Patrice Witherspoon

The film is certainly worth a watch simply for the music and the entertaining aspect of its storytelling.

Hatton offers an engaging approach towards his storytelling. By concentrating on the intrigue and horror elements within his feature, the end result isn’t perfect, but there’s plenty of fun to be had throughout to make the watching experience an enjoyable one.

An intriguing blend of genres and themes, The A-Frame fulfills its promise to excite and entertain even with its mishaps.

With certainty, Cumberbatch put his all into this role. So, if for nothing else, it’s worth it to see him.

Even though it's a short 82 minutes, a film like Fatherland requires a certain level of patience. There are missing emotional anchors tying all the themes together. In a sense, the script holds itself back from fully embracing its potential, especially for a story centering on a father-daughter duo during the peak of the Cold War. A little certainly goes a long way, but even this moody piece needed a breakthrough.

Whether that be through exploring mental abolition versus determination or even activism versus an individual’s special needs, Hamm’s latest had the potential to say a lot more than what was accomplished. Instead, he doesn’t do much with either, and he relies a little too heavily on his actors to take this uninspiring script towards sincerity.

While Emancipation contains beautiful cinematography amidst brutalities of oppression, it conveys very little about the man who should easily inspire the world.

A decent feature debut, The Absence of Eden is a film that means well. Restrictions in the script hinder the film emotionally, which often show up in the actors' performances as well.

Even though it doesn’t take its own storyline seriously enough, Smile 2 is entertaining. Don’t expect the horror film to have the best commentary on mental health issues, but be ready for some jump-scare fun.

For a story centered on childhood trauma, domestic violence, and the cycle of abuse, these themes feel like afterthoughts when they could have been its strength. It’s certainly lacking, but hearts were in the right place.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter fails to deliver on its early promise of being a compelling horror experience. The focus on jump scares and a skeptic character detracts from the potential scares and fails to bring authenticity to the storytelling.

It isn’t the worst directorial debut by any means of the phrase, but Burr’s raunchy comedy fails to say something meaningful. Instead, it underwhelms.

Ultimately, Pain Hustlers is a mixed bag of entertainment that opts for flashiness instead of focusing on the important elements of the story at hand — the people affected by the carelessness of others.

It isn’t the best in its genre, of course, but the commitment from Keaton, as actor and director, is more than enough for me to rally behind this film for another watch.

It’s goofy and relies heavily on common tropes, failing to offer insight into the players as people outside their team.

Me Time may not be a groundbreaking entry into Netflix’s catalog, but it offers reliable laughs for anyone needing an escape from their own hectic reality.

Sissy sacrifices its themes for violence and surface-level explorations of psychological realism, making it as frustrating as it is compulsively fun.

A harrowing narrative that contemplates the transition from girlhood to womanhood, Arnold uses magical realism to capture preteen angst with a strong desire for existential freedom.

Donowho’s western tale follows a typical formula, but there are plenty of laughs and smiles to be had throughout this familiar story.

The acting, from both Black Panther's Letitia Wright as June and Tamara Lawrance as Jennifer, is a particular standout. Their commitment to delivering intriguing performances as troubled twins elevates this weak script and enables viewers to become fixated on what was happening to them.

Freedom’s Path has some hurdles that it just can’t overcome from a narrative standpoint. There’s quite a bit of rose-colored storytelling that goes on throughout this feature. There are also significant pacing issues that make it difficult to lean into the storytelling. With that being said, there’s no denying the underlying heartfelt attempt at sharing profound messages.

Birth/Rebirth contains wonderful performances from Ireland and Reyes. But Moss’s directorial debut needs quite a bit more than stunning performances to leave a lasting impression.

Ungar’s Bandit entertains because of genre alone, but the ambiguous messaging leaves much to be desired.

The most frustrating aspect of Paper Tiger is that there’s an exceptional film here somewhere. The budding tension was magnificent, to the point where the action that followed felt like a giant sigh of relief. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough – so much so that the 115-minute runtime felt entirely too short.

Rodriguez as a filmmaker has a history of implementing creativity and inspiration in his works. But with Hypnotic, the end result is a dull feature that doesn’t come close to its potential.

