Matt Donato

Cabin Fever: Patient Zero certainly lives up to Eli Roth's gory standards, but individual enjoyment will hinge on one's love of schlocky B-Movie antics.

Vaughn sticks to what he knows with his Kingsman sequel but rarely ups the ante, making this a fun-enough entry into an already-too-familiar franchise.

Your toleration of mother! will be determined by movie-going patience. Aronofsky is painting with some blistering broad strokes, but they’re just that – broad and undefined.

This Is Your Death is a brilliant concept, but tonal mishandling makes for another media takedown that's all bark and no bite.

As far as mainstream horror goes, It is a brilliant example of what can happen when equal attention is paid to story and scares.

Murnion and Milott’s Bushwick feels like a John Carpenter film without the societal skewering. A nasty, hate-filled movie with shaky detailing.

Bravo’s abundance of inexplicable details makes for an interesting conundrum at first, but mystery soon fades.

Good Time is just that and little more, but Robert Pattinson's performance deserves praise like "career-defining" and "best yet."

Patti Cake$ is a feel-good freestyle phenom that heals through artistic passion and shrugs of wackness, indulgent in highs but not shying away from crushing lows.

As the word “m#th&rf$ck*r” loses meaning, you can’t help but appreciate a wholly predictable – yet unapologetically confident – action goof that’s far funnier than it should be.

Better Watch Out is a good movie you should watch knowing nothing about, like a spoiler-free Christmas morning.

Ingrid Goes West is the kind of social media satire we need, even if a tone-shifting second act drives focus from mental health to less interesting criminal goofiness.

Annabelle: Creation is no lifeless dummy. Plotting may run a bit thin and coincidental, but David F. Sandberg whips up bone-chilling scares and hefty doses of peek-through-your-fingers imagery.

Detroit is, for lack of a better term, a pornographic echo chamber of resentment. Trying to put out a fire with ten more tankers full of gasoline.

Director Nikolaj Arcel blends dystopian weirdness and temporal hellbeasts until all that remains is an emulsified, grey gunk, which is then forced down our throats for 95 minutes. Flavor gone, identifiers eviscerated.

If your script is good enough to pull Steven Soderbergh from “retirement,” color me intrigued. Such is true of Logan Lucky. An Ocean’s 7-11 hootenanny with Southern charm and Coen sensibilities.

With tighter scripting, this’d be a masterpiece. As is? Christopher Nolan has produced a damn-fine picture that goes against most of what his catalog has become renowned for in a good, streamlined way.

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets is a fantasy adventure that’s nowhere near as adventurous or fantastical as it should be.

What Backcountry did for campfire creature attacks Killing Ground does for murderous bushmen in the same setting.

Haaga knows what works, and ensures that we get heavy doses of the good stuff (although more Alisha Boe would have been nice).

Wish Upon is a Final Destination redux that pulls too many punches.

The Loner is a hyper-surreal tale of neo-noir revenge, boasting Middle-Eastern influences that unlock new aspects of an age-old genre.

Delightful, inventive and deeply affecting, Inside Out embodies the very best of what Pixar has to offer.

A Ghost Story leads you down a path that allows for personal reflection, which will either sooth lost souls or scare them away.

The Rehearsal is much like any coming-of-age melodrama, and while its meat is a little overdone, its intro and finale bookends do make up for a lack of flavor in between.

Despicable Me 3 hits a supervillain high with Balthazar Bratt, but also a franchise low as far as Gru and Dru's brotherly reunion is concerned.

This is a movie about life. Bigger than love. Bigger than hope. Bigger than anything. Just life, and all its attempts to wear you down – and how you’ll never let it.

The Little Hours is saved by Fred Armisen and Kate Miccuci, the only performers who don't suffer from the film's one-note delivery at some point.

The Vatican Tapes relies heavily on its third act, but if you can stomach its more generic beginnings, you'll be treated to an exorcism story with higher stakes than normal.

The Collection is one of those horror films that really makes you sound like a deranged psychopath for recommending, but demands to be spread like a mind-controlling plague.

Area 51 is everything that's wrong with not only found footage films, but also weak-minded sci-fi thrillers that think crazed talking heads and fuzzy shadows are scary enough.

While The Scribbler isn't exactly in contention with the best that the comic book genre has to offer, Katie Cassidy utilizes the numerous voices in her head to create a unique hero for a bit of stylized freshness.

Grab on for dear life and expect a freakish, wild, and seriously f#cked up ride from start to finish - which, of course, is every horror fan's dream.

