Reviews

Due to the events of Zack Snyder's Justice League, superhero and JL member Barry Allen is convinced he may have the ability to manipulate his Speed Force to travel back in time and prevent his mother's death and father's frame for it. When his attempt to save his family go awry and inadvertently changes the future, Barry becomes trapped in a timeline where Man of Steel's General Zod is on the precipice of conquering Earth. Utilizing the help of the Barry Allen from this dimension, as well that universe's Batman and Kryptonian, Barry is determined to set straight the tears in the fabric of reality that he himself has created.

As far as superhero adaptations go, The Flash is a decent addition. After years of delays with the filming of the movie, saddled with the further baggage of the ill advised actions of its main actor, its end result is a great story hidden within a messy product. After the back-to-back box office failures of Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Warner Brothers looked to The Flash to be the big win that help end the Zack Snyder era while beginning to pave the way for a new regime in storytelling for DC Comics. Sadly, due to a bloated runtime and cripplingly bad visual effects, what could've been a resounding victory for the company ends up being a mid tier movie that fails to cash in on its potential. An interesting premise, a meditation on the fact that even with the greatest power people can't control everything in their lives, is often undercut by late 90s/early 2000s era GCI and oddly placed jokes. With cavalcade of cameos ranging from instantly recognizable to morsels for the fans, The Flash is a serviceable feather in the cap of franchise in the midst of a reorganization but nowhere near the successful product they'd hoped for.

The Flash co-stars Michael Keaton and Sasha Calle as Batman and Supergirl, respectively. While seeing Keaton on screen suited up as The Bat again initially thrills, Keaton himself seems to be rarely present in the scene, delivering his lines without any real conviction or sense of purpose. The thrills mostly come from the recreation of the world Tim Burton and his crew directed (along with composer Benjamin Wallfisch's nods to Danny Elfman's score), with Wayne Manor's exterior shots draped in fog and its interior immediately reminiscent of the mansion's expansive room inside viewers came to love from the set design of the first two live action movies. Keaton's presence, while welcoming, is lethargic and lackluster, getting through his lines in order to collect his paycheck.

Sasha Calle is the breakout star of the film. As Kara Zor-El, cousin of Superman's Kal-El, her entrance into the film gives the audience a much different look at her arrival on Earth. Harkening back to a well received comic book story of the early 2000s, once Superwoman is able to break out and let loose she dominates the screen with her quiet brooding nature that changes as the story unfolds. A delight to watch, Calle would be a worthy addition to James Gunn and Peter Safrin's upcoming DC reboot.

Directed by Andy Muschietti, The Flash was a tall order from the beginning. After a veritably endless carousel of directors walking in and out of the chair, the It and It Chapter 2 helmsman was tasked with picking up the pieces of a number of different ideas and forging them into one unified vision. The end result is a flawed, yet entertaining movie that does a good job at balancing the action with the the character work. While the character work takes a bit of a back seat in the second act, the first and especially the third shows the viewer exactly who Barry Allen is, and the impact of his family on him. Pacing wise, the film wastes little time establishing his whereabouts since last seen in Zack Snyder's Justice League and the titular character attempting to justify to Bruce Wayne his intent to time travel. The story's second act, easily the weakest in the narrative, as well as being interminably long, loses the momentum gathered in the first before having to ramp back up to a fairly strong narrative conclusion. With General Zod being more of a side story than an actual plot device used to propel Barry's story forward, the confrontation between Flash, Zod, and Zod's troops serves as nothing more than a desperate clinging to what came before with Man of Steel.

Overall, The Flash is a decent enough superhero film. While there's justifiable frustration at the fact that inside the over convoluted kitchen sink of a story lies a possibly great film waiting to be unearthed, the result the audience is left with is a passable one. It's main star, while being overshadowed by Michael Keaton and Sasha Calle, takes the best of what worked with the character in previous movies and finds ways to continue fleshing him out. A fun enough adventure that pales greatly in comparison to the other multiverse film released a mere two weeks ago, The Flash will likely be remembered more for its controversial lead actor than for the movie itself.

Set 16 months after the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse sees Miles Morales settling into his life as both Miles the son and student and Earth 1610's Ultimate Spider-Man. After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Miles is introduced to the concept of the multiverse, encountering Spider-Men of different dimensions. Upon meeting Miguel O'Hara, a clash of ideologies finds Miles at odds with every other Spider across the web. On his own, Miles has to find a way to thwart the Spider-Verse to save the ones he loves most.

Featuring the return of the main vocal talent of the first Spider-Verse film, Across the Spider-Verse has given the actors the opportunity to further explore the characters and this deepening of understanding has resulted in richly layered performances. Shameik Moore continues to delight as Miles Morales, less precocious than his initial outing and more fully inhabiting the role of your typical middle teenager attempting to navigate life while adhering to the 'great power/great responsibility' ethos that inhabits all who don the Spider mantle. Moore still continues to charm both the characters and the audience while also handling the weighty elements. Similarly, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy shoulders a large slice of the drama as well. With the story's opening focusing more on her (this is just as much her movie as it is Miles'), Steinfeld rises to the challenge, giving us a conflicted Gwen that pulls Miles into a larger world. Oscar Isaac is properly menacing as Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man 2099, the most tortured and driven member of the Spider collective. This is Isaac as unhinged as he's been in a film, animated or otherwise, and seeing a new facet of his performance is exhilarating.

Unfortunately, Isaac's O'Hara is almost a little too effective. His introduction into the movie near the halfway point completely overshadows the film's main villain The Spot, voiced by Jason Schwartzman. Starting out with a villain-of-the-week status before graduating to something more sinister, he's instantly likeable at the film's outset as a minor nuisance, pulling petty jobs to survive. His growth in stature might be one of the few weak points of the story; too much attention is paid to Miles and his various relationships to both his parents and Gwen, and not enough to The Spot. Spinning out of the events of the first Spider-verse film in a way that doesn't seem ham fisted, The Spot's back story is solid enough but his leveling up through the movie seems more an afterthought than an element worth focusing on.

In a number of instances when a project has multiple credited writers and multiple credited directors, that can spell disaster. Too many cooks in the kitchen is an oft quoted phrase and for the most part it's true: even when well intentioned, clashing ideologies, differing interpretations of the source material, and personal wishes can collide to create a final product that's unbalanced or downright sloppy. Such isn't the case with Across the Spider-Verse; the combined talents of Phil Lord, Chris Miller, David Callaham, Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson are in near perfect harmony, delivering a story that manages to balance character work and action. While differing animation styles coexisting on the screen may seem jarring at first, the blend is done in such a way that allows the characters to inhabit the same space while highlighting their origins. From a technical standpoint, this film will be the one all other animated stories chase. From a narrative focus, while not as enriching as the first movie, the writers have set the bar for an emotionally charged, high stakes sequel.

Overall, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is easily one of the year's most creative and entertaining films. Again, Lord and Miller, along with David Callaham, have provided a story that is not only wildly creative, but remembers to keep the characters and their relationships at the center of everything. With great vocal work from the returning cast, as well as the addition of Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman, and Issa Rae, Across the Spider-Verse has set the standard for animated films going forward.

A high-end art thief becomes trapped inside a luxury, high-tech penthouse in New York's Times Square after his heist doesn't go as planned. Locked inside with nothing but priceless works of art, he must use all his cunning and invention to survive.

If you've seen the trailer, Inside is exactly what you think it is: a man trapped in a high-end condo with no avenues of escape. The no-frills, approach to the story hits the ground running with Willem DaFoe's Nemo trapped within the first 10 minutes. These 10 minutes are enough to establish the only necessaries the audience needs: art thief, in a penthouse loaded with expensive artwork, owner out of the country. The other 95 minutes showcase Nemo's ingenuity, his many setbacks, and his decaying thought process as the penthouse deteriorates into a wasteland of filth, a visual representation of his mental state. As a one man show, it's incredible to watch DaFoe's Nemo work through his obstacles and observe how he navigates his failures. As a movie, it's longer than it needs to be, wearing its premise thin before Nemo reaches his final conclusion.

Willem DaFoe is a one man force in this movie. While it's been done countless times throughout cinema to varying degrees (Sam Rockwell in Moon, Redford in All Is Lost, Tom Hardy in Locke), the concept of seeing only one person on the screen for the vast majority of the performance is a tall task for an actor and DaFoe's slow descent into madness is expertly conveyed. An actor who's shown multiple times over his career to play characters that are a bit unhinged or or coming apart at the scenes, DaFoe calls upon those past roles to portray a man losing his grip on reality the more desperate he becomes. The internet loves to poke fun at DaFoe's crazy eyes and wild performances, and Inside shows just how good he is with these types of roles.

Directed by first time director Vasilis Katsoupis, Inside shows promise in an interesting directing career while also displaying some flaws. A one person story that carries across an feature length runtime is a difficult enough feat for a veteran storyteller; Katsoupis tackles it right out of the gate. Inside is highlighted by its minimalist nature; the only things the viewer has to focus on is Willem DaFoe and the penthouse. To its credit, the production design is well thought out, lending a sense of someone with far too much money having just enough items scattered about to give Nemo a fighting chance at survival. Katsoupis and screenwriter Ben Hopkins dole out enough small victories (and a number of setbacks) to keep audiences baited and rooting for the thief.

Overall, Inside is a decent feature debut from Katsoupis. At 105 minutes, the pacing drags at times due to not having enough material to justify its runtime. Had 15-20 minutes been shaved from the story, viewers would've experienced a much more lean, faster moving story of a man desperate to escape. As it stands, though, it's a great vessel to spotlight Willem DaFoe's talents and let him shine. Great production design, an intriguing premise, and an actor talented enough to hold the audience's attention for the majority of the time, the film is good enough weeknight watch after work.

After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills quickly discovers he's actually stranded on Earth - 65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at a rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa, must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures.

The idea of 65 is an intriguing concept: what would happen if an advanced civilization crashed landed on early 65 million years ago and had to survive amongst the dinosaurs? A thesis like that could only go one of two ways: a deep dive into the analysis of the superiority of technology and how it could've changed our entire trajectory as a species or an underbaked story that says let's shoot dinosaurs with plasma rifles. As cool as that sounds, the cool doesn't translate to 65, a movie about crashed space pilot Mills and fellow crash survivor Koa as they navigate the treacherous lands of the cretaceous period to reach their escape pod and rendezvous with their rescue. The front half of the movie is bland and lifeless, with Mills' motivation to raise money to help save his daughter from an unexplained (to the viewer) disease being his driving factor. Unfortunately, the five minute setup we get with Mills and his daughter doesn't do nearly enough to buy into a man desperate to get back to the people he loves (see: Interstellar for this storyline done well). For her part, Koa, wanting to reunited with her own family, joins Mills in the worst version of Lone Wolf and Cub to date. It's not until the introduction of a ticking clock that gives the movie any sort of life; the film's pace picks up considerably, ramping from lifeless to something resembling life support. Somewhere in here is a good idea attempting to escape, but any sparks of life are snuffed out by subpar writing, feeble direction, and subpar acting.

Starring Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt, the entirety of the film depends on them. With the exception of the opening scene, they're the only human characters in the movie and thusly the audience's gateway into the story. With Driver being the older, more established actor, most of the attention is owed to him and sadly here the proven talented actor is not up to task. While some credit for his weak performance must be attributed to such a trite script, Driver seems wholly uninterested in attempting his best on screen. Ariana Greenblatt is doing the best she can with her material; still only 15 years old, she has plenty of time to sharpen her skills and display her abilities in projects with more promise. The two together possess almost no chemistry; the attempts at bonding through humor fall flat and they spend almost as much time apart from one another as they do together on the screen. Had there been a more honest approach to the characters and more attention paid to the relationship between the two, the project as a whole could only have been better.

