Anchored by another admirable performance by Fiennes, it mines its milieu effectively enough. Even if the end result doesn’t quite live up to the majesty of Elgar’s opera, or even the truly transformative societal shifts that the Great War wrought on this land, there’s enough to admire about what takes place on screen in this telling to recommend it.

The whole film has a surfeit of personality, thanks in large part to the multi-hyphenate Russo’s distinct voice permeating every aspect. In addition to writing and directing, Russo also edited and scored the film. That level of control may seem like a lot, especially for a first-time filmmaker, but when you have a vision as specific as Russo does here, it makes sense.

This is a powerful, well-made, urgently topical thriller that should put writer-director John Swab firmly on the map.

A deserving conclusion to this era of the Peaky Blinders as Cillian Murphy remains in top form alongside Barry Keoghan who fits right into the world.

The film struggles to find an effective core focus that ties all the narratives together in a cohesive and entertaining manner. Ultimately, Fuze lacks the precision in its writing to make the twists and turns worthwhile.

Amazingly, Coppola’s intimate portrait manages to have mass appeal, thanks to both her entertaining approach and Jacobs’ down-to-earth, relatable personality. It turns out the pair work well together, leading to a film that both label chasers and thrift store fanatics will love.

While it falls short of the brilliance of the “Nebraska” album itself, Cooper’s against-the-grain approach offers a refreshing antidote to the formulaic music biopic, delivering a bleak yet moving exploration of an artist in crisis.

Without a shred of embarrassment or irony in sight, The Napa Boys is a film made by people who believe in their sense of humor and hope to share it with audiences in a crowded room to laugh together.

Can we, as a society, radically accept someone for who they are today, despite who they were? This is a fascinating question, a ripe one to ask in a narrative, and, for the most part, Borgli succeeds in addressing the multiple sides of the query that will entice many heated post-movie conversations.

This is an entertaining and emotionally engaging mix of music and song that will play well to both die-hard fans and newcomers alike, with Bono proving charming company throughout the film’s 87 minute running time.

Sure, the characters are paper-thin and do many things that defy all logic and common sense, but that’s part of the fun. Primate is bad in many of the ways you’d expect, but it’s better in many ways you won’t. It’s the best kind of January surprise.

Sure, at its core, it’s essentially the same film all over again. Yet Radio Silence’s direction is more elaborate, taking their years of work to come up with far more inventive set pieces, using way more gallons of blood, and, overall, a sequel that is everything we could’ve wanted and possibly a little bit more.

A fantastic cast brings a soulful and endearing story to life with plenty of gags and creative world-building in between.

Even in a flawed film like this, the action remains inventive.

Lowery, clearly fascinated by the plight of the modern pop star, has made “Mother Mary” with both the fervor of a fan and the insight of a fellow artist. The questions the film asks about the identity of pop stars as well as the ownership of their music, their image, and their very souls don’t all have answers, and Lowery doesn’t provide them. He does, however, provide plenty of food for thought as he asks these questions, interrogating the relationship between artists and their audience and what each owes the other.

The film’s powerful message will resonate strongly with audiences, and while its conventional nature holds it back from true greatness, it makes the most of its strongest elements.

Anchored by moving performances from Emilia Jones and Nick Robinson, you’ll find yourself falling in love with all that Charlie Harper has in store.

Wicked: For Good is a lovely ode to the beauty of female friendship, the spirit of individuality, the power of goodness in the face of authoritarianism, and the influence one true friend can have on an individual to grow into their full potential.

Anya Taylor-Joy brings a dynamic playfulness and personality to her character. While Miles Teller doesn’t quite match Taylor-Joy’s level of screen presence, the two manage to create fun chemistry and make the most out of an unfocused concept.

There are luminous glimmers of promise scattered throughout “Sheep in the Box,” and each speaks to a filmmaker of immense creativity and thoughtful sensibilities—unfortunately, those glimmers amount to a disappointingly disorienting feature.

Perhaps “Lorne” entertains more than it informs, but somehow, that feels exactly right.

Balagov is a fearless filmmaker, unafraid of showing what many directors would avoid. And while that uncompromising spirit has served him well in the past, here it seems that some self-imposed guidelines would’ve spared him from crafting something so purposelessly unpleasant.

In the end, Magic Hour is quite a mixed experience. There are plenty of real, raw emotions on the screen and the page, but the screenplay feels too repetitive and surface-level for most of the runtime.

As is always the Achilles’ heel with Hosada, his narrative devolves into an elementary morality argument that feels completely dissonant with the extravagant imagination he’s able to conjure in his illustrations. His ambitions will always be appreciated for the bombastic exhibitions, but a deeper meaning to the themes he examines would also be appreciated.