Okja is a wild, tender tale of wonderment and friendship, delightful but still with smacks of vile consumerism darkness.

While War for the Planet of the Apes's third act is a bit hairy, the sequel helps cement the franchise as one of the more exciting mainstream properties worth watching.

The Beguiled is a deliciously dangerous period thriller that refuses to let a man's privilege go unchecked like the Hollywood standard.

Bay's latest Transformer title is a daunting behemoth of a film and you can feel every ounce of dead weight, as sins of the past are committed without any signs of stopping.

47 Meters Down navigates choppy waters, but ultimately manages to deliver some prime summer-time screams.

Rough Night is a seriously funny movie led by some seriously funny ladies, but even more impressive is a mainstream comedy that relies not on cheap shocks like many who have come before.

If you believe horror shines blackest when hardest to decipher, 2017’s horror crop may never best this effort. For me, it’s a Mortal Kombat finisher that punches through your ribcage with heart-in-hand – but the fight itself is a bit too talkative.

This isn’t a new breed of terror, just another neutered reboot churning all the same mainstream gears.

Wonder Woman is a gorgeous, powerful display of epic storytelling that makes me wish this was Gadot’s first chance to play Diana Prince. It’s the roaring introduction she deserves, and a hopeful shift in DC culture that hints at what’s about to come.

You’ll find laughs, zaniness and plenty of signature slow-motion jiggling, but it’s buried under a burdensome two-hour procedural.

Michôd’s military dramedy is more about press tours, TV interviews and power plays. That’s what makes this Netflix new release redeeming in its political poignancy – but having Brad Pitt doesn’t hurt.

Dead men may tell no tales, but with Disney's latest Pirates sequel, I'm not convinced that living men can tell tales with any more intrigue.

Martyrs is the exact movie we feared it'd be - a forgettable remake of a far more prolific foreign success story.

While Snatched stars big names in Schumer and Hawn, the ones you'll be remembering are Cusack, Meloni and Barinholtz.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson deserves more credit as an actor, because he's the only reason this Iraq War thriller hobbles steadily on two legs.

Take Me is a sunny little daydream about fetishistic domination, spun around one man’s jabby little gender battle. There is a sweetness to it all, as well as an undeniable creep factor.

Excitement is fleeting, dialogue rambles and Jude Law’s tyrant-approved throne slouch pretty much sums the film’s overall attitude – a hearty “meh,” worthy of no diamond-studded crown.

Scott’s latest is a thrill-ride that blasts through celestial carnage, while building a bigger Alien world that might not be 100% necessary. Out of all the films in the franchise, Alien: Covenant has the least stand-alone potential – but dammit if it’s not a wild, warp-speed-killing-machine adventure.

Rupture is the kind of ill-conceived film that gives Michael Chiklis the campy role while keeping Peter Stormare on background duty.

Debuts shouldn’t be this tense or composed, yet Super Dark Times is an instantaneous must-see.

Directorial debuts are rarely this poised, devastating or dangerous.

Conversational drama (ala Linklater’s Before franchise), plates piled with last-meal dinner fantasies, unparalleled improv – third time is still the charm, but Michael Winterbottom lets the stew boil a bit too long.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is the deranged Marvel disco you’d expect from a filmmaker who wants to push the limits of an otherwise rigid and structured system.

The magic here is in underground experiences and questionable decision making, all twisted like junky copper wiring that’s unraveled into something more useful.

Guardians Of The Galaxy is everything we go to the movies for, as Gunn is able to build an intricate intergalactic world full of multiple races, lush scenery, and maximum escapism through action, romance, comedy, and interstellar drama.

Unforgettable is a "How Not To" guide for romantic thrillers, passionless and without tension when it comes to the conflict at hand.

Sand Castle is an Iraq war story about certain futility, but there's a certain redundancy to political overtones that preach what we've been hearing all along.

Furious 7 is an in-your-face assault of awesomeness under the guidance of James Wan, who saves a more lax story by orchestrating a metallic ballet of kick-ass proportions.

This is just the sweeps-week Fast And Furious that jumps the shark, ready to right itself come next season – and it better. Dominic Toretto’s team deserves to go out in a blaze of glory, not a slippery skid that can’t be controlled.

Aftermath may not say much, but Arnold Schwarzenegger's reserved performance is a somber turn that keeps drama surprisingly in-tune.

Win It All is another Swanberg special that hits upon the most human aspects of a gambler's curse, so perfect for Jake Johnson's leading take.

Most Beautiful Island summons viewers into its seductive web, lashing out with teeth-grinding tension when you least expect it.

