Though Munden attempts to overload our senses with rich visuals, The Secret Garden does end up feeling kind of slight, like the film rushed through the SparkNotes version of the story.

There’s an undeniable and lovely sweetness at play in this film; a type of warmth and acceptance that helps elevate the entire package.

Keery turns in a good performance, insomuch as Kurt’s thirsty loser is a 180-degree turn from Steve Harrington on Stranger Things, but there’s nothing enjoyable about him slipping into the skin of this maniac, and very rarely anything enjoyable about the experience of watching the film itself.

A painfully slow slog, this horror film from Romola Garai has plenty of good ideas and a few neat creature effects, but that’s not enough to salvage things.

As far as directorial debuts go, The Rental is a strong start for Franco, who proves here he can take not just one but two different tried-and-true genre formulas and rework them into something neat.

Saying We Are Little Zombies is “a bit hectic” is a bit of an understatement, and yet, as Nagahisa’s passion project exploded across the screen, I found myself giving my heart to it.

Natalie Erika James’ debut doesn’t just tug at the heart, Relic wraps around it and steadily sinks its teeth into it.

Where previous wartime productions that Hanks helped spearhead had the grit, suspense, and complex characterization that defines great modern drama, Greyhound is a stripped-down touring production with an unexpectedly recognizable lead. It’s a serviceable way to spend 90 minutes, but serviceable isn’t saying much.

Most of the time, attaching visuals to these songs I know so well enhanced my experience because actually seeing the performers, chests heaving and sweaty from performing choreography while singing, gave me a newfound appreciation for the disembodied voices that have been branded into my brain. But occasionally, a lighting or camera choice actually lessened my enjoyment of a song.

Unfortunately, whenever the action stops, The Old Guard sags, with emotional moments that never really land, and big dramatic scenes that lack any genuine drama.

The problem is that Eurovision Song Contest can’t dream of capturing the real-life weirdness of Eurovision. And while there’s some chuckles that can be drawn out of McAdams and Ferrell lip syncing a surprisingly catchy song while running through a hamster wheel, there’s only so much fun that can be made of a televised singing contest where weirder things have happened.

Irresistible is one of the dullest, most toothless comedies in recent memory.

Assayas becomes so subservient to the sheer volume of events and information he must bring to life that the film completely subsumes any sense of personal style or voice.

Not many films have started this funny and uplifting, while ending this bleak and depressing.

While the film gets points for bucking tradition and trying to portray its scenes of fright mostly in bright daylight (shot with sharpness by cinematographer Angus Hudson), the scares just aren’t very scary. It doesn’t help that the pacing never feels right, with long stretches of the film focusing on things that would’ve been better served by being truncated.

Artemis Fowl is not just a disappointing adaptation, it’s a badly made movie. Its Frankensteined plot and its shockingly poor CGI — which could have passed in an early 2000s movie, but not in 2020 — leave it no redeeming qualities. It gives me no joy to say that yet another movie adaptation of a beloved childhood property has wasted Colin Farrell.

As he’s done so many times before, with BlacKkKlansman being the most recent example, Lee is able to wrap his messaging up in an entertaining package, crafting what could be considered a war pic and a heist story that has so much more on its mind.

The King of Staten Island wants to balance sweetness with humor, but it never quite figures out the formula. Many of Davidson’s quips are pretty funny, but there’s nothing here that’s going to stick with you – the next great quotable comedy this is not. The pathos fairs a bit better, but here the problems of Davidson’s range become apparent.

An exemplary work of low-budget filmmaking, The Deeper You Dig is an eldritch and well-crafted film that is far from shallow.

The saving grace of the film is the performances.

Though the flavors of past genres are present in Lucky Grandma, all those ingredients add up to a truly unique, unforgettable dish that brings a familiar formula to a whole new level.

Unfortunately, The Love Birds just isn’t that funny. Don’t get me wrong – Nanjiani and Rae are funny, and they try really hard to make this material pop. But the jokes fall flat more often than not, and the direction from Michael Showalter (who also directed Nanjiani in The Big Sick) is oddly lax, with scene after scene embracing the unstylish “point and shoot” approach.

Maybe if there wound up being a second animated film featuring Scooby and Shaggy, it might actually tell a story where they solve a supernatural mystery with their friends in the Mystery Machine. For now, all we have is this forgettable, lazy, pandering superhero film.

It’s all overly theatrical, and not at all concerned with being grounded in reality. And there’s something refreshing about seeing a gangster movie filtered through this sort of lens.

