Film Reviews

“This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit. Uncommonly warm and blessed with a comic voice that feels both fresh and personal,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“When every scene is designed to be the biggest, craziest, dirtiest comedy set piece of all time, the effect becomes somewhat numbing,” writes Drew McWeeny.

Joe Berlinger addresses an important socio-political issue while Griffin Dunne shines the spotlight on an important literary and journalistic figure i.e. his aunt.

“The underlying issue with this franchise is that it’s hopelessly stuck in the past, unable to move on from Tobin Bell’s fair-minded killer John Kramer,” writes Jeff Sneider.

Director Marc Forster (“World War Z”) takes the audience on a ride that “won’t be for everyone,” writes Edward Douglas.

Drew McWeeny writes that George Clooney’s take on the Coen brothers’ story is an “ambitious attempt to marry dark comedy, film noir, and social commentary.”

“Jason Hall’s no-nonsense directorial debut has rewards to offer, even though it doesn’t offer its characters any easy answers,” writes Drew McWeeny.

Margaret Qualley plays a ‘60s teen who decides to become a nun, just as the Catholic Church is making dramatic changes itself.

“The film is not just a look at how Goodall changed our understanding of chimpanzee behavior, but also a sly love story and, simply on an aesthetic level, one of the year’s most beautiful movies,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“On paper, all of this looks like it should be an easy slam dunk. Instead, it adds up to what can only be described as a scorched-earth failure,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“Whoever had the idea of putting [Taika Waitit] together with what could easily have been the grimmest of the Marvel films, should probably get a big fat Christmas bonus this year, because Waititi absolutely knocked Thor Ragnarok out of the park,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“Neither Allen’s best movie nor his worst, although it’s probably stronger due to Winslet’s fabulousness,” says Edward Douglas.

Lana Wilson’s poignant life-affirming doc and Dome Karukoski’s amazing biopic about an LGBTQ icon should be sought out.

“This is Joseph Kosinski’s most successful film to date, and I would not have guessed that he had this in him. It also features some of the most open-hearted and vulnerable work I’ve ever seen Josh Brolin do,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“The type of action movie that just feels dated and not in a fun way either,” says East Coast Editor Edward Douglas.

“Confident and cleanly-told, “Happy Death Day” is exactly the “Groundhog Day” meets “Friday the 13th” mash-up that the trailers promise. There’s nothing more to it than that though,” writes Drew McWeeny.

An adaptation of Brian Selznick’s fantasy tale of New York City and its museum, the movie falls short of any expectations with uncharacteristically bad storytelling choices.

The Benedict Andrews-directed adaptation of David Harrower’s play “Blackbird” Is far more than a filmed theatrical piece, as the filmmaker takes advantage of what film can do that theater can’t.

“I know this is a movie, and that Moonee and Halley aren’t real, but in creating them, Sean Baker has captured something deeply true, and these images are spilling over with life, unruly and hard to categorize from one moment to the next,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“This is exploitation fare served strong, and while it is the humanity of Vaughn’s performance that grounds the film and makes it something more than “just” exploitation, you still may need a shower afterwards,” writes Drew McWeeny.

Edward Douglas thinks Baumbach’s 10th film is easily his funniest and strongest dose of dysfunctional family humor.

Cinematographer Kevin Phillips’ feature film directorial debut is a stunner with a number of amazing performances by young talent that makes it worth seeking out.

“Blade Runner 2049 is such a good sequel that it makes the case that, between these two films, no other example of the genre has ever made these ideas so vivid, so wrenching, so immediate and raw,” writes Drew McWeeny.

Boyhood filmmaker Richard Linklater directs this quasi-sequel to Hal Ashby’s 1973 film The Last Detail and an “insanely funny” Bryan Cranston steals the show.

“The film is often devastating, and it offers up one of the least sentimental portraits of parenthood that I can remember. It’s also wise enough to suggest that art comes at a cost, and the creation of even the most beautiful things can sometimes leave scars,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“Director Doug Liman takes such profound liberties with the life of Barry Seal that it’s fair to treat the film as fiction, but it’s also a terrific showcase for one sequence after another of Tom Cruise getting the smug smacked out of him,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“If even one person sees this film and takes strength from Billie Jean’s personal journey, strength they use to live their life honestly, then that’s even better than winning an Oscar, and this story certainly has the power to do that,” writes Drew McWeeny.

“This is how I like my movie sequels, determined not just to give us more of the same but keenly aware that ‘the same’ is exactly why people buy tickets to sequels. It’s a tricky balancing act, but it feels like Vaughn and his ongoing gang of collaborators enjoy that challenge,” writes Drew McWeeny.

Dylan O’Brien’s new film isn’t particularly good, but it had Drew McWeeny on the edge of his seat the whole time.

The two movies, directed by Scott Cooper (Black Mass) and Susanna White (Our Kind of Traitor), premiered at TIFF, one getting far more immediate attention than the other, but the simpler (and far less expensive) film ends up working better.