Carter may remain quite lousy, but with Krumholtz at the helm, this film is anything but.

By refusing to engage with messier material, Queen of Chess ends up being a rather straightforward, feel-good documentary, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Though it hits familiar biographical beats, Kennedy’s direction always keeps your attention and celebrates a remarkable woman whose amazing story deserves to be told.

Lifeline truly does stand on its own merits for the majority of its runtime, right until the ending that may leave a bittersweet note in your mouth.

Pizza Movie is a charming throwback to the stoner comedies that inspired it, an ambitious college movie that knows how to take a simple idea and turn it into something broad, wild, and expansive. While the joke might start to get a bit thin near the end, Pizza Movie is a clever bit of fun, and we definitely need more broad comedies like this in the world.

Americana is an interesting modern take on the Western, with a standout performance by Halsey.

Smart, stylish, and suspenseful, The Woman in Cabin 10 works in large part because of Knightley’s performance.

The performances of Holland and Mara mask the weaknesses of a slightly unfulfilled adaptation, which has charm in its flaws. The ending attempts to set the themes right, but needing to think about it afterward means it's not a film you'll forget about so soon. Seek out The Dutchman. It's well worth the challenge.

What, on the surface, appears as a gothic tale of the occult with shocking visual mutation, is actually a tender tale of misunderstanding and tragedy.

Carousel definitely has some rough edges on the fringes of this romance story. But when Lambert gives us the quieter moments of Noah and Rebecca, or puts them together in a scene, it’s absolute magic.

While it may not be essential viewing for fans of the anime series, there's still more than enough in My Hero Academia: You're Next to keep both longtime fans and eager newcomers intrigued.

This bold feature debut refuses to shy away from gore, social commentary, or a heartwarming ending for its characters.

For the most part, Kalki 2898 AD is a strong epic that's certainly worth visiting, thanks to a unique genre hybridization, interesting worldbuilding, and skilled performances.

The Union combines action, humor, and heat for a fun, exciting thrill ride fit for your next Netflix watch.

After proving herself as a director on TV shows like Stranger Things and Severance, Briesewitz has delivered a promising directorial debut, with fascinating characters and takes us on a journey to a world that we don't often see in American films.

What Last Rites gets most correct is its family dynamics, hearkening back to the first film's initial moments and providing a strong thread throughout the series. Farmiga, Wilson, and new and returning characters all pull this off brilliantly.

Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance is a film whose style might get in the way of the substance, but it still ensures the filmmaker will have a legion of new horror fans waiting for what she does next.

When it focuses specifically on the scares, Hokum is an effectively disconcerting film that relies on time-honored basics to really get under the viewer’s skin.

With everybody understanding the assignment, Bears on a Ship is truly one of those movies you can relax and have fun with.

What the cast and crew of Run Lola Run achieves is pure innovation in film.

It’s a clever reinvention of commonly distraught themes, teaching an old dog new tricks with a dreadfully cosmic twist.

Along with his co-writer Bossi Baker, Erkman has made a distinctly eerie and sinister debut that succeeds at sneaking into the depths of your subconscious.

Robot Dreams is a beautifully animated look at life, friendship, and what it means to grow apart.

Polished off by a vibrant cast, Annick Blanc’s feature debut is an impressive feat and a refreshing and minimal twist on the “eat the rich” trend in Hollywood.

Shirley is a relatively straightforward biopic, but it’s worth the watch to see Regina King’s beautiful performance that feels like an ode to the trailblazing woman.

Better Man is in a category of successful biopic dramatizations all unto itself.

All You Need Is Kill might not be as impactful as the Takeuchi / Obata manga, or Tom Cruise’s live-action update, but it does make some intriguing choices that will absolutely be worthwhile for fans of these other versions to check out.

While Kill Me doesn’t stick its landing, this is an impressive debut from Peter Warren, and it shows how well he can mix extremely dark subject matter with an engaging mystery that’s also quite funny.

Even though the cast helps to nurture the sense of nostalgia in the film, it doesn't prevent the screenplay from failing to match the tone of the OG series.

The Boogeyman is at its best when it strips away all the excess to draw us deeper into darkness.