Developed by the writing/directing duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, 65 marks their largest film to date. Best known for their work on the script for the 2018 smash hit A Quiet Place, 65 may make audiences wonder how much of that success was Beck and Woods and how much of it was director John Krasinski. 65's stagnant script, halfhearted attempts at bonding the story's odd couple, and dodgy effects prove that the pair have a ways to go in developing their skills. With the exception of one incredibly well done scene with a giant Theropod, the movie lacks any sort of palpable suspense or real sense of danger. Thanks to both Adam Driver's bland acting and the duo's dull direction, any tense situation the characters find themselves in may lead to a sense of apathy from moviegoers; there's nothing in the film that makes them connect with Mills and Koa.

Overall, 65 is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. While the premise has a bit of interest to it, the writing and execution of said premise leave plenty to be desired. Adam Driver seems to almost be just going through the motions, turning in one of his weakest performances to date. Uninspired direction, shoddy visual effects, and subpar acting make this not one of the worst offerings of the year, but pretty damn close. A poor excuse for a reason to put dinosaurs and laser guns in the same setting, 65 feels like only 65 minutes were spent developing this film.

Still dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed is thriving in his career and family life. When Damian, a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy resurfaces after serving time in prison, he's eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian - a fighter who has nothing to lose.

Starring Michael B. Jordan reprising his role as Adonis Creed, Creed 3 continues to prove that the writer/director is a bona fide movie star. After two films, Jordan has fully inhabited both the role of Adonis Creed as well the Rocky franchise in general so much so that thanks to his efforts, Creed can be seen as its own entity without the buoy of Sylvester Stallone. With a chiseled frame that lives up to the character's name, Jordan has clearly put the work in behind the scenes to revive Adonis for a third installment. Boxing and shiny muscles aside, Jordan is good in his development scenes as well; the connection he has with deaf actress Mila Davis-Kent who plays his daughter is genuine and heartfelt.

Jordan's moments with Tessa Thompson's Bianca, while also good, are the movie's weakest moments. Whether due to poor writing or subpar acting, the scenes where just the two of them appear on camera don't fully work as well as Jordan and Davis-Kent or Jordan and Majors. Thompson doesn't have much to do in the film, relegated to worried spouse as Creed works through his haunted past. Thompson does the best she can with what little she's given; her solitary scene with Majors' Dame might be her best of the film, proving that he can have great chemistry with almost anyone.

Jonathan Majors is currently the flavor of the season. With as much work as Jordan put in behind the camera to craft the physique of a boxer at their prime, Majors matches him every step of the way. On a character level, Dame Anderson, old friend of Adonis, is played brilliantly by Majors. Presenting himself as one thing while being revealed to be something else altogether, Majors gives layers of subtlety and cunning to Dame that may not be initially apparent on a first watch. While Creed is Jordan's movie, and Jordan is the heart of the entire franchise, Majors manages to steal a number of scenes from him as he laughs, taunts, and bullies his way through the film. A formidable antagonist, a far better one than what audiences were exposed to just a month prior in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Majors captivates and seduces the audience every time he's on screen.

Creed III marks the directorial debut for Michael B. Jordan. Stepping from in front of the camera to behind, Jordan brought a fresh vision to the franchise, one marked with dynamic camera movements and unconventional inspiration to create scenes with energy and dynamism. While his boxing scenes are undeniably fun to watch, the quieter elements between Creed and Bianca are the movie's most stilted scenes. The second act downward spiral of Creed, while fascinating as a story beat, is somewhat sloppily handled as the dialogue between Adonis and Bianca further drag down Jordan's uninspired direction and shot selection. The absence of Jonathan Majors throughout this chunk of time leaves the movie lifeless, proving that Dame's ever-so-humble personage is the main draw for the audience. Still, having already proven himself an actor, Jordan shows signs of promise as a director as well, enough that should he decide to direct the next installment of the series or anything else, it's at least worth a well merited investigation.

Overall, Creed III has proven itself to be not just one of the best movies in the overall Rocky franchise, but one of the best sports movies in general. While there's flaws to be found in his work, Jordan's freshman outing is a solid hit, delivering a compelling film with boxing scenes that will satisfy even the most hardened fans of the sweet science. Even though the dynamic set pieces aren't enough to distract from the script's clunkier emotional scenes and mishandled character development, there's still much to love in this spectacular third outing. Jonathan Majors' barely restrained feral performance dominates the screen in every scene he's in, counterbalanced by Jordan's cool levelheaded nature. A great way to kick off the oncoming onslaught of franchise-laden summer blockbusters, the film has no shortage of emotion and adrenaline guaranteed to have the audience fully invested.

Elite spy Orson Fortune must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds. Reluctantly teamed up with some of the world's best operatives, Fortune and his crew recruit Hollywood's biggest movie star, Danny Francesco, to help them on their globe-trotting mission to save the world.

Fresh off their reunification with 2019's Wrath of Man, Jason Statham and Guy Ritchie have teamed up yet again, for what the audience can only hope is a resurgence in the pair's later years of filmmaking. Much like Samuel L. Jackson is to Quentin Tarantino and Robert DeNiro is to Martin Scorsese, Jason Statham once again proves that some actors were born to be utilized by certain directors. His effortless cool in this film is only matched by his almost complete nonchalance; Orson Fortune can't be bothered with anyone's nonsense in this film. It's refreshing to see Statham and Ritchie reteam for a story with Ritchie's usual generous heaping of shenanigans, it's these roles where Statham gets to let his his down and shine the most.

Aubrey Plaza is an oddity in this film. It's not that she's one of two Americans in this primarily British cast (Matthew McConaughey is an excellent part of The Gentlemen), it's that her performance stands out like a sore thumb. At times, Plaza's crazy eyes and off kilter delivery of her line readings makes it feel like she's in a completely different film altogether. When she is clicking with the cast, she's just as silly and ridiculous as the rest. When she's out of sync, it's noticeable and at times distracts from the overall scene.

Only Guy Ritchie knows how to properly use Hugh Grant. Whether he's the smuggest man on screen (The Man from U. N. C. L. E.) or the slimiest weasel (The Gentlemen), Grant leans into the material with a delight and zest that makes almost every line delightfully disgusting. While not quite as vile as his role in The Gentlemen, Grant is still greasy enough here that he's a joy to behold whenever he's on screen and clearly having a blast doing it.

Written and directed by Guy Ritchie, Operation Fortune continues to showcase his talents for immensely entertaining one dimensional characters and absurd situations to place themselves in. While nowhere near his best film to date (that distinction goes to either Man From U. N. C. L. E or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels), Operation Fortune is still enjoyable as far as zippy action movies go. With a breakneck pace that at times hinders the film (the editing in this movie is chaotic at best and distracting at worst), Ritchie takes audiences on a ride that starts quick and rarely slows down until the end credits. Cinematographer Alan Stewart, on his fourth collaboration with Ritchie, paints the characters in their best possible light, framing them against beautiful backdrops of foreign countries as the character jetset their way from one set piece to the next. If nothing else, this is a movie that will look great on mute as a moving wallpaper.

Overall, Operation Fortune is enjoyable for what it is: a Guy Ritchie vessel for actors to spout cheeky one liners and look stylish while doing it. Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza get to verbally joust with one another while Josh Hartnett and Hugh Grant make for a ridiculous pairing. While incredibly light on an actual plot or story outside of Keep the McGuffin Away from the Bad Guys, it's still an entertaining watch if all other options have been exhausted. Ritchie proves he still knows how to utilize Jason Statham in the best ways and his eye for directing action has rarely been sharper.

Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow... and blood.

Starring Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, and Ray Liotta in one of his final roles, Cocaine Bear manages to do a disservice to every single one of them. Russell, known for her talents on television in The Americans, a gripping thriller that displays the actress' immense talents, manages to convey little of that skill or charm here. While not fully her fault (she's served with a script that's dead on arrival), this movie may prove to be one of her worst performances to date. Playing Sari (there isn't a character in this film that has a full first and last name), the mother of a child who's gone missing in the same woods the eponymous coked out bear is rampaging in, Russell has little to do other than fret and cast about the forest in search of her daughter.

Likewise with O'Shea Jackson Jr. As Daveed, a member of the local drug ring tasked with retrieving the lost product. Jackson's rapport with Alden Ehrenreich may be the best thing about the movie; the two have decent chemistry together, and in a world where the actors were given substantial roles and parts with actual depth, some magic could've been made. The real shame comes with this being one of the final on screen performances of Ray Liotta. Known best for his work on Scorsese's Goodfellas, Liotta's career was always one of hits and misses, but the movie makes for a sad note to begin a career ending run on.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks, Cocaine Bear makes for her third directorial feature. There's signs of promise with Banks, but sadly due to being restricted with such lackluster material it doesn't provide her with the ability to fully spread her wings. Still, the film's pacing keeps things moving at a quick clip, throwing the audience right into the thick of it early and doing what it can to keep the energy up. The script, written by Jimmy Warden, is far and away the weakest point of the entire production. Paper-thin characters, undercooked plot lines, and terrible dialogue make this movie borderline unbearable.

Overall, Cocaine Bear, while fun in concept, is an unsalvageable film. From subpar acting to lackluster directing, the end result is a funny short story stretched out over 95 agonizing minutes. Neither plot line has enough meat to last the entire film and somehow both combined still can't stretch to create a compelling enough narrative when the bear is off screen. While the bear itself warrants laughs during its blow-fueled quest for more cocaine, the human element is what holds the story back from being anything worthwhile. At best, this is a Friday night movie with friends after multiple drinks.

Set in the 1930s during the rise of the Hollywood studio system, Phillip Marlowe, a private investigator, is hired to find Nico Peterson, the ex lover of Claire Cavendish, the daughter of a former Hollywood icon. As Marlowe digs deeper into the case, he unravels more threads that lead to a bigger organization operating under the noses of everyone in Tinseltown.

Marlowe could've been a great movie. Long gone are the conventional, time-honored noir films that dominated the 1940s and 50s. A genre populated with cynical, down-on-their-luck rumpled detectives, beautiful but deadly women, double and triple crosses, and a case far further reaching than the detective initially conceived of, the noir made use of all these elements to create mysteries and whodunits that have stood the test of time. All of that is present here in Marlowe and yet somehow almost none of it works. Adapted from the 2014 novel The Black-Eyed Blonde, Marlowe took all the best bits of the genre and found a way to ensure that little of it made sense. Claire Cavendish is stunningly beautiful. Marlowe looks tired and untrustworthy of almost everyone throughout. Cigarette smoke hangs in the air just right, playing across the character's faces. It's all there and none of it is worth anything because the story itself doesn't make a lick of sense. A film that blows past convoluted and catapults into absurd, both the plot and the screenplay feel like a high schooler read a few Raymond Chandler novels, recognized what made them cool, and regurgitated it into their own thing, forgetting that all these pieces only work when paired up with a genuine mystery that will keep audiences engaged and guessing. Marlowe unfortunately doesn't and with its sometimes cringeworthy lines mixed with story beats that feel like darts thrown at a board, the real mystery is how this script got greenlit in the first place.

Thankfully starring Liam Neeson in something other than a washed-out action role, Marlowe sees the veteran actor in a noir setting for the first time. Surprisingly, Neeson is good in the role of Phillip Marlowe, portraying an aging private investigator attempting (and failing) to stay a step ahead of as many people as possible. Neeson's world weary countenance conveys the look of a man who's tired of dealing with the nonsense he encounters on a daily basis. While his scenes with Diane Kruger are excellent at capturing the tones of a traditional noir, it's his scenes with Jessica Lange that stand out. For his part, Neeson does his best to carry the anemic story and were he to return to the role with a stronger writer, another chance would be merited.

Diane Kruger as Claire Cavendish fills the second necessary component of a classic noir story: the femme fatale. Kruger is great in the role as both the character who kicks off the events of the story and as the character you don't know if you can fully trust. Kruger plays to that strength, as both timid and helpless at times while confidently holding all the cards at others. Radiantly beautiful, she's a modern model for the fatale trope, and thanks in large part to the costuming department, Kruger wears her role well.