While director Stephen Chbosky and writer Liz Maccie have the heart in the right place with Nonnas, honoring generations of family tradition, a formulaic approach limits how far this inspiring story can go creatively.

Despite being overwritten in places, the screenplay is the real star of the show in The Wizard of the Kremlin. Full of astute observations and dryly humorous quips, it’s gratifying to listen to. Assayas’ film is catnip for followers of political machinations, even if more casual viewers may find it as unconquerable as Russia has proved to be over the centuries.

The film’s message is less about the remarkably bright creatures themselves, and more about the power of finding healing and solace in community. It’s a forgettable yet instantly re-watchable, feel-good story that tugs on your heartstrings and knows how to do it.

Denis’ directorial prowess stems from her immaculate compositions, an iconic aspect of her oeuvre that’s diluted by her overt reliance on Koltès’ dialogue-dependent source material.

Bertino and Fanning make some wholly horrific magic together, and their diabolical efforts culminate in a wonderfully sinister parable that is nearly impossible to forget.

At the heart of it, perhaps Wright just wasn’t the right fit for this story, as many of us had hoped he would be. That being said, what he’s able to get out of Colman Domingo as “The Running Man” host Bobby T is worth the price of a ticket alone. If anything, like most films, it could’ve used more of Domingo.

Swapped is a perfectly serviceable animated film that younger viewers will connect with. Unfortunately, despite flashes of inspiration, it suffers from dreaded forgettability; it’s too reminiscent of recent, better films with similar plots, tropes, and themes, and never quite finds the spark it needs to stand out.

Picture This may not be the most unique story, nor does it reach the pinnacle of the rom-com genre. But the film finds enough moments of freshness and earnestness in the protagonist’s journey to stand out in a sea of generic rom-coms. Ashley’s incredibly charming performance is the most compelling highlight of the film.

Lacking focus in the writing and direction, the film ultimately falls short of crafting a satisfying journey for the viewer to follow.

For purists, this approach may be considered sacrilegious. For others, it will be exhilarating. There is no denying that Wuthering Heights will inspire fierce debate. But there is also no denying its craft, ambition, and emotional conviction.

It’s a tale as old as time, but the filmmaking basks in its luxurious style as the performances do their best to create captivating portraits of their own. There may not be too much distinctiveness from what’s on the page outside of the lack of talking, but sometimes words fail. Action is needed, and this has more than enough to satisfy.

Bunnylovr is another attempt to examine the melancholy that is especially prevalent among the young. What it gleams is an intriguing portrait, but it is also inconsistently engaging.

Slanted has many interesting elements at play, not only in its own story but also in the films it draws inspiration from. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t go far enough in the end.

This film may be more memorable because of its filmmaking, but it’s all sound and fury, amounting to very little. The momentum is lethargic, the characters shallow, and the narrative lacking any sense of intrigue from the romance that is supposed to anchor it.

You’ll know where Goodbye June is headed very early on, but that doesn’t mean there’s not enough here to enjoy along the way.

Keeper may not be as deeply horrifying as “Longlegs” or as darkly funny as “The Monkey.” Still, it demonstrates Perkins’ continued evolution as a filmmaker. He refuses to make the same movie twice, using horror as a way to explore new stories, emotional territory, and deploy new tones and techniques.

It’s a fitting end to the Warrens’ cinematic journey and a graceful farewell to a franchise that gave us more than we ever expected.

A near-perfect parody chock full of witty wordplay, ingenious physical comedy, and diabolically clever sight gags.

If you’re looking for a brisk bout of debauchery and family shenanigans, Alex Winter’s latest chilly tale may well be something to be warmed by.

Ronan Day-Lewis makes a superb debut with this expressively shot and scored tale of familial reconciliation. The cast, led by the great Daniel Day-Lewis, is uniformly spectacular.

The potential for a much more engrossing venture is sadly bypassed for a merely passable showcase.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is no great piece of art, but in the same way that candy stuffed in a stocking is far from a five-star meal, it doesn’t matter to those seeking it out, and it’s enjoyable all the same.

Those who yearn for a return to Brat Summer will find themselves happily bumpin’ that, but any viewers who feel nothing at the sight of the color tennis ball green would do well to pass.

Hailey Gates shows a lot of exciting promise behind the camera.

You, Me & Tuscany has all the right ingredients; the recipe’s just a little off. Throw in a little more spice and add some depth to the central romance, and the next time Page and Bailey do this together, they might just make a classic.

Rather than feeling like the kind of culture-shifting moment the original film became, this remake is more of a shrug, destined to be sadly scrolled past by disinterested streaming audiences.

Instead of the sharp satire of modern-day relationships it starts out as, “Over Your Dead Body” becomes a gross-out comedy in its second half. While it’s very good in both of those modes, it can’t help but feel a bit disappointing that it takes such a sharp turn from something that’s both fun and perceptive to something that’s just fun.

