heart and something to say. Its visuals are magnetic and Ronan and Mescal give their all in gripping, emotional performances.

La Dolce Villa is a feel-good film that forgoes proper tension-building for a more headache-free delivery. The result is a mixed bag that I enjoyed occasionally, though its inability to spark a greater emotional reaction is the film’s greatest weakness.

The Old Guard 2 is a film that feels longer than it should be and not long enough. It strikes an odd balance, but there’s luckily more here that works than doesn’t, even if the plot is thin.

The film isn’t trying to hit us over the head with what it’s trying to say, but its themes have depth. When exploring career and glory vs. family, regret and the lengths one will go to return to a life that’s no longer tenable, McGuire gets in a few good swings. If only the horror lived up to these aspects of the film.

Bob Marley: One Love won't knock your socks off, but there is enough care put into crafting the narrative that turns it into a lovely viewing experience overall.

Madres is extremely fragmented and painfully subpar, wasting a chance to tell an intriguing, nuanced story that is still an issue in the present.

A rousing story about finding someone and falling in love this is not — nor does it truly contend with the need for human connection very well.

With the documentary Amy painting a more detailed and intimate portrait of the singer’s life, it’s hard to recommend such a stilted, unimaginative biopic that doesn’t do Winehouse any justice.