Jessica Lange is having a ball in this film. Regardless of the hokey lines or clunky exposition scenes, Lange is there to remind audiences she hasn't gone anywhere and still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Her screen time with Neeson is delightful, delivering her lines with the most cheeky and mischievous of manners with many a wink and nod and twinkle in the eye. While appearing infrequently throughout the movie, she's a joy every time she's on screen, whether its supplying Marlowe with information or fanning the flames of confusion. Either way, Lange's Dorothy Cavendish is the film's MVP.

Neil Jordan did the best he could with Marlowe. The man who directed classics such as The Crying Game and Interview with the Vampire (back to back bangers) retains his eye for style and flair as he and cinematographer Xavi Giménez attempt different ways to retain the audience's confusion. At 109 minutes, the movie is paced wonderfully, with answers that only reveal more questions sprinkled throughout the course of the story. As nonsensical, anticlimactic, or just downright absurd as those answers may be falls to screenwriter William Monahan. Responsible for the screenplay behind the hallowed Kingdom of Heaven and the Scorsese classic The Departed, every decision Monahan takes in the plotting of Marlowe is truly baffling. It's surprising that with as much literature is discussed or referenced in the film (Alice in Wonderland, Elements of Style, references to writer James Joyce), the literature of the script falls so short of the mark.

Overall, Marlowe will be a film that's easily forgotten by the beginning of March. A convoluted story, presented to the audience in such a confoundingly bad manner, is only minimally saved by Neil Jordan's direction and the production design. Neeson, Kruger, and Lange do the best they can with the milquetoast screenplay, but thanks in large part to William Monahan what could've been a sumptuous feast of a story ends up being little more than cold broth. A poor excuse for a neo noir, most of the usual trappings are present without a framework to make effective use of them.

Ambition, greed, lust, and jealously take center stage as a group of ruthless strivers compete for riches and power in Sharper, a neo-thriller set in the bedrooms, barrooms, and boardrooms of New York City. Everyone is out for themselves and no one is exactly who they seem as a bookstore owner, a PhD. Candidate, a business magnate, an elegant socialite, and her ne'er-do-well son collide in a high stakes game that will keep audiences guessing until the very last secret is revealed.

Sharper is a fun, face paced film that captures the sprit of psychological thrillers reminiscent of the 1990s. Multiple storylines intersecting and intertwined, the story is one of power, control, and money. The underlying theme that crime only begats more crime (and no shifty deed goes unpunished) may be a heavy handed one, but effective nonetheless. The four major players help and hinder one another in an unending cycle of backstabs and betrayals. Written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, the major flaw of these characters is the greed and lust for more that defines them. Outside of the first character we meet, Tom, there's nothing but a vapidity to them, wanting only money and vengeance for money lost. The emptiness and lack of depth of these characters is masked with impressive directing from Benjamin Caron, creating a polished if somewhat sterile looking film that may entice the audience into being lured into the story.

Starring a cast of characters that interweave throughout multiple vignettes, the crew of Sharper all compliment each other to create a fine ensemble. Leading the cast is Julianne Moore as Madeline, one of the film's multiple con artists who's crafting herself a comfortable life with a billionaire. Moore is good in the role, hamstrung by a lack of development for Madeline. At her core, Madeline's only concern is wealth and the accrual of it. This leads to a one dimensional person who's quest for one thing leaves the role scant of challenge for the veteran actress. Moore's performance helps to elevate what little there is off the page, however, and her interactions with Sebastian Stan make for some good scenes.

For his part, Stan is delightful as Max, also a con man but one of a different flavor. Stan plays Max with the smooth sophistication of a man confident and fully in charge at all times. When first presented to the audience, Max's character appears to suffer to the same issues as Madeline: a drive for money is all that seems to propel him. As the film progresses, however, Max's motivations take on a different shape, revealing him to be a man fueled by something else. Stan is great in the role, the most energetic and explosive character, and makes for a great screen presence.

Justice Smith and Briana Middleton's characters kickstart the movie as Tom and Sandy respectively. The two work excellently together, and have a chemistry that crackles from the very beginning. As a romantic couple, Tom and Sandy opening scenes make for what could've been a sweet romantic drama film about two 20-somethings in New York City finding love. Instead, what the audience is given is the first of many bait and switches, taking the story elsewhere and leaving the characters the worse for it. Smith plays Tom with a romantic charm, tinged with a sad vulnerability that makes him immediately likeable. Middleton's Sandy, the character worse for the wear, has her own charms and Middleton's portrayal of the character reflects that. At times desperate, and at others incredibly cunning, Sandy has the roughest journey of the film and Middleton reflects those highs and lows well.

Directed by Benjamin Caron in his feature film debut, Sharper makes the case the he has the chops to stick around for a while. With help from the stellar production design and cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen (Molly's Game, A Quiet Place), Caron's movie feels slick and stylish in a way only these types of thrillers can. The pacing is excellent as well; at just a hair under two hours, Caron and screenwriters Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka ensure that there's rarely a dull moment. As mentioned above, while some of these characters fall short of any real development, the situations they find themselves in lead to interesting decisions and scenarios that will keep audiences watching.

Overall, Sharper is a good psychological thriller that will keep the audience invested and engaged throughout. The interweaving stories dovetail into a third act that doesn't fully hold up, but nonetheless the twists and reveals make for a mostly satisfying conclusion. Films about multilayered con jobs and confidence scams can oftentimes come off as convoluted, but Sharper keeps its focus on its small core of central cast, maintaining a clear narrative that's simple to follow. Benjamin Caron's direction, solid performances from everyone (especially Briana Middleton), and great production design make for a fun weeknight movie that viewers can enjoy after a day's work.

Everything is going great in Scott Lang's world. He's a successful author, he has his relationship with Hope van Dyne, and his bond with his daughter couldn't be stonger. All that changes when the three of them, along with Janet Van Dyne and Hank Pym, are transported to the Quantum Realm, taking them on an adventure that has them facing off against their most dangerous opponet yet.

With Quantumania, Peyton Reed is the second MCU director to take a character through a full trilogy. With Ant-Man, Reed and his team crafted a simple heist film, a construct that worked famously within the confined of the shared universe. Ant-Man and The Wasp expanded the scope of Scott's world, giving viewers a Ferris Bueller-style adventure comedy focused on rescuing Janet van Dyne from the Quantum Realm. With Quantumania, the smaller, more character focused storytelling has largely been traded in for a wide ranging, consequence-heavy epic that feels out of step with its previous outings. Gone are the good natured antics and warmth of the X-Con gang, who fail to appear in the movie, replaced instead by an underdeveloped band of freedom fighters. The tone of the Ant-Man franchise, the foolish absurdity that Paul Rudd has made his bread and butter over the decades, quickly dissipates in the film's opening act, replaced by jokes that land at an inconsistent rate and cameos that ultimately amount to nothing.

Written by Rick and Morty writer Jeff Loveness, the overall issue with Quantumania lies in the story. If the purpose of the story is to introduce Kang the Conqueror as the next overarching villain of the MCU, the ball was certainly fumbled here. While Kang is undeniably a threat, he doesn't feel like an Avengers-level threat during or after the events of this film. While the post credit scenes do a little to push the narrative, the movie itself fails at establishing Kang as a worthy menace, never fully revealing his overall goal outside of escaping the Quantum Realm. The Multiverse Saga was teased and set up throughout Phase 4, doing double duty as something of a dénouement of the Infinity Saga, but after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Loki, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, audiences were poised to delve fully into the multiverse and Kang's tyrannical reign upon it. Unfortunately, no such thing happens in Quantumania, continuing to leave audiences in the dark about what's coming or anyone's role in it (except Sylvie, her role was very clearly defined). It's this lack of clear definition that may leave some lukewarm on the run up to 2025's Kang Dynasty, a movie that Loveness is also the writer of.

Starring Paul Rudd, Quantumania takes the time to explore the relationship between Scott Lang and his daughter Cassie. The overall theme and strongest throughline of the trilogy has been Scott's love for his daughter and this movie continues it; Rudd and Kathryn Newton have excellent chemistry together. Typically the happy-go-lucky Avenger, Rudd is able to expand a bit thanks the more dramatic elements of the film. These scenes Rudd, an actor proven that he can be just as good dramatically as he can comedically, handles with ease.

The story's decision to fixate on Scott and Cassie's relationship comes at the detriment of almost every other character on screen, save Kang. Hank Pym, once again played beautifully by the seemingly perennially cantankerous Michael Douglas, has woefully little to do in this film, relegated to the background throughout the majority of the runtime. The same can be said for Evangeline Lilly as The Wasp, hanging back and serving little purpose other than to ask the questions the audience is already thinking. While the relationship between Lang and Hope van Dyne was fractured between the first two Ant-Man movies, time has managed to heal all wounds between the two here. Rudd and Lilly are always great together, with Lilly's no-nonsense nature counterbalancing Rudd's goofiness perfectly. With Quantumania, however, audiences don't get much interaction between the characters. Lilly is fine in the role, but sadly, is given little to do outside of one major scene.

Michelle Pfiffer, bascially teased in the last minutes of Ant-Man and The Wasp, comes to forefront here in Quantumania as the audience's guide through the strange world. Pfiffer carries weight in the movie as Janet van Dyne navigates the heroes through the terrain while providing the necessary back story on Kang. Her agency in the movie cannot be denied, and while she takes a step back later in the film as Kang and Lang square off, she dominates the first half.

Jonathan Majors is Kang. A complete 180 turnaround from the character he played in the last episode of Loki, this iteration of the character is as ruthless as he is cunning. Physically, Majors takes up space on the screen, and while he's roughly the same height as Rudd, it's Majors' presence that makes him seem larger than he is. The first of two antagonistic roles this year, Quantumania shows that while he's up to the task, the script and story don't rise to his skillset. Majors is fascinating on the screen; Kang the Conqueror doesn't fully reach the expectations levied upon him by producer Kevin Feige.

The most disappointing element of the film is M. O. D. O. K. While impressive visually, and voice acted well enough by Ant-Man returnee Corey Stoll, the arc that began for Darren Cross in the first movie sees a limp and unsatisfying conclusion here. Sprinkled throughout the film generously, a lot of the jokes designed for or surrounding him fall flat in way that can't help but be reminiscent of Thor: Love and Thunder.

Peyton Reed's ambition has to be admired. With some of the best visual effects since the MCU has entered the Multiverse Saga, Quantumania is a sight to behold. From the moment the characters enter the Quantum Realm, the background of almost any scene seems to be something pulled from Reed's fever dreams. While that doesn't always work in the film's favor (the actors rarely interact with the background, at times leaving a clear visual impression of two people standing in front of a screen), the praised must be heaped on the visual effects team. The trip to the Quantum Realm, the Mos Eisley cantina-esque scene, and the bevy of creatures found inhabiting the land have many comparing the movie to Star Wars, and rightfully so. It can't go overlooked that Reed unabashedly loves the Fantastic Four and actively worked on a film treatment long ago; there's scenes and ideas throughout that nod to his love of wacky space adventures. While the film's pacing is problematic, especially in its shaky first act, once Kang is finally introduced, the storytelling settles into its pace. Once established, the second act shines as the film's highlight, giving the story the feel of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, painting parts of the Quantum Realm as a desolate wasteland completely unlike what was shown near the end of Ant-Man and The Wasp. The third act, the weakest of the trilogy, enters absurd territory as Scott fights to stop Kang from enacting his nefarious scheme.

Overall, Quantumania, while still entertaining at times, lacks the magic of its predecessors. The original spirit of the characters, the charm of Paul Rudd, and the low stakes of the Ant-Man franchise are absent, leaving viewers with a bleaker tone and a lack of goofy charisma they've come to expect. While Peyton Reed is still taking ambitious swings, a number of ideas don't fully connect, leaving the audience with a story that doesn't fully lives up to its potential. Rudd continues to be delightful, Jonathan Majors is appropriately menacing, and Kathryn Newton is a great addition, making the outcome of this project all the more baffling. Worth seeing on the biggest possible screen thanks to some of the great visual effects, Quantumania may have some viewers continuing to question the overall quality of the post-Endgame world we live in.