After the Hunt struggles to decide precisely how it wants to approach its examination of the (to reference one of Alma’s teaching topics) panopticon-like method of dealing with allegations of amorality in today’s society. But thanks to Guadagnino’s strong filmic choices, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ unnerving musical score, and striking performances, it still manages to draw audiences into its chilling, unsteady world effectively.

Although the story only gets more and more unsatisfyingly perplexing as it goes on, the filmmaking tools used to tell it are exceptional.

At times, the roundabout structure of “Couture” can make for a plodding watch, and leaves some character development to be desired. But there’s a spellbinding quality to Winocour’s direction; she glides from one woman’s perspective to the next somewhat obliquely. In doing so, she unearths gems of inner conflict in characters who are withholding so much about their personal lives just to do their jobs and get through the day.

It wants to speak to the hauntings of history, the burden of Black inheritance, and the strange ways guilt manifests. But the film’s ambition often outpaces its clarity. At its best, it captures the surreal pain of being tethered to a past you never asked for. At its worst, it’s a philosophical fog.

You don’t watch a movie like this for character or dialogue, you watch it to see fierce, strong young women twirl, kick, and stab their way through a pack of mobsters to the sound of Tchaikovsky. On that front, Pretty Lethal delivers. Brava, ladies!

Mermaid, despite its flaws, is enjoyable enough for its unique depiction of mermaids and its portrayal of a “Florida man” come to life. Sure, the title is unoriginal, but its presentation is not. Of course, it’s nowhere near as good as “Splash,” but it doesn’t need to be.

Yes, it’s ridiculous. No, it doesn’t make perfect sense. But, damn, if it isn’t a hoot and a half to watch.

At least Sokolov gives Beetz a moment to shine and become the action hero she deserves, but the film’s more inventive set pieces, such as the air-duct crawl, don’t outweigh how underwhelming “They Will Kill You” is at the end of the day.

What could have been an effective investigative drama and character study loses all momentum in the film’s structure.

A handful of compelling sequences of physical action cannot save a narrative weighed down by a mundane plot, pedestrian characters, and an intolerably sluggish filmmaking style.

Yes, Reminders of Him is very much an ordeal, but not so much because it’s bad. It’s an ordeal because of all the emotional muck these characters have to drag themselves through to get to the other side.

As someone who absolutely loves any kind of a crime film, “How To Make A Killing” can be entertaining at times as a morality play wrapped in designer suits and generational spite. It’s juggling a lot more than it needs to, and it never fully synthesizes its most perceptive ideas, but it’s powered by another star performance from Powell, keeping it barely afloat.

A flimsy plot and uninteresting characters would be tolerable if the dramatic moments of intense destruction were more intriguing. Instead, the palette is wholly bland and lifeless, unsupported by the framework of the storytelling and performances. A handful of impressive scenes come nowhere close to saving this picture. It’s disappointing that one of the most unexpectedly entertaining films of the last few years has led to a banal, forgettable project.

If anything, Tron: Ares is less a film than a cinematic pin dropped in a franchise map that’s going absolutely nowhere.

It provides the thrills, but leaves the audience hungry for a story with actual depth to its waters.

Gavras awkwardly swaps politically charged potency in exchange for an unmemorable satirical take-down of those contributing to our planet’s ongoing environmental destruction.

What’s most frustrating about Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is how tonally inconsistent it becomes. Yes, it finds a way to inject some delightful horror imagery that’s captivating, at least in the way that repulsive acts of over-the-top carnage can appease those sickos out there. However, this story does not come across as if that tone was top of mind.

Even when the story stumbles, Berger’s technical skill and Farrell’s all-in performance keep it engrossing.

For some, its extremity will be alienating; for others, its audacity will be exhilarating. “Rosebush Pruning” is undeniably well crafted, but as an absurdist comedy, it ultimately feels more provocative than profound.

By the end, Play Dirty feels less like a fresh Shane Black comeback and more like another casualty of the streaming churn, loud, empty, and forgettable.

The story still isn’t the most captivating and has another bit of frustrating sequel bait that muddies some arcs towards the finale, but it has a clearer sense of focus, at least putting the exciting sequences to the forefront. The filmmaking still has a bit of a stiltedness to it, but it leans further into an energizing tone that is far more engrossing.

Ultimately, Blackhurst’s new film is an unmissable horror gem that heralds the arrival of both a fresh new horror voice and an electrifying new villain for the ages.

Joker: Folie à Deux does many things right to deliver a fresh and unique sequel to the dark story of Arthur Fleck.