CRSHD has some promising ideas and visually inventive ways of presenting them, but it still feels like a rough draft of a film. The humor lands, and the character dynamics offer a charming backbone for CRSHD, but this coming-of-age comedy could do with some workshopping.

The film toys with a lot of weighty ideas about faith and soulmates, which it never is quite able to form a coherent message about, but its unexpected ode to platonic soulmates and its thoughtful depiction of immigrant life in smalltown America is a sweet, refreshing addition to the coming-of-age genre.

Blood Quantum makes some important points, gives us stuff to care about and then drenches it all in audacious gore. And isn’t that exactly what we want from our zombie movies?

As far as disposable action flicks go, Extraction makes good on its promise of seeing Chris Hemsworth kill a lot of people. Maybe that’s good enough for a direct-to-Netflix release, but wouldn’t it be nice if all of this mayhem actually added up to something in the end?

A kitchen sink drama, a pulpy crime movie, and a bloody revenge tale all held together by one hell of a performance.

Butt Boy is an exceptionally entertaining and weird film that defies every expectation. Everyone should see this tragic and thrilling story of a man who becomes addicted to shoving things up his butt.

It’s a love letter, full of scribbles and crossed out words, and parts of which are more eloquent than others. And while Tigertail is a messy and somewhat incoherent love letter, it’s one filled to the brim with that a sincere love and emotion nonetheless.

Kendrick and Timberlake are…fine, as they were in the first film. What holds Trolls World Tour back is what holds back so many films from DreamWorks Animation: they thrive on pop-culture references, loud humor, and little else.

This is an intimate film with grand ideas, a small boat floating on a giant ocean, and the extraordinary discovery at the heart of the narrative is outweighed by the sense as a filmgoer that we’re seeing a talented director coming to the surface, sticking her tendrils in, and reshaping our expectations as we’re taken along for the journey.

Alexandra Daddario and Maddie Hasson are the Hammett and Hetfield of Marc Meyers’ eyeliner ensemble, with looks that kill and attitudes doubly deadly. For that, this critic can downgrade other complaints. It’s full of amplified unhallowed fun and fiendish shocks in the name of rock n’ roll…or maybe that’s just what “The Man” wants you to think.

As told through Szumowska’s highly symbolic aesthetic, The Other Lamb makes for a chilling glance at the strange pull that cults exert on their members and how their values imprint themselves on their members in irrevocable ways.

Just Mercy ends up being a fairly bland crowd pleaser that doesn’t pick up the momentum it should until the final act.

With comprehensive access and a vital narrative, Welcome to Chechnya is an important work of journalism.

Feels Good Man is, in some sense, a horror movie about the legacy of images, the ownership of images by their creators, and the lives they take on outside of the artists who make them. In particular, it’s a horror story about the life of one particular image: Pepe.

Dick Johnson is Dead is both a poetic act of defiance and a portrait of love at the end of a life.

Stargirl is a slight, but cute teen dramedy.

Amy Seimetz plays by her own rules like this is the last film she’ll ever make (it won’t be, no shot). She Dies Tomorrow ponders self-fulfillment with agency and riveting execution. Seimetz’s fearlessness is what sells every ounce of this uncontrollable narrative’s every zig and zag. From tone to philosophy to composition, this is Seimetz’s soul on celluloid.

Drunk Bus straps you in for a semi-wild, uplifting ride out of somber darkness and into speedy reclamation.

Gaztelu-Urrutia’s camerawork is inventive enough – his pacing tidy enough, his tone clever enough, his performances engaging enough – that we never get tired of seeing the same four walls and few faces throughout The Platform’s running time. For being so deeply dark, the film is surprisingly funny and thoughtful, and it’s got a wonderful, sly energy to it.

It’s a film that feels like it was designed to rile everyone up, but it ultimately has nothing to say about anything.

No one will ever accuse Vin Diesel of having range, but he seems particularly lost here. There’s nothing remotely interesting about Ray, before and after he gets his robo-blood.

Tabsch and Constantini’s documentary is a reminder to thank the people in our lives who believe in us.

The Banker is like a shell of a movie, with a desperate lack of personality. The ingredients are there, down to the inevitable moment in the end credits when photos of the real people are placed alongside the actors playing them. Yet just as Apple TV+’s original series are lacking the element of dramatic excitement, so too is The Banker.

Despite its formulaic nature and its somewhat predictable beats, The Way Back extends beyond the typical sports drama by acknowledging the fantasy of it all: that one basketball game triumph becomes the easy solution to his problems that Jack is dreaming of. The road to recovery is hard work, and as The Way Back reveals, the work is never over.