Infinity Pool, the latest from writer/director Brandon Cronenberg, focuses on James and Em Foster, on vacation to help James clear his head in order to attempt writing his second novel. James and Em meet and are guided by a mysterious couple also vacationing outside of the resort to find themselves stuck in a culture packed with sex, violence, and unimaginable terrors. After a fatal vehicular accident leaves them facing the wrath of local law enforcement, James and Em are faced with a decision: be executed for their crime or, if rich enough, watch themselves die. What results is a downward plunge into debauchery, murder, and desperation.

Infinity Pool stars Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth. Fresh off his tilt as Amleth in 2022's The Northman, Skarsgård plays a very different character here. In Infinity Pool Skarsgård is James Foster, struggling writer married to Em Foster, daughter of a power publisher and the couple's breadwinner. An amenable guy, James is enjoying his vacation with Em at Lotoka, a beachside country. Skarsgård plays James with the air of a man a bit adrift in life, clinging onto Em as a comfortable life raft. As an actor used to playing characters with power (see: True Blood) or iron determination (Mute, The Northman), Skarsgård takes a surprising turn as a meek, easily-lead man. While the change of pace is refreshing, Skarsgård's portrayal of James is nothing noteworthy. His passable acting is enough to offset the insanity that is Mia Goth.

Mia Goth as Gabi Bauer is trouble from the first moment she appears on screen until her final. A performance that starts unsettling before ramping up to completely unhinged, Goth milks every ounce of craziness she can from the script. While it's not always for the best (Goth has some truly questionable line readings in this), she's by far the overall best part of the movie. While her characterization is maddening, the motivations Cronenberg gives Gabi are nebulous at best. Thankfully, that's no fault of Goth's and when she shows up on screen, audiences are in for a treat.

Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, Infinity Pool is the director's second outing after 2020's amazing debut, Possessor. Sadly, the sophomore slump is apparent in his second project, giving audience and body horror fans a lackluster followup that's unfocused and meandering. From a directing standpoint, Cronenberg is still sharp, delivering tension and suspense along with the cringe-inducing scenes the family is known for. Extreme closeups of mutilation, murder, and blood by the buckets (topped off with a cumshot in the film's first 30 minutes) will put moviegoers on their backfoot while being completely vulnerable to whatever could happen next. Cinematographer Karim Hussain, who also shot the beautiful Possessor, delivers on the goods again, providing a remarkable visual journey that James embarks upon. Cronenberg's choice to shoot Infinity Pool in Croatia, one of the planet's most beautiful countries, while mostly resisting the opportunity to display that beauty and instead focus on the grime and side streets is a commendable decision that lines up with tone of the movie.

As a writer, after tackling the theme of identity loss in an increasingly technological world in Possessor, in Infinity Pool no such messages seem to exist outside of a general human desensitivity to death. The first act might be the story's strongest, developing characters and creating situations that will entice the audience to be locked in and attentive. Unfortunately in the second act turn, where everything starts to fall apart for James, is also where everything will fall apart for the audience. James' descent into depravity, while interesting to look at in a well executed montage of sex and psychedelics, ultimately leads to a chaotic story with little in the way of explanation or true resolution.

Overall, Infinity Pool is a mess of a movie. Within that mess are hints at something good, possibly great, but Cronenberg seems to be too in love with the idea of creating something off kilter more than telling an actual story. Alexander Skarsgård's performance is passable as a man lost in hedonism, while Mia Goth's unhinged insanity somehow fluctuates between amazing and downright lousy. Lacking the usual amount of body horror audiences have come to expect from the name Cronenberg, this film instead chooses to skate by on its ambience, which doesn't always work in its favor.

Living, an adaptation from the 1952 Akira Kurosawa-directed film Ikiru (which itself was inspired by the 1886 Russian novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich), stars Bill Nighy as Mr. Williams, a stuffy, off-putting civil servant veteran pushing papers during the rebuilding of Britain post World War II. To his subordinates he's an unapproachable man, the very definition of bureauracy. To his son and daughter in law, he's nothing more than the source of their money. Upon learning he's been stricken with a fatal illness, Mr. Williams reevaluates his life and decides it's time to make changes.

Starring Bill Nighy as Mr. Williams, Living is fully his movie to command. His gentle manner of speaking, polite mannerisms, and deliberate movements comprise a character that can't help but be loved. Always game for great character work, here he's front and center, playing possibly the best role of his career. Nighy's internal performance commands those around him, always drawing the viewer's attention regardless of the goings on in the scene. Initially frosty, with the British stiff upper lip that could be cliched if handled by those with less respect to the source material, it's Nighy's transformation to sweet gentleman that moviegoers get to follow and enjoy. In the end, of the dozens of movies I've seen him in, Living is by far my favorite of his.

Also starring Aimee Lou Wood as Miss Margaret Harris, her chemistry with Nighy is a lynchpin to the film's success. Bright, bubbly, and clear eyed, Wood represents a zeal for life and vigor long past Mr. Williams. Their relationship is a tender one, with Ms. Harris standing in for the child Mr. Williams wishes he had. The wistfulness on Nighy's face while interacting with Wood makes for some of the best scenes, with Wood's playfulness balancing Nighy's somberness.

Directed by Oliver Hermanus, Living shows the director fully come into his own. Having touched on many elements in his works to include war, loneliness, and homosexuality, with Living Hermanus turns his talents to exploring the quality of a well lived life. Hermanus paints the film as an incredibly human one, directing Bill Nighy to an Academy Award nomination by displaying him as a gentle soul ruminating on his past decisions and choice made that lead him to his present state. Cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay (District 9, See How They Run) brings a gentle touch to the film's visuals, using the sunlight to paint a London of decades ago in its natural beauty. All this care, both with the story and its visual elements are complimented by composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, who's bittersweet pianos and strings are all but guaranteed to elicit a powerful emotional response from audience.

Overall, Living is a masterpiece of a film. A captivatingly subdued performance from Bill Nighy, along with Oliver Hermanus' directing reminds audiences that some of the best movies are about the examination of the human spirit and reflection on a life worth living. The heart and warmth Aimee Lou Wood brings to the film, a representation of the spirit and vitality of youth, pairs with Nighy's worn down, tired delivery in a way that's heartwarming, humorous, and delightful. Kazuo Ishiguro's script provides the perfect portrayal of 1950's London and gives audiences a little something to think about as the story closes.

Knock at the Cabin, an adaptation of Paul Tremblay's 2018 award winning novel The Cabin at the End of the World, is a psychological horror that heralds a true return for director M. Night Shyamalan. While taking a holiday at a remote cabin in the woods, a young girl named Wen and her two fathers are invaded by four armed people who demand they make an impossible decision to avert the oncoming apocalypse. With no access to the outside world beyond a television controlled by the assailants, the young girl and her parents have to decide if these invaders are telling the truth before everything dies.

Knock at the Cabin is a phenomenal movie. Thanks to the script, co-written by M. Night along with Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, the thriller is a taut, fast moving story that rarely gives the audience a chance to stop for air. There's a bleakness and dourness that hangs over the story; even the moments of joy told in flashbacks are tainted with the foreknowledge of the horrors that await our main characters. With a premise that forces two men to have to make an unspeakable choice that could decide the fate of humanity, moviegoers are forced to place themselves in the shoes of our two protagonists and evaluate what decisions they'd make. That our couple, Eric and Andrew, are a gay couple initially seems of little consequence (which is how it should be), this point pays its dividends in the film's third act to a powerful effect. The question of who these four intruders are, their purpose in interfering with this tiny nuclear family, and the mystery behind it all make for a compelling watch that is pure M. Night Shayamalan in all the best possible ways.

Starring Dave Bautista, Knock at the Cabin proves that the big man is ready for more leading roles. Coming from the world of professional wrestling, where acting skills are set on the back burner for shiny muscles and flashy moves, it seemed unlikely the 6-foot-4, 289-pound behemoth would be able to make a successful transition to Hollywood. Many have tried, very few have succeeded; however, it's Bautista's passion for the craft that has set him apart from others of his ilk. Eschewing the muscular leading man roles his contemporaries are known for, he has carved out a different lane for himself, choosing instead to build his craft while working with the notable filmmakers of our time. The result has been the blossoming of a talented actor, able to play both external and internal roles with a surprising amount of grace and humility. That grace and ability to play soft spoken, thoughtful characters is exemplified here; as the leader of the four intruders, Bautista has the most screen time and presence. It's his subtle changes and shifts in attitude as the movie carries that shows just how bright a talent he can be when paired with the right director and material. His voice barely raises above a whisper throughout the entirety of the film and the magnitude of just how small a man of that stature can play a character is staggering.

Aside from Bautista, the clear standout of the film is Ben Aldridge as Andrew, one of Wen's fathers. Calm on the surface with an ore of anger running underneath, it's Andrew's anger at the situation that propels Aldridge's performance. As the character most effected by the events of the film, Aldridge is more than up to the challenge, delivering a character that anyone with a heart can sympathize for. There's a ferocity and intensity to this performance that's startlingly vicious at times, and it's those moments where Aldrige is swinging for the fences. In contrast, Jonathan Groff, last seen on screen as the smarmiest boss ever in Matrix: Resurrections, is the gentler and more docile of the two. While certain events in the film lead to this more subdued nature, Groff is still terrific as the yin to Aldridge's yang. If Andrew is fire, then Eric is water, staying level headed throughout the film and the audience's entryway into the question that looms over the whole story: "what if?"

Returning to the director's chair is M. Night Shyamalan after 2021's Old. While Shyamalan's filmography may be hit-and-miss with some, it can't be denied that he's always been a filmmaker with a clear vision. With Knock at the Cabin, Shymalan makes the most out of his modest $20 million budget, crafting an intimate story set amidst the grander scope of the oncoming apocalypse. M. Night hasn't been this confident and in control of his abilities since Split, delivering an atmospheric thriller that drips with cynicism and despondency. Aside from directing the actors to some of their best performances, M. Night's ability to convey the four visitors' frenzied pleas is where the movie shines the best. Right at 100 minutes, the ride stars immediately and Shyamalan doesn't let up until the final minutes.

Overall, Knock at the Cabin shows M. Night still has gas left in the tank. Wonderfully directed, excellently paced, and smartly acted, this movie is firing on all cylinders. A great apocalyptic thriller that will have the audience consistently questioning who they believe and who's side they're on makes this a phones down experience that will leave moviegoers thinking about it long after the credits. Bautista, Groff, and Aldridge make for a fine leading trio while the supporting cast convey a level of desperation that makes the tension palpable. A bleak and unrelenting movie, it highlights the best aspects of Shyamalan as a filmmaker and will go a long way to reminding viewers why they fell in love with his movies in the first place.

While under heavily armed guard, the dangerous convicts aboard a cargo ship unite in a coordinated escape attempt that soon escalates into a bloody, all-out riot. But as the fugitives continue their brutal campaign of terror, they soon discover that not even the most vicious among them is safe from the horror they unknowingly unleashed from the darkness below deck.

Project Wolf Hunting presents itself as one thing and reveals itself to be another. What's played as a straightforward action movie takes an abrupt shift after the first act into what becomes essentially a haunted house type of movie, reminiscent of Alien, taking place on a different kind of ship. As far as its action is concerned, the upfront and unashamed violent nature of criminals fighting to take over the ship from the cops may shock some American viewers but is par for the course with South Korean cinema. Director Kim Hong-seon uses this violence as a metric to show that no matter how horrific the criminals get, they're nothing compared to what's awakening in the belly of the ship. While the reveal of the Alpha is teased throughout the first act, his eventual reveal is a spray of blood and guts for any character, good or bad, that gets in his way.

While the trope of the unstoppable killing machine is a well worn one, dating back to even before 1984's The Terminator, here in Project Wolf Hunting the unstoppable nature becomes exhausting after a while. With the Alpha systematically destroying everyone and everything, there comes a time where viewers will be ready to move on with the story get to the point of it all. This, sadly, leads to a somewhat convoluted and half hearted back story with reveals that are long telegraphed before coming to light. Still, the film survives based off its action, its violence, the full hearted sincerity of the cops to try and do the right thing, and it's few comedic bits sprinkled in throughout.