The whimsical tone becomes repetitive at times, and the recurring flashbacks to Antoine’s relationship with Irene often slows the film’s narrative momentum. Additionally, the film nearly collapses under the weight of its lofty ambitions in the final act, only to dodge a potentially disastrous conclusion. However, the believability of Antoine and Suzanne’s shared journey holds firm.

Kogonada channels something, often in the replication of the works of Jacques Demy and Hayao Miyazaki. Yet, it isn’t enough when the central dynamic at its core fails to elicit the yearning spirit that makes any viewer hopelessly head over heels.

This new Anaconda does have some occasionally clever bits, and a smile can indeed stretch across your face from time to time. But those moments are fleeting, buried under a sea of other jokes that don’t land and a cash-in on nostalgia that is never really warranted.

Though James does her best with what she’s given, this movie doesn’t provide a full and rich look at Wolfe Herd’s life, who is certainly a lot more than just her career achievements (they are immensely impressive, but shouldn’t define her).

Parallel Tales unspools away from sense and a compelling drive and instead turns out to be a monotonous, limp misfire.

Wyatt’s big-budget foray is an oddity, as it feels like it should be truly epic and a film for Hollywood studios to gobble up, but something went seriously wrong when making it.

Despite its flaws, the cast, while underused, is a powerhouse, especially Knightley, who remains magnetic. It’s just that “The Woman in Cabin 10” never manages to transcend its setup.

With the help of a superb makeup team, Billy Zane delivers an impressively complex performance as the enigmatic Marlon Brando that stands in stark contrast to the rest of the comedic film.

What makes the film succeed, as much as it can, is that sincere commitment to advocating decency in a chaotic world. It demonstrates this ideology not only through its protagonist’s philanthropic ambition but also in how effortlessly charming these characters can be.

There are very dark chapters in Michael Jackson’s life that one would not expect a film with the full endorsement of his estate to approve. It’s understandable, even expected, for these kinds of works. But what makes “Michael“ come underneath that generously low bar is that it refuses to paint its subject as anything less than saintly. It truly feels like this version of Jackson has been deified, shown to be consumed by his talent but without any dramatic stakes to accompany his triumphs.

Him falters as a comedy and even more so as a horror film, rarely putting in the effort to build tension or create memorable scares.

Outcome has good intentions, aiming to show the real side of Hollywood, but odd choices muddle its results. It wants to have all these emotional moments and still be a funny take on Hollywood, but often one is frustratingly sacrificed for the other. It’s a shame considering all the comedy and showbiz experience Hill can bring to this project.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is inarguably fun, built for fans of the long-running franchise. For lifelong fans of this universe and young kids experiencing it for the first or second time, this is a Mario fan’s dream. There’s enough here to leave a mass audience satisfied, even if anticipation grows for the next film to level up. For now, good enough is simply enough.

The film’s refusal to engage with its own material and its franchise’s legacy may not be the only problem with “Scream 7,“but it’s certainly the biggest. For every good element, there’s an equally bad one. The performances are either good (Campbell has always been great as Sidney, but this may be her best performance in the franchise to date) or barely functional (Courtney Cox looks and sounds like she’s sleepwalking through playing Gale Weathers despite getting an all-timer entrance).

There’s certainly entertainment value in “Mercy,” especially in a late-film chase captured largely via dashcam, and in the film’s gamified version of criminal court, which has a video-game-like appeal. But with a concept so close to the real world, you need to engage with the ideas to connect with the audience beyond the surface, truly.

Regretting You is a baffling romantic drama that reinforces why this genre, despite its loyal audience, has struggled to evolve.

There’s simply nothing of value here, not even the thrill of an adrenaline rush from a cheap jump scare. Any attempts at shock are hollow and laughable. The viewer is likely to leave the theater feeling similar to how Josh Hutcherson appears in this film, understandably checked out, vacant, and simply worn down.

Writer-director Lucía Aleñar Iglesias and star Zoe Stein announce themselves as major talents in the former’s contemplative, moving feature debut - a work that's as patient and impeccably-composed as it is alluring from a plot standpoint.

Whether you attended those shows, had your own musical taste shaped by those that took the stage, or are simply interested in a more detailed look at this impactful period of popular music history, Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery provides an excellent guide to this most epic of traveling shows.

It stands as a tribute to the power of storytelling, the influence of the moving image, and the enduring spirit of revolution in all its forms.

It’s a portrait that isn’t the most effective, but has enough pieces worthy of appreciation.

This is an accomplished debut for writer-director Bresser, a superbly acted and beautifully shot mystery thriller with a strong sense of place and some satisfyingly Lynchian undertones.

Oxman has a great directorial voice and uses close-ups and wide shots to allow the audience into her characters’ world.

L’Aventura is sometimes a messy, repetitive, and frustrating watch. But that may be the point. It tests your patience like a real vacation can, which makes it feel uncannily familiar.