Not all of Arnold’s usual tricks work effectively in Cow, but for a first documentary, Cow is an engrossing and surprisingly emotional look at the farming industry through the eyes of a single bovine.

Foxx shines in every single moment that he's on-screen. He's able to hone in his comedic prowess and his dramatic chops delivering a performance that reminds us why he's a one-of-a-kind performer.

It is a fun romp, one that is sure to entertain audiences.

It’s not that Mothering Sunday is a bad film, it’s far from it, but it never reaches the echelons of true greatness that it should have been able to achieve with such a who’s who cast.

While the narrative is rooted in the use of a sci-fi device, the film is rather light on traditional elements from the genre, relying almost entirely on the personal relationships of the characters and their shared memories to tell a story about the ripple effect one life can have on even the tiniest details of the world around them.

At the very least, Diamond Hands is an entertaining and informative look at a moment in time when the many overcome the few, but it doesn't land solidly enough to leave a lasting impact.

Playing out almost like a spoof of various genres with both macabre horror and mumblecore misdirects, it's an odd film that's often as lost as the charming characters themselves before settling into a strange groove that starts to cast a spell of its own.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent—even when it doesn’t entirely work—shows the dedication and greatness of Cage, the impressive breadth of his career, and proves that Cage is, indeed, back. Not that he went anywhere.

When all the dust settles, The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die is a flawed yet fitting finale that serves as a send-off to Uhtred of Bebbanburg and the bloody life he did everything to find a way clear of.

For all the ways the film holds us at a bit at a distance, the performances do wonders in closing this gap.

It's far from perfect, but the production design of the film and the strong backbone of actors make Cobweb an entertaining film, though not a must-see.

You're a Big Boy Now fits in with the sort of rebellious, youthful films that were popular during the final years of the rebellious decade in which it was released, but probably isn't an essential watch for anyone other than the filmmaker's most devoted fans.

Is it a bit baggy and less amusingly chaotic than past entries? Absolutely. However, Bell's return as this character is still grimly fun when he's given room to let loose. Even as time isn't always on his side, he makes the most of nearly every moment.

Even though the flaws in Last Dance are glaringly obvious—not only is this the worst of the Magic Mike franchise, it’s also clunky in a way Soderbergh films rarely are—it’s still hard to not get caught up in the celebration of it all.

A Little Prayer is often a fairly still story, but it all builds to a beautiful moment between Bill and Tammy, where we get to see the true impact of MacLachlan's tale hit the audience in full force.

Its greatest strength lies in its simplicity, but that might also be where it falls flat for some.

As a whole, Arquette's directorial effort is fun, but forgettable. Despite pulling out laughs from viewers here and there or Dafoe and Morrone's impeccable deliveries, the plot doesn't quite stay with you.

When it embraces an eerie and enigmatic tone that subsequently gets turned on its head, Significant Other still boldly proves to be a film worth getting lost in.

Vampire movies, which often incorporate a love story, are usually driven by the threat of discovery. The absence of that in Bones and All, despite leaving evidence all over the Great Plains, makes it a beautiful-looking movie that becomes too devoted to repeating the same note. There is no “all,” just bones.

For some, this film could miss the mark; for others, it could be exactly the comfort viewing that's needed, but overall, Marry Me merits more of a "sure, okay" in response rather than a resounding yes.

Landscape with Invisible Hand is certainly a mixed bag that isn’t nearly as tight as Finley’s previous work, but the bold attempt to make something so unique and singular makes this wild story ultimately work.

It’s the refreshingly modern and tender depiction of intimacy and pleasure that will stay with me. After years upon years of sex scenes that are steeped in the male gaze or are shoehorned in to attract the money of horny youngsters who have no real interest in the story, it’s about time we treat sex with the tenderness, openness, and grace that it deserves on film — and this is exactly what Lady Chatterley’s Lover does.

Charles Laughton hams it up wonderfully in a villainous role, and Jamaica Inn is enough of an oddity to make it strangely engaging throughout much of its runtime.

Cronenberg still is one of the most intriguing horror filmmakers working today, and when Infinity Pool is working, it's unlike anything that you've ever seen. But when comparing Cronenberg's approaches in this to something like Possessor, it becomes clear that it's better when there's a method to Cronenberg’s madness.