With little in the way of development (and Lee Do-il barely gets a full story), the actors and actresses that populate the story are forced to rely on charisma and acting talents to convince viewers to care whether they live or die. Enter Seo In-guk as Park Jong-doo, the leader of the criminal element being transported and the character with the most manic energy throughout the film. Seo's mirthful performance brings an element of instability and unpredictability to the character, making for a fun watch. By contrast, Jang Dong-yoon as Lee Do-il, the story's central character, has little more than a handful of lines. Playing the trope of the strong, silent type, it's his lack of lines that makes it difficult for the audience to connect with him or cheer for his success.

Written and directed by Kim Hong-seon, Project Wolf Hunting is a story that delights in its use of violence and savagery. Kim doesn't shy away from the barbaric nature of what's supposed to be some of Korea's most violent offenders. A few minutes shy of two hours, the film's pacing is almost chaotic as its story, which will inevitably have audiences wondering what's left after almost everyone is dead with a solid 30 minutes left to go in the runtime. As a writer, Kim's skills are less sharp. Few characters are fleshed out in any meaningful way with the exception of Lee Do-il, leaving the vast majority of the cast to be fodder for the murder spree both the criminals and Alpha embarks upon.

Overall, Project Wolf Hunting works best when it leans into its cops vs robbers story. Charming and over-the-top villains clashing with earnest good guys out to do the right thing set on a cargo ship in the middle of the sea makes for a fascinating premise. Unfortunately, that premise is undercut by its supernatural element, making for a haunted house story that loses effectiveness as the runtime goes on. Excellently acted, especially by Seo In-guk as a gleeful bad guy, as well as sharp direction from Kim Hong-seon, makes for a fun watch on a weeknight on the couch with drinks.

When her mother disappears while vacationing in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June's frantic search to figure out what happened to her is blocked by international red tape. At home thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it's too late. As she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing soon raises more questions than answers. Aided by a washed-up Colombian gig worker, June endeavors to find not just her mother but the truth about her past.

Missing is easily one of the finest films of the year thus far. An entertaining mystery that perfectly paces its reveals with answers that only lead to more questions, the story is solid enough that directors Will Merrick and Nick Johnson have the freedom to experiment with relatively new methods of storytelling. The decision to tell the movie entirely through camera lenses and computer screens isn't groundbreaking (after all, Missing is the spiritual successor to 2018's Searching, which employs the same methodology), but due in large part to the nature of the story being told, this format allows the audience to go on journey of discovery alongside June as she breaks any number of unethical hacking laws in order to slowly piece together a timeline of events leading up to her mother's disappearance. With a plot that's almost a bit too complex and convoluted, Missing is still an incredibly fun watch well deserving of any moviegoer's time.

Starring Storm Reid as June, Missing could almost be considered a one woman play with a host of walk on actors for support. With the framing device of everything being shown through a MacBook's monitor via the webcam, almost every shot of June is a closeup of her face. This allows Reid to fully shine and display her talents as an up-and-coming actress. For the most part she handles the responsibility well, portraying June as the typical self-obsessed teen that also has a strained relationship with her mother. While we don't get too much of this character's facet, Reid's dismissive eye rolls and at times outright refusal to even face her mom go a long way to letting the audience know exactly what the nature of the relationship between the two is. It's after the disappearance that Reid's whole aura changes as the frantic search begins.

Also starring Joaquim de Almeida as Javier, cheap for-hire gig worker in Colombia, the story gives what could have been a cheesy bit part a surprising amount of character. Much of that is due to de Almeida's performance, transitioning from a worker hired to do a job to June's staunchest ally. De Almeida captivates every time he's on screen with his scruffy appearance and demeanor; the closest thing the film has to any sort of comedic relief once the pace quickens, Javier's determination to help June find her mother is both endearing and heartfelt. A sneaky amount of development is given to Javier, and de Almeida makes the most of it.

Nia Long and Ken Leung round out the principle cast as Grace, June's mom, and Kevin, her boyfriend. While not having much screentime, it's Nia Long's absence that's hangs over the movie, the very driving force of June's desperation. For what time she does have, Long is great at portraying a mom who's desperately trying to reach her walled off daughter. Nia's performance is in her eyes, and Grace's love for her daughter is apparent for the brief time they're together on screen. With an even more reduced presence than Long's, Leung's role is small but pivotal for establishing the early uneasy dynamic between June and Kevin, providing just enough to make the audiences initially wary of the character.

Written and directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson, Missing takes this fresh 'screenlife' genre and adds the classic tropes of a thriller mixed with elements of the found footage subgenre made popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. The editors on Searching, one of the better films to play with this new method of storytelling, Merrick and Johnson brought that sensibility to Missing and crafted a suspenseful mystery that's bound to keep audiences theorizing until the final minutes of the film. With clever cinematography from Steven Holleran, Missing's technological narrative device never outstays its welcome, leading the moviegoer's eye in purposefully manipulative ways to keep them off balance and guessing. Aided by the score from Julian Scherle that propels the film's more tense scenes, Missing achieves high marks for its gripping nature and clever unveiling of information.

Overall, Missing may be the film that kicks off 2023 in earnest. A tight, taught thriller well acted but even more impressively directed by Merrick and Johnson, the amount of inventiveness that went into telling the story is a testament to their creativity and ingenuity. A well composed story and a brilliant script that manages to weave in a number of surprises that don't feel cliched or tired, the movie demands the audience put their phones down and pay attention to every detail. If you're itching to catch a movie in theaters but hesitant due to the abysmal track record of January releases, rest assured this is one you're not going to want to miss.

A cautionary tale that follows a family as it struggles to reunite after falling apart. The Son centers on Peter (Hugh Jackman), whose hectic life with his infant and new partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby) is upended when his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) appears at his door to discuss their son Nicholas (Zen McGrath), who is now a teenager. The young man has been missing school for months and is deeply troubled. Peter strives to take care of Nicholas as he would have wanted his own father (Anthony Hopkins) to have taken care of him while juggling his and Beth's new son, and at work an offer of a dream position in Washington. However, by reaching for the past to correct its mistakes, he loses sight of how to hold onto Nicholas in the present.

The Son disappoints on almost every conceivable level. What could've been an impactful examination of a generational failing of parenthood instead ends up being the most surface level look at depression and mental illness put on screen in the last decade. Florian Zeller's script reads like that of a college freshman attempting to tackle serious themes and subjects without the first bit of research or reflection of the material. Unlike his previous offering, The Father, what audiences are treated to here is nothing more than a melodramatic farce with Hallmark Channel levels of acting and plot points the most fervent fans of daytime soap operas would avoid with the repulsion of encountering a leper. Who this movie is for and why it was made remain a baffling mystery throughout its two-hour runtime, eventually leaving moviegoers with a general sense of bewilderment and poorly handled manipulation.

Starring Hugh Jackman, the Academy Award nominated actor is possibly the only good part of this travesty. As Peter Miller, a distant but concerned father, Jackman's acumen cannot be called into question. Even with a lackluster screenplay to work off, Jackman still manages to breathe life into Peter. As one of the film's titular sons, it's Jackman's scene with Anthony Hopkins, reprising his role from The Father, that the actor gets the most to work with, shedding light on his foibles as a father and revealing some of the source of his own parenting. For his part, in the one scene he's in, Hopkins is a complete 180 degree turn from his depiction in the first film as a man with his best days behind him. Here, Anthony Miller is still sharp and focused as the scene reveals the cycle of parenting that perpetuates through the Miller family tree.

Laura Dern also brings a solid game, as is standard for her, as Kate Miller, Peter's ex-wife and mother of Nicholas. Rarely has Dern turned in a weak performance, and regardless of how anemic this story may be, Dern is here to remind viewers that she's a consummate professional, able to take a page of slog and turn it into something resembling serviceable. Vanessa Kirby, while having much less to do, is good enough in her few scenes, managing to express her concern as both a wife and mother of a newborn. While almost completely disappearing in the second half of the film, Beth's reticence at accepting Nick into their family and subsequent mistrust of him plays on the harmful idea that those with mental illnesses are not to be trusted when left to their own devices.

As far as the acting is concerned, easily the weakest link of this movie is Zen McGrath as Nick Miller, one of the titular sons of the story. As a teenager, McGrath utterly fails to capture anything other than a sour sullenness, moody for mood's sake. Hampered by the weakest dialog of the screenplay, McGrath's lines are almost comically cartoonish as he spouts about his unexplained darkness. Flat monologues, combined with his swing-and-miss attempts at emoting proves that McGrath isn't ready for much else other than supporting roles and bit characters.

Floria Zeller returns to write and direct the prequel to 2020's The Father, a film that was lauded with well-deserved praise for both its performances and its look at declining mental health in ways that were both immensely creative and heart wrenching. In 2023's The Son, all the elements that made The Father as impressive as it is are largely nonexistent, replaced with the most cursory look at depression and its effects on a family. As a director, Zeller is still competent, delivering scenes that are both technically composed (thanks in large part to The Father cinematographer Ben Smithard) and smartly edited (with credit to do Yorgos Lamprinos, who also delivered on The Father). From a story building and writing standpoint, however, Zeller couldn't be worse. What the audience is given is the most rudimentary look at a young man struggling and failing with the darkness of depression. If anything else, The Son is a fascinating look into how a writer/director who got mental illness so right in one film could possibly get it so wrong in another. Not even legendary film composer Hans Zimmer and his sad, sparse score can help elevate this otherwise lifeless affair that deigns to miss every possible mark it set out to hit.

Overall, The Son sits as possibly one of Florian Zeller's worst films to date. What could've been a complex, nuanced look at mental health, its impacts on the family, and advocating proper care for those who need it instead ends up as a hackneyed, overly simplistic story with spotty acting and the reinforcement of harmful stereotypes. Hugh Jackman's performance alone isn't enough to salvage the weak screenplay or unidimensional characters. While Zeller's technical direction is fine enough, the overall disappointment of the film and its messages makes this so far one of the most discouraging movies of 2023.

M3GAN, the latest horror from Blumhouse, stars Allison Williams as Gemma, a brilliant, if not short sighted, robotics engineer that creates the perfect playful companion for children. After a horrible fate befalls her niece Cady (Violet McGraw), she's gifted with the beta test of M3GAN as both a coping mechanism as well as a way for Gemma to offload her responsibilities of Cady. What ensues is a horrifying look at a technology not fully understood, operating at an unforeseen level, determined to protect Cady from any possible outside threats, including Gemma.

Starring Allison Williams, M3GAN marks the actress' return to the horror genre. Playing Gemma, the brilliant engineer responsible for the doll, Williams is excellent at showing the awkward uncomfortability of suddenly becoming a legal guardian. Unused to dealing with children, Gemma's parental skills aren't quite up to par, especially when dealing with Cady and the trauma she's had to endure. Williams plays all angels of the role well, representing a Jurassic Park John Hammond-esque character who's love of science and robotics clouds her ability to see any possible negatives to the creation she's birthed. In different hands, playing opposite a four-foot-tall robotic girl with a cheap blonde wig might've come across as absurd, but Williams' ability to sell it is what keeps the film from veering from tongue in cheek into straight up camp.

Also starring Violet McGraw as Cady, a lot of the story's emotional heft rides on her performance. Following the tragic events that begin the film, Cady is lost, tossed into a world she has troubles coping with the arrival of M3GAN is her lifeline. McGraw's performance, first as a scared kid that eventually morphs into something else, is the highlight item of the film. By the third act it's almost impossible to tell where Cady's allegiance is, making the final scenes that much more interesting.