By grounding her intellectual explorations in intimately observed human drama, Reichardt delivers another nuanced behavioral portrait as well as an incisive historical tome.

A pair of endearing and hilarious lead performances from teenage Griffin Gluck and comedy prodigy Pete Davidson turn the movie into a real gem.

Glass keeps her audience on our toes, always surprising us, challenging us, provoking us. The film’s a marvelous thing in its own right but also a thrilling invitation to follow this filmmaker wherever she dares to take us next.

Like a beautifully constructed puzzle box, The Wild Goose Lake various layers unfold in satisfying ways. With elegant violence, emotional richness and a complex yet coherent storyline, this is a rare bit of crime thriller treat that truly pays off.

This is as close to a multiplex contender as Porumboiu is likely to get, which may of course aggravate those that like their drinks sour, their bread hard and crusty, and their films to be as esoteric as possible. For those that don’t mind a bit of fun along the way this quirky, surreal crime thriller just might work its way into your heart.

Guns Akimbo glides on the strength of Radcliffe’s work, which is equally committed to selling a self-deprecating verbal barb as it is to executing an extended bit of physical humor.

Matthew Pope country-fries gutter luck, sizzles up a healthy portion of stand-off tension, and serves one nasty slice of homestyle revenge. Maybe too bleak for some, but sorry. Life isn’t all rainbows and Skittles. Kudos to the filmmakers who don’t shy away from the lows we’re forced to stomach and those failed in the process.

Moss gives yet another fearless performance – hers is a raw, exposed, physical, and ultimately fierce role, and it’s often stunning to watch the manic energy in her eyes as she attacks a scene.

Heroes Rising is an impressive piece of fan-service with beautiful character work and some of the most inventive and dazzling fight sequences that the series has ever seen. But a recycled plot and villain threaten to doom the film to the lower echelons of forgettable anime movies.

Most attempts to adapt the works of Jack London to the big screen have, more often than not, resulted in a neutered final product. Chris Sanders‘ live-action/computer-animated adaptation of The Call of the Wild falls firmly in this category.

Onward is a decent, well-paced, well-animated, moderately enjoyable film. It’s got a good message, an emotional third act, and some pleasantly surprising jokes. Onward is…OK. The problem with Onward is that Pixar’s original films are incredible. OK is, simply, just not good enough.

It’s a film completely devoid of energy, or atmosphere. It’s so boring at times that it’s almost impressive.

The brothers tend not to dally much with their narratives, but even adjusting for their typical brevity, Young Ahmed feels like a cursory examination of the social issues they raise. It lacks the incisiveness of their other glances directly into the heart of Belgian society.

Despite some storytelling stumbles, Standing Up, Falling Down manages to stay upright thanks to knockout performances from Schwartz and Crystal.

The result is a lively, kinetic film that dances between the natural and the fanciful, centered on a dynamo of a cinematic character played by the first-time actress.

There’s artificiality to Emma. that, while it makes it a joy to watch and admire, doesn’t leave us with much of a lasting impact. But despite all that, it is refreshing to see an Austen adaptation that finally captures the author’s witty, satirical talents.

Fantasy Island is a failure on nearly every level.

Olympic Dreams ‘s goal isn’t to inundate you with complex themes or ideas. Simplicity is key for this film – it all comes down to a man and a woman who want to spend time together and then…spend time together. Layering that with the gorgeous Olympic environment makes for an enjoyable, often mesmerizing watch.

With director Tanya Wexler lending the crime dramedy a zippy, irreverent flair, Buffaloed becomes the vehicle for which Deutch can finally show off her chops.

I submit that Sonic the Hedgehog is exhausting. Here is a film that refuses to stop making quips, somehow pulling off the unique feat of never making any of those quips funny.

A Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a richly textured, highly evocative story of love, lust and longing, and thanks to exceptional direction and remarkable, talented actors it’s a work to be cherished.

The film reiterates every detail you already know from the key reports that have been published about him, but the true power of this movie (and for me, the only reason it should exist at all) comes in its interviews with Weinstein’s victims, and the stories from these women are just as heart-rending and disturbing as you probably imagine.

Tom McCarthy gives us a film that serves for a fun family movie night, complete with important lessons, deadpan humor, and, well, a polar bear.

where Shaun the Sheep Movie felt comedically risky and goofy and brilliant, Farmageddon is a bit dated on arrival, making the kinds of jokes that would have felt a bit old hat a decade ago, let alone now. It’s a good thing this movie exists, even if it’s not quite up to snuff.