While the free-flowing structure of Spin Me Round works in bits and pieces, there’s very little overall purpose to the narrative Baena and Brie have crafted here.

While it is important for the film to immerse itself in the emotional struggles of the scenes, it also is hindered by some occasionally abrupt edits and anarchic writing that dulls the sharpness of its story.

It is by no means a perfectly constructed work, but there is something more immense in its thematic aspiration that provides plenty for Pugh to play around with. All that makes it unwieldy also makes The Wonder mesmerizing so that, even when the spell is broken, you can’t shake it from your mind.

For all its many structural flaws that could doom a lesser work, it manages to break free when it counts. Though Hunt won’t become a paragon of action cinema, the moments where it lets loose still pack plenty of potent hits.

Down Low is an ambitious journey through sex work, repressed sexuality, accidental murder, the fragility of life, and an oddly tender exploration of the age-old question: can you still be a good person if you do bad things?

The key to what makes this newest retelling work is the combination of Ferrell and Reynolds, both of whom are able to play to their comedic strengths, while also having the opportunity to do some solid dramatic work as well. This duo is delightful, and as they work together on Christmas Eve, it’s wonderful to watch how this relationship shifts.

Theater of Thought could've easily become a straightforward documentary about the evolution of thought and the fascinating science behind our brains, yet in the hands of Herzog, this topic becomes far more entertaining, as he approaches the topic with a wide-eyed wonder that lets this subject go down smooth.

80 for Brady is not the new golden standard of sports comedies, but it was clearly never trying to be. It's cute, silly, and light, all things that a comfort movie should be.

With Phyllis Nagy at the helm, Call Jane had all the potential in the world to be something revolutionary, but it ultimately chose to take the path of least resistance. It leans into a very glossy feel-good “girl power” energy, ensuring that its audience never once feels true discomfort when discussing uncomfortable truths.

Like so many of Frears’ films, The Lost King works because of the compelling cast on hand.

Schrader is able to prune back some of his more established impulses to service this particular story.

There’s no sugarcoating Cobweb’s flaws, from pacing to convoluted editing. Yet, the movie does have the potential to become a crowd-pleaser, as it does deliver the scares. It might not be a particularly memorable horror film, but it’s still entertaining, and sometimes that’s all the reason we need to go to theaters.

Don’t Worry Darling is best as a surface-level matinée thriller with a few follow-up ahas. But it doesn’t sting like it should in the end.

In the end, the movie is about a delusional guy who doesn't realize he's been indoctrinated, but it is also an emotional exploration of loyalty, camaraderie, and stubbornness.

Terrifier 2 is best when it does what we are here to see: big, bloody murder. But the attempt at a story is just atrocious. Terrifier 2 tries to be bigger and better than its predecessor when really, we just wanted more of the same.

Confess, Fletch is decent—not quite a great mystery, not an excellent comedy, but fully enjoyable for what it is. A major part of that is Hamm’s ability to play up his charms, while also showing his gifts as a comedic actor.

Dark Glasses is no Suspiria or Tenebrae, but it’s also no Dracula 3D. It’s a fine movie, and sometimes, that is all you can ask for.

There's a fascinating world to explore here, and Ant-Man finally gets close to the full realization of the potential of his character and this concept, but it all, unfortunately, gets overtaken by the Conquerer. Quantumania is a promising, but shaky start for Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's just a shame it comes at the sake of the little guy.

But even though Fast X is spread too thin, and we’re starting to see the consequences of this ever-expanding family, it’s still a blast to watch.

There's no question that it carries all the hallmarks of a low-budget Corman effort. That being said, there is the feeling in Dementia 13 that there's a filmmaker behind the camera that really cares about the story at hand.

Despite its flaws, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone remains a careful adaptation of one of King’s most touching stories to date. And while there are not many frights in this horror movie, it remains a solid entry of Netflix’s enviable collection of King’s adaptations.

I think this would be best enjoyed by someone who had never seen the original 1984 film; that way, you won’t be constantly comparing the two in your head.

The 2008 remake of Easy Virtue starring Jessica Biel and Colin Firth, is a lot livelier and more entertaining, but the original is worth watching, particularly to note the difference in the portrayal of the female lead character.