Written by Malignant writer Akela Cooper, the main issue in its story. If you've seen the trailer then you've seen the film; the straightforward approach isn't always the best, and here in M3GAN, the most predictable paths are the ones taken. Comparisons to other franchises centered on this idea aside, the approach to M3GAN, and the circumstances that lead Cady down her path of attachment, make this stand out from any competitors. The theme of obsession is prevalent throughout; any addict will be able to see themselves reflected in Cady's actions and decisions. Johnstone's direction is a high mark for the film, formulating a general tone of uneasiness when M3GAN lurks in the background of scenes. Never quite sure if the doll is listening or not, Gemma's feeling of not knowing if she's being watched is pervasive. Props have to be given to the design team of the film. M3GAN's design is delightfully creepy; not human enough to enter the uncanny valley, but still more than enough to be unsettling. The doll's physicality, portrayed on screen by Amie Donald, adds to the overall ominous nature of the semi-sentient robot.

Overall, M3GAN is a decent enough movie that will help moviegoers make it through the January doldrums. Allison Williams and Violet McGraw's chemistry (or lack thereof), along with Jenna Davis' voice work make for well-crafted warning of the dangers of irresponsible science and creation without thought for the consequences. While there are little (if any) surprises throughout the film, Gerard Johnstone's competent direction compensate for it, framing M3GAN in ways that both amuse and unsettle. Thanks to the combined efforts of Johnstone, Williams, and the production team, Chucky no longer corners the market on sadistic killer child dolls.

Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars in his first-ever Western as Colton Briggs, a cold-blooded gunslinger turned respectable family man. When an outlaw and his gang put Colton and his family in peril, Colton is forced to take up arms with an unlikely partner - his 12-year-old daughter in this action-filled film that builds toward its fateful showdown with pulse-pounding suspense.

Put bluntly, The Old Way is a poor man's Unforgiven mixed with an even poorer man's Lone Wolf and Cub. The old, grizzled gunslinger, calmed by a woman, who reverts back to his predatory instincts one last time takes the best parts of the Clint Eastwood classic and rehashes them as an underbaked, underdeveloped story that fails to entertain outside of a passing glance while the viewer scrolls through their phone on a Sunday afternoon. While the inciting incident has become something of a problematic trope within fiction, in this film, the relationship between Colton Briggs and his wife Ruth is almost nonexistent. Given exactly one (weakly written) scene to establish and examine the love the two have for each other, a fiery motivation which could lead a person to revert back to a more primal phase of their life, the film bungles the singular opportunity it gave itself, making for poor storytelling.

The Old Way stars Nicolas Cage as Colton Briggs, a former gunfighter turned gentled husband. After the success of the deeply emotional Pig and the raucously funny Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, it seemed like Cage was poised for a mighty comeback to prestige acting. This is regrettably not the case here. In Old Way, Cage's attempt a being a weathered former gunslinger comes across as unbelievable, almost cartoonish. Hitting his marks and delivering his lines is the most the viewer can expect from Cage in this movie.

On the other side of the things, Noah Le Gros plays James McAllister, the man leading the gang behind the murder of Briggs' wife with more sinister plans up his sleeve. Le Gros plays McAllister with a villainous glee, charming in a way, as he enacts his revenge he's waited years for. Without a hint of actual menace or threat to him, McAllister is just a guy who wants to set his world right by his eyes and enjoys the company of his posse while doing so. Le Gros' jovial, laid back nature is a refreshing addition to an otherwise bland story rife with lackluster acting.

Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Brooke, Riggs' daughter, is also manages to steal a few scenes, which was, admittedly, a low bar to clear. Still, Armstrong infuses Brooke with a bit of spice as she joins her father in the hunt for McAllister and his gang. Her quiet determination, when mixed with her sassy nature, make for a few humorous scenes with Cage and Armstrong having decent chemistry.

Directed by Brett Donowho, The Old Way's problem isn't its direction. Donowho does what he can with the thin material, delivering a number of visually impressive establishing shots of the open frontier keeping in the spirit of the genre. Although the film contains a few questionable edits that disrupt the pacing, for the most part the movie glides along at a decent clip, propelling the story to its inevitable and all-too-predictable ending. The lifeless screenplay, written by Carl W. Lucas, reads like an artificial intelligence's idea of what the Western genre is: a person seeking revenge for a past transgression, settled by a shootout in a tiny, dusty town at high noon. While the genre has delivered many a movie with that premise that has transcended being just a great Western into being categorized as a great film, The Old Way is sadly not one of these films. The screenplay is, surprisingly, not without its merits though. Near the end of the first act, the town's sheriff investigating the murder of Briggs' wife delivers a short but impactful monologue to Briggs about the futility of vengeance and the need to further develop civility in the new world.

Overall, The Old Way delivers nothing new or exciting, nor does it elevate the Western genre in any meaningful way. A standard, rote story that fails to take any risks or deviate from its straightforward storytelling; the 95 runtime is a sweet blessing. Hindered by a hammy screenplay that borrows from some of the greats without adding its own flavor makes for a cliched bye-the-numbers story that came a dime a dozen in the 1950s. A role unsuited to the talents of Nic Cage, his wooden performance is only slightly balanced by the gleeful nature of Noah Le Gros. Saved mostly due to competent directing from Brett Donowho, the story is one that's quickly forgettable after the end credits.

The Pale Blue Eye, a thriller set in the 1800s from writer/director Scott Cooper, opens on a cadet at West Point whose body slowly turns as he dangles limp from the end of a noose on a fog filled night. With that opening visual to grab audiences, Cooper brings our players to the fore: the brilliant detective hired to solve the case, the eccentric young man he enlists to assist him, and the established stiff upper lip authority who disproves of the detective and his methods. Adapted from a 2003 novel written by Louis Bayard, The Pale Blue Eye doesn't do much to enrich or enhance the murder mystery. Sadly, the film isn't even the best example of subgenre to be released that day; Glass Onion takes that distinction, streaming on Netflix the same day this has its theatrical release.

The issues with The Pale Blue Eye are two-fold: the overall blandness of the story and how its presented, and Christian Bale's performance. Scott Cooper, who seems to prefer slower, moodier type movies, does little to build the tension or convince the audience to care about the characters. While the big third act reveal may cause some viewers to want to rewind back to the first few scenes, that rewind has little in the way of reward outside of a respectful nod and a passing curiosity at what else is on the streamer. Though Cooper attempts to interject an element of the occult in this story, he fails to fully commit to it by the film's end, making its overall inclusion more a passing fancy than an actual plot point. A simple story languidly told; a whodunit set in the 1800s with Edgar Allan Poe as one of the primary characters deserves better.

Starring Christian Bale, The Pale Blue Eye is his third collaboration with director Scott Cooper. Following Hostiles, a slow moving but gorgeous look at the American West, Bale returns to play Detective Agustus Landor, the man charged with solving the murder of the West Point cadet. Bale's performance can be described as low energy, almost lackadaisical at time, seeming content to float through scenes with little real interest or passion. Outside of a scene in the second act as he gives a dressing down those in charge of the academy (which is quite good), Bale shows little life in this character. With grief at the heart of Landor's backstory, Bale shows very little of it, happy to go through the motions rather than attack the character with the same zeal as we've seen from him in the past.

Thankfully, Bale's muted screen presence is wildly overcompensated by Harry Melling as poet Edgar Allen Poe. As Poe, Melling turns in a captivating performance, clearly giving the role his all, and tackling flowery tongue-twisting prose with ease. The circles that Melling ran around all his acting partners in this film makes it seem like he's in a completely different story than the rest of the cast, which both elevates and detracts from the overall product. Regardless, Melling is swinging for the fences with the role, and connects solidly in more than a few scenes.

Written, produced, and directed by Scott Cooper, The Pale Blue Eye works best when Cooper is letting the landscape do the storytelling. Impressive exterior establishing shots of a land blanketed by snow and untouched by the progress of time, Cooper displays an 1800s winter that would make the most hardened New York veteran cross their arms and draw inward. The production design, while not overly ostentatious, is still admirable; Cooper and team do an impressive job with nailing the aesthetics of the time, if nothing else. The fault lies in Cooper's writing, not his direction. The story is a rote murder mystery with an attempt at a supernatural flair added in. Outside of Harry Melling's performance, little is done to keep the audience engaged throughout the film's two hour runtime, leading to a conclusion that while mildly surprising, doesn't reach its full level of potential.

Overall, while at times visually interesting, The Pale Blue Eye pales in comparison to other thrillers of the year. With a last-minute twist that doesn't manage to fully salvage the entirety of the story, Scott Cooper's plodding narrative is perfect for those looking for some easy, low stakes material in the middle of the week after all other viewing obligations have been fulfilled. Harry Melling's borderline melodramatics aren't enough to carry Christian Bale's lethargic performance across the finish line, making for an imbalanced tonal chemistry that permeates every scene they're together in.

At its heart, The Way of the Water is about the indominable strength of a family's will. Jake Sully does everything in this film in service of his family, even when questioned by Naeytiri. Even having been integrated into the Na'vi culture for over ten years, Sully pushes back against the culture and traditions, to Neytiri's anger and dismay. In an era where sequels have to mean bigger, because bigger means better, the common pitfall is adding in explosions and more characters to either kill or be killed, and while there is some of that here in this film, Cameron still keeps his focus narrow. For all its bluster, it's digital wonderance, and bloated runtime, The Way of the Water is simply a tale of a man who wants to keep his loved ones safe.

That said, while Cameron and his team have created one of the great cinematic experiences of the year, the movie isn't without fault. From a writing perspective, Cameron may be at his weakest: Way of the Water's overall story isn't as strong or impactful as Avatar, the first act is a rough reintroduction to Pandora, and James Cameron, the man who made the idea of the space Marine so incredibly cool, fills these particular Marines with the cringiest, hammiest dialogue. Whether that's purposeful or not is certainly something to consider; in Aliens we get a squad of shit-talking, ass-kicking, overly macho (or overly compensating) characters who, while mostly one note and underdeveloped, are still memorable for their interactions with each other. Here in this movie, we get a gang of douchebags, simps to Colonel Quarich's petty quest for vengeance against Jake Sully. Whether or not Cameron is attempting to deconstruct the myth he himself helped create in Aliens is unclear. What's clear is his writing of their dialogue consists of little more than chuckling at Quaritch's evil schemes and telling hostages to hold still.

The first 30-40 minutes of Way of the Water may be its roughest patch. The story is juggling reintroducing characters while giving appropriate due to the new faces in the franchise, attempting to simultaneously remind of you where things ended in Avatar, what's transpired over the past decade plus, and set up the new central conflict of the film (which, honestly, is just the exact same one from before, but this time it's personal). This leads to clunky editing, hopping between stories in an unwieldy fashion that feels more like an unsuccessful exposition dump than a setting of the board. Once the pieces are in play, however, the film settles into itself, and the audience can buckle in for a hell of a ride.

Except, there's act two, which could be one of the most divisive elements of the film. Once the Sullys have left the skies and taken to the oceans, the narrative shift from Jake and Neytiri protecting the family to the Sully children learning to integrate into a new society and acclimate to the ocean becomes the story's main conceit. If the pacing of the first act is janky, the pacing of the second act almost slows to a halt. Not to say that's completely a negative, however, this is where Cameron relaxes and proceeds to flex on moviegoers with the reason the sequel took so long: the water scenes in this movie are amongst some of the most beautiful he's ever crafted. The entire act exists almost solely on vibes: lots of pondering shots filled with gorgeous digital landscapes and extended underwater sequences take full advantage of the 3D and IMAX screens, inviting those in the seats to come along the journey. Occasionally Cameron will remember to insert a bit of plot to keep the narrative thrust alive, but he also know where his strength lie with the first movie and that's in creating a world people would visit if it were possible. He replicates that feeling in the second act to astonishing results, at the detriment of the storytelling.

The third act is pure, unadulterated, uncut raw James Cameron: pulse pounding action, small beats that further develop the characters, and spectacle as far as the eye can see. Overall, the film is a triumph, and while there's parts that don't work as well as others, and some characters that don't work well at all, the idiom that has been kicked around Hollywood for years continues to ring true in 2022: don't bet against James Cameron.

