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.