Patrice Witherspoon

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.