Sam Worthington reprises his role as Jake Sully, physically damaged former Marine turned native in the first film. As the face of a franchise, Worthington is less than ideal; his lack of any sort of charm or charisma hampers the character from being beloved, but his talents are serviceable. Luckily, no one goes to an Avatar movie to see Sam Worthington, and what he does in this film is exactly what he did in the first; he hits his marks, he says his lines, and we proceed on to the next scene. While it's not necessary to be a ruggedly handsome man exuding waves of charisma to lead a franchise (it certainly helps, though), Worthington has never really fit the leading man type. Still, he provides enough to be passable and will likely continue to return to the role for as long as he's needed.

Zoe Saldana has far less to do here than she did before. Previously, Saldana is Sully's (and the viewer's) guide into the Na'vi and their foreign ways. She's a necessary component needed for Sully's eventual transition, and by film's end the journey's she's taken to learning to trust humans again, or at least a handful of them, makes for a good character arc. In Way of the Water, Sully has been fully integrated into the culture for years, therefore diminishing her role as guide. This time around, Neytiri is a (mostly) supportive wife, relegated to spending large swaths of the movie either fearing for her children's safety or simply not on screen. It's the final showdown where Neytiri really gets her chance to shine and shine she does. Saldana, no stranger to action scenes, throws herself fully into the mix, with an outstanding fight scene that reminds moviegoers never to mess with a mother's children.

Stephen Lang returns as Colonel Miles Quaritch, one of the better gleeful villains of past years. A cliche spewing, cigar chomping, walking ball of buzzcut testosterone in the first film, Lang is very obviously having a blast playing the film's central antagonist. He returns with the same attitude here, with a bit of a harder edge, determined to kill Jake Sully for his crimes against humanity. Quaritch is a gun-toting military enthusiast's wet dream, and while that type of person inherently comes with their own toxicity, the absolute joy with which Lang plays the character makes him one of my recent favorite villains. Thanks in large part to Cameron's writing and Lang's acting, Quaritch is a character that people can love to hate.

While there's other characters introduced in the film, to include all of the Sully children, as well Cliff Curtis and Kate Winslet as ruling family of the reef people, and Spider, a character that doesn't quite fully work, the relationship between Jake Sully, Neytiri, and Quaritch really is the reason for the season. Even though Cameron laces the film with those themes of family togetherness and fighting for survival, it's the round two grudge match between the three that provides the thrust for the action in this large budget adventure. The movie's ending will guarantee something of a round three, possibly the final word on settling the score for good. Thanks to all three actors (mainly Lang and Saldana), the story is primed and the stage is set for a Rocky/Apollo Creed level matchup.

Avatar: Way of the Water brings writer/director/producer James Cameron back to the director's seat, helming his first narrative feature since the Avatar 13 years prior. This go round Cameron chooses to focus on the family dynamic. In this, Cameron as a writer excels: the Sully family feels like a family almost any of us can relate to: rebellion teenagers, smaller children still encountering the wonders that Pandora holds, the outcast different child, all these elements are in play and Cameron uses these elements to set up a number of storylines and situations. From a directing standpoint, Cameron, cinematographer Russell Carpenter, and the rest of the cast flex their skills in recreating (and then enriching) the world that so many people fell in love with back in 2009. The attention to detail and the creature work is astounding, and even with a second act that drags the pacing of the entire film down, no fault can be blamed on the experience that Cameron wanted to convey; through both Lo'ak and Kiri the audience is able to enter another unturned stone of Pandora, its oceans. It took Weta FX a year and a half to develop a motion capture system that could blend with filming underwater; the result of their efforts is easily one of the best visual events of the year. These are the reasons Cameron took so long before filming the first movie and filming this one, it's clear that he wants the audience to feel as much as the characters of the story do and in this he succeeded in spades.

Overall, while the stakes of Way of the Water aren't as high as its predecessor, the grandeur of storytelling is. James Cameron leaves it all on the screen, providing a visual and auditory experience that reminds moviegoers of the art of blockbuster.

Glass Onion, the sequel to the 2019 smash hit murder mystery Knives Out, sees the return of Benoit Blanc as he's invited to a private Greek island to participate in a murder mystery game, courtesy of billionaire Miles Bron. When one of the guests ends up actually dead, Blanc is on the case to figure out who killed them and why.

With writer/director Rian Johnson ready to return with a fresh injection into the veins of fans of the whodunit genre, anticipation was high for Glass Onion. Knives Out was excellent on almost every level, delivering a story that was funny, engaging, and full of surprises. This sadly isn't quite the case with Glass Onion. While the cast assembled for the film rivals that of Knives Out, the movie is filled with thin, one note characters that come across as mere set dressing at times. Contrasted to the shallowness of the Thrombeys of Knives Out, who were delightfully despicable people the audience loved to hate, Glass Onion offers little in the way of giving viewers a reason to care, let alone root for or against them. In turn, it's this lack of development that leads to a low stakes affair that, while entertaining at times, fails to really draw the audience into the world.

The major issue with Glass Onion is in its pacing; too much time is spent in the first act attempting to set up multiple storylines that tie back to Miles Bron. The most important element of any murder mystery is the presence of a dead body; Knives Out excels at this because hardly five minutes passes before the maid stumbles upon the dead body of Harlan Thrombey. It's what kicks off the events of the movie, it's what propels the entirety of the story. In Glass Onion, viewers are subjected to an entire act of setup and are well into the second act, some 40ish minutes, before the murder happens. While the story thankfully kicks into a bit of a higher gear after that, the sluggish beginning may leave audiences lukewarm.

Glass Onion isn't without its merits. Johnson still manages to throw in a few surprise twists and reveals as the narrative rambles along and his dialogue is almost as strong as it is in Knives Out. The other classic element of the whodunit, the big third act speech that reveals everything, is just as funny as the first, if not a bit more unconventional. With a final sequence that's surprisingly cathartic, as well as incredibly rueful, Glass Onion works in almost as many ways as it fails.

Regardless of the movie's story and its execution, the acting is one of the highlights of Glass Onion. Once again starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, the southern fried detective, the film takes the beloved character and injects a bit of personal life into him. We see Blanc's home, how he spends his time when he's not on a case, and some of the people he chooses to spend his time with. Craig returns to the role with an ease and comfort; it's clear that these are movies he enjoys working on and that joy emanates through the character. At times witty, at times cheeky, but still deadly serious when the time calls for it, Craig's Blanc is just as good as he was in the first film.

Also starring Edward Norton as Miles Bron, the tech billionaire who hosts the soon-to-be-fatal party, Norton reminds audiences why he's so good at the roles he chooses to play. If Benoit Blanc is the center of the film, Norton's Miles is the story's off center. He's the tie that binds the ensemble together, both metaphorically and literally as it's he who brings everyone to his remote island for a weekend of partying and mystery solving. Norton is still great at these types of roles, having played them often, and Glass Onion is no exception, he's perfectly cast in the part.

Along for the ride is Janelle Monáe, the best thing the audience has to a tether in this movie. Monáe dazzles on the screen as Cassandra Brand, a force for Benoit Blanc to contend with. Monáe is charming as ever, creating a character that is likeable enough to root for throughout the course of the story's events.

As for the rest of the ensemble, they play their parts well. Unfortunately, thanks to the overall shallowness of development, the actors and actresses work well with what they have but are given little time to really let their talents shine. Kate Hudson stands out of the pack as a former supermodel, tiptoeing to the line of hamming it up without crossing over into farce.

Written, directed, and produced by Rian Johnson, Glass Onion sees the veteran filmmaker return his sandbox for the followup to his rollicking whodunit. As a feature director, Johnson has only missed once to date (2008's The Brothers Bloom). Johnson's eye for detail that forces the audience to pay attention to what's going in an all aspects of the frame have resulted in some of the most visually interesting films in the last decade. It's his talent as a director that saves Glass Onion from being a disaster; even when the story is lagging, Johnson's ability to create interesting visuals (shot by Steve Yedlin, returning from the first movie) and movement within the frame at least give the moviegoer something to track and appreciate while waiting for something to happen. As a writer, however, Glass Onion is one of his worst to date. With tepid, uninteresting characters filling a nonsense narrative, it's difficult at times to really care what's happening at times during the film. Thankfully, Netflix provided Johnson with a decent budget that leads to lavish costuming and impeccable set design; one of the most interesting things about Glass Onion is Miles Bron's expansive seaside estate and all the little things Johnson and his team adorn it with.

Overall, Glass Onion, while enjoyable in spurts and fits, doesn't hold a candle to its original. Compared to Knives Out, Glass Onion feels like a pale imitation, a copy of a copy, a product a filmmaker with lesser talent than Rian Johnson traced over like their hand to make a Thanksgiving turkey outline. The charm of Benoit Blanc still exists; Craig's performance is sharp as ever, but the ensemble cast, while talented themselves, lack any sort of depth or possess any characteristics that will make the audience fear for their safety. Still beautifully shot and dexterously directed by Rian Johnson, the technical makeup of the film is superb, yet the story itself lacks the same punch or flare that its predecessor contained. Regardless, as it hits theaters this Thanksgiving week and Netflix two days before Christmas, the movie is still decent enough to be watched with the family during holiday gatherings.

The Fabelmans, a coming-of-age tale about a young boy who discovers what would be his lifelong passion of filmmaking and storytelling, is set in the 1960s as Sammy Fabelman navigates life through his formative years. Given a camera from his mother to help as an outlet for his creativity, Sammy manages to capture an act that will tear his family apart if shown. A love letter to the events of his past, director Steven Spielberg uses Sammy to relay to the audience the pains of growing up Jewish in a post-World War II era as well as the joys of his life's calling.

With the continuing trend of older directors looking back and retelling imagined versions of their youth (Belfast, Armageddon Time), Spielberg proves yet again that he's one of the masters of the craft. Showing the slow dissolving relationship of the Fabelman family as contrasted with Sammy's growing love and talent for storytelling gives the movie the necessary weight while not being shy to inject moments of humor throughout. A point of interest that Spielberg intentionally plays with is the magic of movies as a use of escapism; for most moviegoers, a movie is a great way to forget life's ills for a couple of hours and be swept away to far flung lands said audience may never get the chance to experience for themselves. Unfortunately, in The Fabelmans, it's Sammy's discovery while editing film that really kickstarts the unravelling of the family. Full of heart, emotion, a love of movies and the process behind the making of them, The Fabelmans never gets too saccharine or overly sentimental; Spielberg rides a perfect line between dreamy nostalgia and melancholic remembrance.

Starring Gabriel LaBelle, The Fabelmans shows the makings of an excellent young actor who's poised to have an amazing career. Confident, funny, cold, and extremely vulnerable at times, LaBelle is the movie's brightest spot. With his easygoing charm, it's easy for audiences to immediately latch onto LaBelle as his portrays Sammy Fabelman, the Steven Spielberg stand-in for the story. There's times Spielberg perfectly captures the wonder on LaBelle's face, primarily when Sammy is shooting or editing a movie. While not as strong in some of the film's more emotional scenes, specifically those with his parents, LaBelle still manages to provide an overall impressive performance, especially in the shoes he's filling.

Also starring Michelle Williams and Paul Dano as Sammy's parents, it's not immediately clear why either actor took these roles. It's not until late in the film where Michelle Williams really starts heating up and giving a great performance that it's clear to see why she accepted the role. Williams cruises along through the movie, but in two powerful scenes kicks into a higher gear where the audience is reminded that she's a four-time Academy Award nominated actress. There are depths of sadness to Mitzi Fabelman, and Williams swims those depths with the skill of a well-seasoned sailor. The pain, the attempts to hide the pain, and the depression that battles Mitzi throughout the film make for some of the more poignant scenes in the movie.

For his part, Paul Dano's performance is incredibly subdued in a way that only Paul Dano can do. Fresh off his take as The Riddler in Matt Reeves' The Batman, Dano does a come about-face here as the soft spoken, loving father figure of the The Fabelmans' household. As a technological wizard, Burt Fabelman uses his skills and saavy to increase his family's station in life, although some of the family moves seem to have ulterior motives behind them. While never spoken aloud in Burt's presence, there's a secret that hangs about the family that Dano manages to squeeze every drop of doubt from. With an incredible internal performance, this role of Burt Fabelman is one of Dano's best.