Parallel Tales is exactly as advertised: The central story interweaves the lives of six people in ways that should be a recipe for delicious, chaotic drama. Yet, Farhadi's latest is bogged down by its repetitiveness and refusal to offer anything new to a story about imagination and voyeurism. What we’re left with hangs a little too long onto a thin rope of painful repetition, false hope, and jaded screenwriting.

It leans into unrealistic territory, and we’re unfortunately left with a trashy story that very few will like. Not even the ever-charming Gina Rodriguez and confident Damon Wayans Jr. could save this film.

Whatever the intent, the execution isn’t all the way there, and that’s the biggest disappointment of all.

Woodley and Mendelsohn do everything they can to convert the weak story to something worth watching.

Director Chuck Russell’s projects always bring a sense of vivacity and killer action sequences in ways his peers often struggle with. But this time around, the magic is missing from Paradise City. Sure, his film contains reliable and entertaining components like most action features do — including an underlying vengeance plot, an expert conman, and even a budding romance — but these elements tend to quickly run their courses thanks to a predictable script, wonky dialogue, and pacing issues.

This story and these women deserve better.

In hindsight, MVP is the kind of film that could definitely work for audiences. What it lacks in technical achievement, it undoubtedly makes up with heart. Though Boyer doesn’t necessarily hit the ball out of the park with his debut due to some odd choices that negatively impact the story structure, it’s easy to see why he chose this as his first project

Though The Good Mother contains great talent like Hilary Swank and Olivia Cooke, the predictable formula holds it back from saying something meaningful.

None of the film's themes blend together appropriately, even when one may suspect a great film will break through.

Tom George returns to directing, attempting to take on the genre with humor and flair. Relying heavily on whodunit tropes, See How They Run is a little too stale and unfunny for its own good.

There’s an enormous effort to entertain, but Bromates runs out of ideas faster than it can provide organic laughs.

Whitebloom struggles to bring the excitement into his heist film, Stowaway, his feature debut, like he’s done in past music videos.

There’s no denying this is a film capable of winning audiences of all types with its inherent charm, humor, and nostalgia. For me, however, this was 91 minutes of unfocused, chaotic energy that I did not enjoy. Tonally, the movie is all over the place, while its themes are explored with timid execution.

With thinly written characters and a narrative confined to moments only serving to push Mike and Kate to the height of insanity, this is about as disappointing as it gets for a film with such promise and potential.

A highly restrained examination of multiple topics, The Second Act is a film about everything and nothing all at once. Perhaps in line with Dupieux’s style, the surreal, dark humor and commentary produce a messy end product that overstays its welcome.

Armageddon Time excels at capturing naiveté but under-commits to sharing the truths of racial disparity when it comes to the American dream.

What’s ultimately missing from Til Death Do Us Part is proper execution and a script that the actors can build upon.

The film is messy and gets tangled up in its protagonist’s folly, but in the process, Zac Efron delivers a heartfelt and killer performance.

Sharp Stick is charming thanks to great performances, but the lopsided script doesn’t reach its full potential.

Last Days is as frustrating to watch as it is to try to understand this avoidable tragedy.

It’s a difficult film to take seriously, as it buries its potential in absurd drama, dialogue, and sequencing.

Poolman is an unfunny spoof of neo-noir thrillers with hazy direction, even messier storytelling, and unbearable dialogue.

The saving grace of the film all comes down to Jay Will’s breakout performance. Rob Peace simply does not work without him. Will’s charisma and dedication towards showcasing the light that Rob was offers a comfort to me that this film as a whole failed to provide.

The film tends to bite off more than it can chew, and the end result is a colossal disappointment.

Something from Tiffany’s lacks a good enough script and the chemistry it needs to make anyone want to sit through another holiday rom-com.

Its endless, unfunny humor is tiresome and obnoxious, the commentary is short-lived, and jokes related to Sam’s unpreparedness are repetitive.

This shocking horror comedy is a train wreck that you can’t look away from. Whether the filmmakers intended this to be the case is a question on its own, but I’m sure Krazy House will acquire a following.

Unfortunately, the film lacks any style, substance, or suspense despite a killer performance from Tom Pelphrey.