I absolutely love the first half of this film. Lister-Jones recaptures the magic of the original by welcoming the audience into a cool coven with warmth and radiant leads. It's a pleasure to tag along with this dynamic squad, whether they're dabbling in telekinesis, flirting with a crush, or taking on the forces of evil and misogyny. Slow-motion of moments awkward, lusty, and celebratory envelop us in the overwhelming emotions of the heady time that is teendom. Sadly, this spirited and powerful path is abandoned to lay the groundwork for a sequel that is -- as far we know -- not a certainty. Such plotting bogs down the rich and rewarding story of friendship, self-acceptance, and growth. Still, that franchise-forward choice aside, this sequel is wickedly fun and bewitching.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm may not contain all of the shock and awe of the original, since exposing racists has sadly sort of become commonplace, but it still contains an avalanche of awkward, anxiety-cranking moments that'll have you laughing while watching through your fingers like you would a horror movie.

Zemeckis turns this beloved, dark story into a campy, weird, yet still fairly entertaining kid-friendly story of accepting oneself. The problem is that it pales in comparison to what came before.

Saint Maud is an impeccably crafted, deeply unsettling, and wickedly engrossing religious horror film.

This journey from sun-soaked beaches to chilly English country, from heart-racing flirtation to soul-shattering stress, from new love to old regrets, feels dry and flaccid. Much like Mrs. de Winter, the long shadow of Hitchcock's Rebecca proves just too powerful to ignore.

Writer-director Aaron Sorkin's star-studded chronicle of The Trial of the Chicago 7 is timely and terrific.

The Outpost is a cleverly, and respectfully, crafted war film that uses a segmented, episodic approach to help you invest in the characters while building up to a very impressive battle sequence.

Even with some questions left dangling, The Show offers a supremely intoxicating adventure, ripe with imagination, rank with decadence, and rabid with more, more Moore.

Hubie Halloween is aggressively stupid, sure, but it's also occasionally endearing (with a guilty chuckle or two).

Vampire vs. the Bronx offers enough kid-friendly thrills and laughs to entertain and introduce newcomers to the horror genre, while also offering a socially conscious exploration of gentrification we haven't seen in the genre before.

As a piece of political filmmaking, Lovers Rock is deft and nuanced, a celebration of joy and community built in response to oppression.

Ultimately, Lupin III: The First plays it safe. While the film adds a new visual kick, there’s not a whole lot in the way of storytelling innovation. But maybe we don’t need it.

Nomadland is a radiant celebration of humanity and community.

The Devil All the Time is made purposely provocative by Antonio Campos imbuing an unrelenting gruesomeness into every frame.

Kemp Powers' thoughtful script gives us an insight into what might have been going on behind the sports and entertainment performances that awed us, and in doing so urges us to look at what's still going on now. Director Regina King's cast delivers some of the best performances of the year, unveiling the hidden pain of public figures. Through a keen focus and confident flow, she unfurls their struggles in a poignant display to show how they live on today.

Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill, is a toothless Fleabag with Sherlock coating.

The New Mutants didn’t deserve to be locked away for years. It’s not some unwatchable mess but rather a perfectly fine, entertaining, if at times formulaic small-scale genre movie.

The psychological thriller-horror film Antebellum mishandles its sensitive & painful subject matter on multiple levels.

Disney’s live-action Mulan is a confident blend of old and new, hiding a familiar heart under action-packed armor.

Bill & Ted Face the Music is a pleasant escape for the quarantine-stricken, a sweet and entertaining romp that defies expectations by largely recapturing what worked about the series so many years later.

Tenet is not Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, but it is another thrilling entry into his canon. In a world where blockbuster cinema is dominated by franchises and sequels, it serves as an accomplished demonstration of the pleasures of unconnected and non-serialised original storytelling. But while it does tread new ground, Tenet is the ‘safest’ film from Christopher Nolan in some years. Following two recent ambitious movies from the filmmaker, Tenet feels a little conservative, as if Nolan’s style is a franchise rather than a framework. Despite this, it remains more interesting than most other tentpole movies and acts as a beacon for the director’s strengths.

With any other actor as the menacing lead, Unhinged would have been a TV movie or straight-to-streaming release, but Crowe and a few well-executed scenes of action still manage to hold the viewer’s interest throughout what’s essentially 90 minutes of genre filler material.

Peninsula feels fairly derivative when compared to the tighter and more terrifying Train to Busan, but on its own, as an expansion of this universe, it's a rollicking ride through a hollowed-out hellscape. It's almost a complete genre shift, but not an unrewarding one.

Pretending I'm a Superman will inspire you to get back on your board whether in real life or in the game.

The pacing drags through action set-pieces left obscured by messy compositions and limp, over-stylized visual choices. New Orleans, as the film’s setting, is wasted while the film’s gritty concept fails to deliver the desired intensity.

Bolstered by a diverse and interesting cast of a kind we don’t see nearly enough, it paints a vivid portrait of the seedier side of the Los Angeles underworld.

All in all, An American Pickle is a solidly entertaining comedy. Its oddball conceit dares audiences to take the plunge, and Seth Rogen rewards them with Herschel, who is bold, thrilling, and a little bit bonkers.

The Rental boats a strong cast, an intriguing set up, and a compelling mystery. It's a fun and feisty web of lies and deception with the added bonus of having a shadowy, stalking presence surrounding everything and everyone like a God-hand. It's a small film, but it's tense, dense, and delivers a harrowing final act.