n the one hand, The Wonder is a fascinating examination of the war between the sacred and the scientific. On the other hand, despite its strong sense of atmosphere and an intense performance by lead actress Florence Pugh, it’s strangely uninvolving.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an overlong blockbuster in search of an editor. It’s a series of impressive action sequences without a compelling narrative to connect them. It’s a frustrating example of how financial success, not creative impetus, drives the existence of sequels, and it illustrates how unwieldy, contradictory, and overstuffed the MCU has become.

Movie-going isn’t a civics assignment but Till is a sufficiently powerful motion picture that it offers more than a history lesson.

It’s not that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with the film. Some of the individual moments are impactful or effective at evoking nostalgia. But, as they say, the whole is less than the sum of the parts. It feels like a watered-down replica of other, better coming-of-age stories.

Tar isn’t based on a true story but it possesses an emotional and intellectual honesty that makes it seem more real than countless made-for-mass-consumption biopics.

In a streaming series spread out over four or six hours, this might have offered compelling content (and certainly would have seemed less rushed) but, in its current format, it’s more frustrating than satisfying and the facile ending doesn’t hit the right spot.

Although this features high wattage stars, it represents a curiously anachronistic attempt at escapist fare.

Black Adam embraces many of the worst elements and tropes of the superhero genre, resulting in a loud, discordant experience replete with fist-fights, pyrotechnics, and an overdose of CGI.

The tapestry is large enough for the big screen and the overall experience will reward the movie-goer far more than something slick and superficial like Don’t Worry Darling.

Editing is increasingly a lost art and there are times when Triangle of Sadness might have been more effective had it been presented with greater economy. Stylistically, however, that’s Ostlund. We’ve seen it before and doubtlessly we’ll see it again. There’s enough here to make it worth enduring the length.

Although Halloween Ends is a better-than-serviceable slasher film, its old-school approach to horror might feel dated in comparison to the flow of new, more intricately plotted films in Hollywood’s post-pandemic pipeline.

With its whiplash-inducing tonal inconsistencies and sloppily assembled narrative, Amsterdam often feels like a pastiche of (take your pick) Monty Python, The Coen Brothers, or Wes Anderson grafted onto a crime caper/espionage thriller with a strong allegorical message about fascism.

Smile represents the latest in an impressive roster of horror films that have pushed the envelope, daring to go where most cookie-cutter fright-fests of the past decade have avoided treading. This is a dark, uncompromising movie that explores serious subjects like trauma and suicide.

The director may be able to make a compelling case for why he made Blonde the way he did but I can make an equally compelling case for why only a masochist would want to sit through the whole thing.

The pacing is too leisurely and, although Ungar is invested in telling Galvan’s story and fleshing out the man behind the dubious legend, there are times when it feels like he’s bypassing a more intense rendition of the same basic story. Bandit offers more of a diversion than an experience.

Although there are a number of problems with the production, the most glaring is the screenplay. The flaws of the final act are so flagrant that nothing short of a rewrite would have solved them.

Many of the characters might have longer, more fully fleshed-out arcs. But what Prince-Bythewood provides is more than enough for a rousing motion picture filled with well-choreographed battle scenes effectively folded into stories of human interest.

In terms of humor, See How They Run is more amusing than outrageous. Outside of the few instances of slapstick and physical comedy, it is designed to generate smiles (rather than provoke belly laughs). The script is clever and silly at the same time. (That may seem contradictory but it’s not.)

It’s experimental without being off-putting and it uses its 100 minutes to build out a character who was frustratingly incomplete in X.

Smith has infused this final chapter of the accidental trilogy with an odd tone. It’s a comedy that wants to be serious but has trouble finding the right pitch.

For roughly two-thirds of its 100-minute running length, Barbarian is a top-notch excursion into the dark, twisty tunnels and catacombs of a mystery-cum-monster movie.

True Things is solidly made but there’s just not enough substance underlining the characters or their story for it to be memorable.

The movie is at times funny, at times blistering, and at times insightful, but it lacks consistency, thereby arguing that perhaps the short film that provided its basis offered a better length.

Samaritan isn’t terrible but neither is it especially good. It’s a B-grade comic book movie that looks, sounds, and plays like a B-grade comic book movie.

It’s an elegant and highly unexpected offering from George Miller that allows him to step away from the Mad Max universe if only for one interlude.

The film is unquestionably more accessible than Horse Girl, but for all of its parodic elements and unpredictability, it nevertheless feels unpolished and unfinished.

Older viewers may lose patience with the thinness of the narrative. Nostalgia might keep them watching but there’s only so far that can go and 90 minutes is too much to ask without the correspondingly intriguing story that Summering lacks.

In terms of the balance between narrative, mystery, and razor-sharp dialogue, I was reminded of Knives Out. Very different films in some ways but not that different in their ability to engage, entertain, and not overstay their welcomes.