For as much care and passion that the Hawkes put into Wildcat, the film never knows what it wants to be or even what audience it wants to be speaking to.

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.

Without the foundation of solid writing for Pine to direct from, everything ends up being lackluster and takes away from that aspect, no matter how strong the cast is and how cartoonish the situations are.

Rather than come away feeling like you’ve watched something truly daring or inventive, it all feels derivative. It is a film that is too mundane to even get mad at.

Hit Man is also simply one of the most thoroughly enjoyable films of Linklater’s career, an absolute delight to watch unfold and play out. He keeps the twists of the noir narrative fairly straightforward, leaving us to revel and admire in Powell’s comedic chops, the romantic entanglements, and the anticipation for when this relationship might go too far.

Boy Kills World comes across as obnoxious, and the viewer already feels exhausted within the first 15 minutes of the film. It's as if the creative team wanted to make a cult movie but completely forgot cult movies have to be fun.

There is a wonderfully withering sense of humor in how American Fiction explores this as all of the conversations Monk begins to have around the book he wrote as a joke sees it spiraling out of his control.

Yates makes Pain Hustlers part-rowdy dramedy, part-half-assed takedown, and entirely an underwhelming film that attempts to make apparent and bland points.

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.

DuVernay took a big swing with Origin, and that’s certainly to be commended, but the film sadly doesn’t work more often than it does. The impact of the end makes the journey worthwhile, but it’s a rocky road to that conclusion.

Woman of the Hour is a tight, smartly handled thriller that may stumble at times with its thematic ideas, but wins you over with its deft handling behind the camera.

Waititi’s latest isn’t bad by any stretch, and isn’t close to his worst (again, Love and Thunder, watch your ass), but as a sports film and a comedy, it is fairly average.

The Holdovers is a wonderful revelation from an excellent director who proves he’s still able to take us by surprise.

If a film like this were to have anything less than perfection from its leads, it would likely fall to pieces. Thankfully, the story comes to life in the hands of two veteran performers at their very best.

The twist is detailed but not too convoluted, and in my view, it's not easy to see coming. If anything, A Haunting in Venice is a reminder that even when we are inundated with mystery stories, no one does it like Agatha Christie, and it's hard to believe that someone ever will again.

Timberlake's acting aside, Reptile is the perfect kind of digestible, mid-budget crime thriller that we just don’t get enough of.

In this David vs. Goliath battle, the film gives hope that change on a large scale could be possible and does this in a charming, entertaining narrative with a great cast from top to bottom.

It’s pretty easy to fall in love with Ari and Dante, but the movie is only in love with the idea of them, neglecting quality time between the characters that would really make us feel like they've traveled through galaxies and beyond.

By the end of Hate to Love: Nickelback, it’ll be hard to hate these four guys, and in some ways, that’s sort of the point—putting a human face on a band that is often seen as little more than a meme.

Dicks: The Musical is a decidedly big swing and a genuinely weird take on the musical that has its moments, but also feels a bit stretched too thin given its concept.

In a career full of continuous surprises, The Boy and Heron’s biggest surprise might be just how magical and unique his work still feels after all these years.

It is full of so much joy, and so much heart, celebrating family, culture, and love, while also emphasizing that even the most ancient of civilizations aren't completely trapped in the past, especially if the new generation has anything to say about it.

Glazer’s latest fits within his distinct style, breaking down a genre and working with the skeleton that’s left over in order to get at the heart of what makes these stories so jarring.

With its tight script, well-balanced characters, and bone-chilling scares, The Nun II is the first Conjuring spinoff operating at the same caliber as the franchise's core films, proving that this universe is far from played out.

Even as Butterfield continues to try to bring something resembling gravitas towards the end of the film, it all just peters out. No matter how many quick cuts and bursts of sound it throws at you, everything it goes for falls flat on its back.

The cruelty at the core of this vivacious vampiric farce is blended up with sharp yet silly gallows humor, ensuring the grim absurdities Larraín gracefully teases out increasingly take flight even as he continually drags us into gruesome and gory depths.

The pacing is brisk without once overstaying its welcome, it has an ultra-charismatic lead, plus boasts all the violence, chaos, and melodrama one could want out of this particular movie.

The cast is sufficiently fun and the remote location a proper backdrop for the offbeat story to play out. It just never brings all its pieces together, revealing that the greatest paranormal force haunting the entire affair is the ghost of a better film.