The Blackcoat's Daughter aims for lofty satanic thrills, but gets lost in visuals that oversell a barbed but tangled nightmare.

Gifted may be bogged down by some generic dramatic beats, but young Mckenna Grace is the beam of sunshine that keeps us from losing faith.

Ghost In The Shell is exactly the high-fi cyber shooter you feared it’d be, drenched in digital paranoia and concerns of network privacy. Visual fancies overload the senses early and often, only to hope the kaleidoscope artistry lingers long enough to overcompensate for back-end dullness.

The Boss Baby is a movie made for few audiences, inconceivably inept in its ability to blend adult references with children's immaturity.

The Void is a portal back to the 80s, hinged on immersive practical effects work that picks up the slack of a slighter story.

A Dark Song digs its claws in and never lets go, finding horror in rituals, personal reflection and burning black-magic sensations. It’s dreadfully inviting from start to finish, with an almighty climax at just the right time.

Life toes a line between underwhelming and just-good-enough, but performances help elevate an otherwise generic sci-fi clone with nothing new to add.

Power Rangers doesn't completely fail as an origin story, but it's too familiar with its new-age reboot mentality that repurposes instead of recreates.

Prevenge is a breathtaking, savage debut from Alice Lowe, one that boasts horrific moral deprivation and a sense of humor drenched in maternal madness.

Like Me is a bombastic feature debut for Robert Mockler, benefitting heavily from visual artistry and Addison Timlin's strong performance.

See this movie, live the fear, embrace the metal, and get sucked into a flaming, invigorating landscape of Hell that will cripple any horror-loving parent.

The Disaster artist is obscurest hilarity set to a filmmaker's struggle, all linked to James Franco's transformative performance as the mythical Tommy Wiseau.

Atomic Blonde strikes a deafening blow thanks to enjoyable characters, furious fight-play and Charlize Theron’s brand of screen command. She’s always in control, whether toying with feminine wilds or slugging another glass of Stoli on the rocks.

A concrete horror flick that burns with consequence, ignited by strong characters who are far more tested in their experiences than anyone of similar age. Bloody, emotional and visualized with a damning spirit – what an outspoken genre manipulation for first-timer Michael O’Shea.

Baby Driver proves why we should never doubt Edgar Wright's vision, because few filmmakers can back their ambition with such quality thrills.

Song To Song is one of the more accessible Malick films as of late, succeeding largely in part thanks to a cast who plays their dramatic beats like poetry in motion.

Don't Kill It is some DIY insanity that leaves more scattered limbs than an overturned Halloween decoration truck.

Beauty And The Beast lacks some of the astonishing visual prowess of previous Disney live-action remakes, but still sings and dances with enjoyable style.

Before I Fall makes a simple plot into this convoluted, aggravating mess of emotional turmoil that lacks a shocking amount of direction.

Kong: Skull Island is a grand cinematic adventure powered by furry fury, as the horrors of war blend with chest-beating creature confidence.

Here Alone is a sometimes-striking, sometimes-repetitive glimpse into apocalyptic drama that struggles to offer anything new.

I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore is a winning combination of anger, frustration and stinging social satire.

Get Out marries racial satire with a terrifying finale, one that tears down blinders that some may have kept conveniently in place. Don’t listen to those who say horror movies are defined by physical scares. Plots based on real-life fears typically make for the most horrifying scenarios.

It’s not just one of the best superhero movies ever – it’s a damn-fine cinematic representation of the human condition in all its agonizing forms.

The Great Wall is like the disaster of 47 Ronin all over again, except the action is a bit more fantastically barbaric and Damon isn't all that bad himself.

Fist Fight suffocates a genuine script with easy, intro-level juvenility.

XX is a mundane horror anthology at best, and a slow-burn experience that never reaches a boil at its worst.

It's a shame Silent Hill: Revelation suffers the same doomed fate as most modern horror movies, bumbling through a shockingly disconnected screenplay which strings together moments that could have been salvaged otherwise.

This is one sluggish curse that wouldn't wake even Sleeping Beauty.

Like a flashlight that's running low on juice, you can feel the life oozing out of Nightlight with every faint flicker.

Pandemic certainly won't spark a nationwide outbreak, but it's a sleek enough take on infection thrillers that's worth one good late-night watch.

It’s not that Soisson created a terrible movie, but Cam2Cam is late to the party, brings absolutely nothing notable, and sits in the corner without making a peep.

Fifty Shades Darker is a befuddling, messy erotic "thriller" that shifts tones faster than audiences can keep up with.