There are layers of complexity in both Wright’s performance and that of the late Williams which elevate the experience, making for a sturdy enough riff on the Western that still could have been so much more.

Even if Smiling Georgia could trim some minutes from its already short 62-minute runtime, the documentary is still fun and poignant enough to get us smiling in the end.

You will not walk away from What Happens Later as a changed individual, but if you have a soft spot for light-hearted comedies (specifically romantic comedies, which I usually don't), you'll be sure to find a movie that does its job way better than it needed to. Let's be honest, you'd have to have a cold heart to hate this movie.

Ghosted is far from perfect, but there's still enough enjoyment to be had, especially if you're looking for something light to watch with the family on a Friday night. Evans and de Armas are charming as ever alongside a rock-solid supporting cast. There are enough laughs and fun action scenes to warrant a recommendation, just don't expect much more from it.

The attempt at something different is admirable, even if the execution leaves something to be desired, making this a worthwhile curiosity for fans of old-school science-fiction, even though it's not particularly amazing or anything.

There are great ideas throughout Fingernails and strong filmmaker instincts, but it also feels like a film that should’ve gone just a bit deeper into this world, its love, and its ideas.

The final showdown between Laurie and Michael Myers is pretty thrilling, perhaps because we know that this is the last time we will ever see the pair face off (supposedly). Whichever side you land on, whether you are Team Laurie or Team Michael, you won't feel cheated by the conclusion of the film, which makes what preceded it a lot easier to forget about and made the movie, in general, a lot more palatable.

It’s that heart that makes Champions better than expected, a shaggy underdog story that might be a bit overlong and a bit awkward in places, but with charming characters that help smooth out these rough edges. In doing so, Bobby Farrelly sticks to his comedic sensibilities, creating an endearing comedy that doesn’t need to break from the formula of similar films that have come before.

Despite these positive attributes in terms of the production and style, the actual plot is ultimately convoluted, confusing and quite dull.

You Won't Be Alone is overambitious, but it's always better to try to overachieve than underachieve, right?

At least its status as something of an outlier within Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography makes it a little interesting, but actually sitting through it proves to be an inconsistent sort of affair at best.

As rich and exciting as this new world is, the characters and script that have been thrown into this scenario are fairly banal, full of tropes and platitudes that we’ve heard countless times in this type of film.

Those willing to overcome its lack of coherence will be rewarded with a wacky story that only genre cinema can offer.

That it holds together is a testament to the cast who it feels like are battling against clumsy escalations that go bigger and louder when the quieter moments carry with them a far more tactful deployment of emotion.

Hell of A Summer might not have the most original premise, but Bryk and Wolfhard are fully aware of that, creating one of the most entertaining and crowd-pleasing slasher films of the 2020s.

Even as not all the jokes land, the rare experience of getting to take in a spoof comedy like this makes it worthwhile all the same.

If you don’t stress over the logistics of time travel and are willing to appreciate the “deeper meanings” that are on full display, then check out this beautifully shot love letter to the messiness of New York City and life itself.

The script might have glaring flaws and painfully ambiguous morals, but The Creator is a truly remarkable piece of original science fiction storytelling. Even when it borrows from ideas established in films that preceded it, Edwards manages to make it feel fresh and new. The Creator is a beautifully crafted, albeit imperfect, science-fiction thriller that tries to unravel what it means to be a good human in a bad world.

What truly saves this film from its own baffling choices and makes it watchable are the performances. Scott, Piper, and Alwyn all turn in compelling performances, but it is the titular "little bird" that steals the show. As the rebellious, headstrong Catherine, Ramsey is an infectious delight who infuses every scene she's in with an energy that is both comedic and earnest in its bluntness.

Harmonizing romance with comedy and a lot of enjoyable action, Shotgun Wedding still lands on its feet amid some bumpiness and delivers precisely what it needs to make this a fun, feel-good entry for 2023.

While it takes a while to get there after dancing around its premise, when Run Sweetheart Run hits its stride it is more than worth running along with it.

As we’ve seen from Arrested Development and Succession, rich people belittling each other over their petty grievances as they lust for real power is incredibly entertaining, but House of Gucci never seems entirely sure how seriously it should take its characters. It should have just followed Leto’s lead and been a blast.