It'd be criminal to not give a mention to veteran actor Judd Hirsch. Appearing in only three scenes in the film, it's the second scene, the meat of his time on screen, that Hirsch steals every bit of shine from Gabriel LaBelle and takes him to acting class. Charming, funny, and still deadly serious, Sammy's great uncle Hersch lays down for Sammy the two paths that face him in life. Almost a monologue with brief interruptions from Sammy, Boris provides one of the year's best scenes as a character who drops a bit of backstory for Mitzi as well as being the catalyst for Sammy. Hirsch's performance speaks to decades of screen and theater work, nailing his timing while dispensing his life advice and had he more screen time, Hirsch could've had a clear shot at a Supporting Actor nomination.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans shows a storyteller entering his sixth decade of moviemaking still retaining the ability to produce stories that inspire awe and wonder. It's never easy to adapt and fictionalize one's life into a story for mass consumption, but Spielberg does so in a way that neither paints him as a saint nor asks the audience for pity. While it's unlikely that Spielberg will reveal which elements are real, which are embellished, and which are completely fabricated, that fact that all three blend so seamlessly together shows just how he and writer Tony Kushner are (this being their fourth collaboration behind Munich, Lincoln, and West Side Story). From a directorial standpoint, Spielberg doesn't bring anything new or flashy out of the toolbox. Unlike West Side Story, which features some impressive feats of cinematography, timing, and coordination, here in The Fabelmans he turns it down a notch, preferring to keep the focus off his talents and on his fictionalized family.

Overall, The Fabelmans is one of the year's more heartfelt stories. A fictionalized retelling of the youth of one of the best living filmmakers, Spielberg shows both the ugly sides and the bright sides of his life in a way that keeps the audience engaged and locked in. Knowing how the story ends makes the journey even more entertaining; seeing Sammy's love and appreciation for filmmaking blossom and mature gives the audience an insight into the life of a man who's dedicated his to the art of storytelling. With excellent performances from the three main leads, as well as one powerfully raw scene with Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans stands as one the best movies to start winding down the year.

The Gray Man, a story of a CIA aset who stumbles upon a number of agency secrets that could be damning for his superiors, manages to trigger a global assassin-lead manhunt spearheaded by a maniacal former colleague who will stop at nothing to accomplish his mission.

While suffering the fate of its 80s and 90s predecessors that scarified character development for bullets and explosions, The Gray Man is a complete 180 degree turn from the Russo's previous film, Cherry. In that movie (a deep dive into a man struggling with addiction to find his way in the world after experiencing war), the progression and regression of Cherry as a character is the very heart of the film. Here in The Gray Man, no such screentime is given to fully flesh out any of characters outside of an intro scene for Gosling's character, Sierra Six. Much like what John Wick eventually turned into, with so many interesting people to explore in the movie, The Gray Man feels like the first in a universe that could be ripe for a motley crew of killers and spies and shadowy organizations. That so little focus is given to characters like Suzanne Brewer is frustrating; with an actress as talented as Jessica Henwick, who we've seen in multiple action roles, there's a mountain of possibility with only a molehill of actual relevancy. Whether that's breadcrumbs for further screentime or a busted potential only remains to be seen.

Starring Ryan Gosling as Courtland Gentry, aka Sierra Six, our titular Gray Man is tasked with carrying out wetworks for the CIA. As a hired assassin, Gentry is cool, reserved, almost unflappable as he encounters each obstacle and finds ways to surmount them. While looking downright cool in the role, it unfortunately does nothing to challenge the actor himself; having seen Gosling portray characters like this in Drive and Blade Runner 2049, it's not a stretch to see him play the role here. Delivering a dry wit that bounces off of Chris Evans' more extravagant performance, Gosling glides through the scenes and hits his mark with the ease of a man moving through a house he's lived in for years.

Chris Evans is the very definition of shenangians in this film. Continuing to lean into his heel turn started in Knives Out, Evans' outright glee of playing a character that himself takes absolute joy in the horrible things he does for a living, Evans looks like he's having the time of life. Complete with the absurd mustache and breathtaking inability to care about anyone or anything around him, Lloyd Hansen is one of the year's most entertaining villains. There's been a recent outcry on social media of moviegoers longing for a return to antagonists with less pathos, and their prayers couldn't have been any more answered. There's little development to Hansen; no tragic backstory, nothing that could shed him in any possible forgiving light, and not a hint of remorse for his heinous actions. He's the villain who believes rules are only for those who adhere to them and thanks to his freewheeling nature he's unburdened to do whatever he pleases to accomplish his goal. Evans delights in playing such a one note scumbag, and it's through his delight that the audience is ok going down this road with Hansen as he pursues Six. Outlandishly boorish and wildly ostentatious, Evans knows exactly what the character needs and delivers in spades.

Unfortunately, Evans' extravagance completely overshadows both Jessica Henwick and Regé-Jean Page as the film's executive CIA agents. As the overarching villain of the story, Page's Denny Carmichael is given astonishingly little screentime without much in the way of explanation for his actions or motivations. Page is reminiscent of action movie villains from decades ago: a good looking man in a suit with secrets to hide as a catalyst for the protagonist to go on the run. At that simple task, Page is competent enough. The most underserved characters are the main women of the film, Henwick's Suzanne Brewer and Ana de Armas' Dani Miranda. They both float in and out of the movie, and while de Armas has more to do here than she does in last year's No Time to Die, her character is still shortchanged a good action scene and we as an audience still have as of yet to see the actress really cut loose in an action role with capabilities that have only been teased thus far. As a suit and Carmichael's right-hand woman, Suzanne Brewer is something of the film's moral center, or could be if she had more screentime to play out her inner conflicts. Despite the atrocious wig she's burdened with, Henwick's character is interesting and likeable enough (and is in enough of a position of power by the film's end) that another outing that took the requisite time to focus on her would be more than welcome.

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, formerly of Marvel Cinematic Universe fame, The Gray Man is a perfect vehicle to display their love of action. Delivering a second act scene that could be the spiritual successor to the highway fight in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it's the action set pieces that are first and foremost here. Technically, it seems the siblings have never been more unchained; sweeping drone movements that make for dazzling establishing shots are also unnecessarily used to insert the audience into action, more just because they can than for any real creative reason. Directorial flourish is always welcomed so long as it serves the story, but flair for flair's sake is often employed in an attempt to dazzle the audience into overlooking other weaknesses. Outside of that, there's some visual spectacle to the film worthy of praise. Shot by cinematographer Stephen F. Windon, responsible for six of the nine Fast and Furious movies (and currently shooting the tenth), his eye for actualizing over the top action scenes is perfectly congruent for the story the Russos are trying to tell. Boasting an outstanding color palette starting with Six's initial scene surrounded by fireworks, Windon's lens set against the backdrop of numerous European countries captures all the characters and their locations while looking their best.

Overall, The Gray Man is the perfect movie to check out after a hard day's work with popcorn and drinks in hand. Propelled by Gosling and Evans, with over-the-top direction from the Russos, the film has a vibrancy and more than enough absurdity to make it a fun watch from beginning to end. While the plot itself is thin and relatively cliche, it's what the Russos choose to do with it that squeezes that lack of substance for every morsel of entertainment. At just a hair over two hours long, the cat-and-mouse chase that hops across countries with little regard for international law starts with a bang and continues a breakneck pace throughout. Almost all style with very little substance, it relies on the audience's willingness to relax and be taken along for the ride. If they're willing to do that, it's one hell of an entertaining ride.

Speeding through the Moroccan desert to attend an old friend's lavish weekend party, wealthy Londoners David and Jo Henninger (Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain) are involved in a tragic accident with a local teenage boy. Arriving late at the grand villa with the debauched party raging, the couple attempts to cover up the incident with the collusion of the local police. But when the boy's father arrives seeking justice, the stage is set for a tension-filled culture clash in which David and Jo must come to terms with their fateful act and its shattering consequences.

The Forgiven, based on the 2012 psychological thriller written by Lawrence Osborne, attempts to balance the carefree ostentatiousness of the rich and privileged with the quiet, humbleness of the natives who both serve them and those who live in the deep desert. What could be a story of a man whose accident changes his thinking and wakes him up to the casual indifference of his friends is regrettably a wasted film that only manages to tell half a good story. On the one hand, David's journey with the locals is a transformative one for him, a personal journey complete with great acting from Ralph Fiennes and Saïd Taghmaoui. On the other, our secondary plot of the weekend long rager hosted by Matt Smith's Richard Galloway is a hollow, pointless look at Jo's descent into adultery in David's absence. With a cast of characters completely disconnected from all reality, it's almost impossible for the audience to latch onto or care about any of them (Jo included) as they wax poetic about international relations and occasionally remember to fret over David, who's out of contact during his entire trip. The weakness in the story at Galloway's villa makes is seem as if John Michael McDonagh didn't have enough story with just David's journey and needed to concoct a 'meanwhile, back at the base' subplot. McDonagh's attempts at shining any bit of light on the inequalities between the hard partying Europeans and the local Moroccans that serve them are, at best, hollow, fleeting, and almost insulting.

Starring Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain, The Forgiven does neither of these excellent actors any favors. Not for lack of trying, however; both are doing the best they can with the paltry meal that's served them on the page. Fiennes, no stranger to playing unlikeable characters, is delightfully detestable in the film, casually tossing off racist untruths with all the misinformation that the only the privileged can muster. This is what sets the stage for Fiennes' slow transformation over the course of the film's runtime and while it can't be said he has a full Christmas Carol Scrooge-like turnaround, it's evident that his experiences in the desert have changed some part of him. Fiennes' ability to play these subtle changes in a glance or a hesitation in speech are superb acting, and the nuances in his enlightenment give the audience hope that David can turn a new leaf in life.

Jessica Chastin as Jo, David's long suffering wife, has a lot less to do, to the detriment of the film. The supremely talented actresses is wasted in this film, resorting to being not much more than a object lusted after by Tom, another member of Richard's party. While McDonagh attempts to inject a steamy, flirty relationship between Jo and Tom while David is away, the flimsy dialogue between the two makes their scenes together bland and uninteresting. Chastain, while having some agency in the first act as it's obvious her and David are unhappy in their marriage, is reduced to little more than a pretty face in a bikini in the second act, and set dressing in the third act.

Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, The Forgiven proves yet again that McDonagh's direction is stronger than his writing. The initial concept of an indifferent man who's forced to face the consequences of his actions in a foreign land is an intriguing one. The story McDonagh crafts around that outstanding concept isn't as interesting and the script based off that story is sadly less than stellar. What we're left with is a talented director working off a source that doesn't live up to his talents, even though he wears both hats. Visually, McDonagh takes full advantage of the wide open expanse of Morocco, providing viewers with something like a travelogue experience as David rides with Anouar and Abdellah to their home. Editing wise, the 117-minute runtime is thankfully smooth, intercutting between David's isolation with the Moroccans and Jo's time spent partying with Tom. While the story lacks any real punch or substance, the pacing of the movie has to be credited; the accident happens fairly early in the movie in an attempt to grab and keep the audience's attention throughout, and McDonagh smartly knows when it's time to cut away from one plot back to the other.

Overall, even with its aimless storytelling and meandering plot, there might be enough in The Forgiven to salvage a decent, workable story. Presented as a suspenseful thriller, this film is best reserved for a middle of the week watch, after work, with a drink firmly in hand. Ralph Finnes and Jessica Chastain are trying their hardest with an undercooked script, Matt Smith and Christopher Abbot are tossing away their lines with the casualness of someone reporting the weather, and Abby Lee (a breakout star in 2019's Lovecraft Country) is seemingly present for no reason. The only actors worth paying attention to are Saïd Taghmaoui and the always dependable Caleb Landry in a small yet entertaining role full of snark and sass. A fascinating premise wrapped in subpar writing, the movie is unlikely to make any top 10 lists for the year but still has just enough juice to entertain the viewer on a slow night.