Come to Daddy is a frenzied thriller pouring out Tarantino quarts of gore and laughs. Lurking beneath its surface, there’s also an unspoken philosophical contemplation on what it means to be a father.

It’s not saying anything deep or groundbreaking about the female experience or the nature of revenge. Birds of Prey is reveling in being as gonzo and stylish as it can be. But when the fights are this thrilling and the humor this absurd, whatever’s underneath the surface doesn’t matter all that much.

This is the truly subversive comic book movie we’ve been waiting for. Now that it’s here, we might start to regret the monster we’ve conjured up.

An icy cold mix of The Shining and religious mania run wild, The Lodge opens with a bang, and never lets up. Take it from someone who doesn’t scare easy: The Lodge is scary as hell.

The film, directed by Portlandia helmer Bill Benz, is too much of a hodge-podge for its own good.

It exists in its own little world, blending genres with surprisingly strong results. What starts off seeming like a quirky rom-com quickly morphs into something far more disturbing, and strange.

The script doesn’t add anything new to the sports movie formula – you can see every major plot development coming from the stratosphere – but Lyn’s execution of those ideas powers the movie through its predictable plotting.

Smart, entertaining, darkly comic and profoundly unsettling, Boys State is simply brilliant.

Oz Perkins‘s mystical, occult-heavy take on the classic folktale from the Brothers Grimm has so much style, and so many bold ideas, that it seems destined to become a cult classic someday – the type of film people find years from now and ask, “Why the hell haven’t I heard of this before?”

A sharp, laugh out loud crowd-pleaser, Palm Springs could end up being the funniest film of 2020. But it’s not a mindless comedy. It tackles some profound topics amid the laughs, interrogating the sustainability of long-term relationships and exploring how a seemingly awful situation might be aided by a change in perspective.

Plus One isn’t a knock-off of one of the greatest rom-coms ever, it’s a deserving successor.

Wendy should not be written-off entirely, and younger audiences may be taken with the movie’s sugar-rush charms. But in the end, there’s not enough fairy dust in the world to make Wendy fly.

It’s a soulful slice of life movie, but one that has so many slices that you end up with multiple pizzas by the time the end credits roll. And hey, everyone loves pizza, right? But when you have a belly full of it, you can look back and realize that there is such a thing as too much. One thing’s for sure: you won’t see another movie like it this year.

By humanizing the events of such a huge tragedy, Sara Colangelo shines a light on both the victims and the forgotten bystanders who were left behind, opening that closed-off compartment once more and bringing those folks back to the forefront.

While the material they’re working with may not be great, it is fun to see Louis-Dreyfus and Ferrell go head-to-head. Maybe they can try doing that again sometime in the future. With a better script.

This is a fictional biography, and yet every moment rings true.

It is a singular work – one so ghastly, so unique, and so brutal that it will awe some and disgust others.

July – and her performers – find humanity lurking within their quirky oddballs. There’s also plenty of humor to be had, mostly from Wood’s deadpan delivery.

The horror on display here is so powerful, and Hall’s work is so strong, that you’re bound to come away from The Night House properly haunted.

Jumbo is a ride that might be worth taking once, but don’t be surprised if you walk away from it feeling more than a little disappointed.

A triumphant, inspiring movie about the heroism of human decency, Ironbark is a rock solid spy drama that, if it came out 20 years ago, would have easily become a mainstay on TNT or TBS. Hollywood doesn’t make movies like this very often anymore, and if does prove to be part of a last gasp of character-focused period thrillers, at least the genre is going out with some style.

It’s crass, it’s cruel, it’s wild, it’s often hilariously funny.

Part Brian De Palma flick, part Invasion of the Body Snatchers, part Dracula, and part Stepford Wives, Bad Hair filters its influences through Simien’s hyper-specific passions and unique sensibilities to become a singular horror comedy from a singular filmmaker.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s To the Ends of the Earth encapsulates one woman’s blossoming from a reserved drone into a willing participant with Maeda’s subtle dynamism from a perpetually placid and pouty countenance to a focused visage.

While a full 140 minutes of this can get occasionally exhausting and tedious, Aïnouz makes it more than worthwhile in his stirring conclusion when the full impact of a life apart becomes wrenchingly apparent.

Most of all, it’s empowering to watch Swift finally come into her own. To realize she doesn’t have to give a fuck about making everyone in the world like her anymore as long as she’s found a way to like herself.