Salon.com

Attending the movies should not come with homework assignments, and if a film only works if you study its backstory in advance, there is something terribly wrong.

Posted Feb 15, 2019

Berlin, I Love You (2019)

"Berlin, I Love You" features no real duds even if some entries are disappointing. A few of the ten-minute films could benefit from better pacing, or a more impactful ending. But enough of the shorts provide a pleasant diversion.

Posted Feb 9, 2019

3/4

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

The expression "more of the same" isn't always what artists want to hear, but for "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" it is very good news indeed.

Posted Feb 8, 2019

Stalker (1979)

John Semley

It's a film that challenges us to be bored, while refusing to be boring.

Posted Feb 7, 2019

Miss Bala (2019)

Hardwick's film is gleefully entertaining in a B-movie kind of way, zesty yet also corny at times....For those who go along for the wild, undemanding ride, it makes for a good Friday night action flick.

Posted Feb 1, 2019

4/4

Unbreakable (2000)

"Unbreakable" is likely to stand the test of time as long as stories about superheroes - or heroes in general - are still sought by scared, suffering human beings.

Posted Jan 23, 2019

4/4

Glass (2019)

It is a successful movie on its own terms and an ideal closing chapter to M. Night Shyamalan's Eastrail 177 trilogy.

Posted Jan 18, 2019

Bird Box (2018)

Is it good? Not really, but it doesn't need to be.

Posted Jan 2, 2019

Destroyer (2018)

Despite the film's uneven qualities, "Destroyer" is compelling because of Kidman's unflinching performance. The actress appears in every scene, and it's impossible to take one's eye off her. She exudes a fierce determination that is alluring.

Posted Dec 25, 2018

Vice (2018)

It's an irreverent, rollicking story narrated by a guy (Jesse Plemmons) who recounts key episodes from Cheney's life - some amusing, some scary. The tonal shifts in the film are both its blessing and its curse.

Posted Dec 24, 2018

3/4

Bumblebee (2018)

"Bumblebee" does hold up as a fun, family-appropriate movie on its own terms, and redeems its beleaguered franchise in the process.

Posted Dec 21, 2018

3/4

Aquaman (2018)

While DCEU heroes like Henry Cavill's Superman and Ben Affleck's Batman were unbearably solemn, it is easy to see that Momoa is having a blast in the lead role.

Posted Dec 21, 2018

Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable (2018)

It also makes her more real to everyone - to her fans and anyone else who has an immutable notion of who she is without taking into account the expectation of who we expect her to be.

Posted Dec 20, 2018

The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

The film's no great shakes, but Russell's star power in "The Christmas Chronicles" is a gift anyone should be happy to claim.

Posted Dec 17, 2018

2.5/4

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

It is more an experiment than an actual film.

Posted Dec 15, 2018

2.5/4

Once Upon a Deadpool (2018)

A conceit that could have been charming instead comes across as crass.

Posted Dec 14, 2018

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

In some sense one might think of it as the mother recipe of the American Christmas special.

Posted Dec 14, 2018

Roma (2018)

Cuarón's film is quotidian and extraordinary at the same time. It is about change and how we adapt and grow. It is about love and sometimes the lack of it. It is a rapturous magnum opus, that is heartbreaking, devastating, and life affirming all at once.

Posted Dec 10, 2018

Ben is Back (2018)

By the time Ben and Holly are locked in a pieta-style tableau, with light shining from behind and above them, "Ben Is Back" has truly hit bottom. The elder Hedges needs to make amends.

Posted Dec 9, 2018

Vox Lux (2018)

Portman arrives in the film like a force of nature, tearing into her role with reckless abandon. Portman is so much fun to watch behaving badly that viewers may actually root for her to self-destruct; she is that entertaining.

Posted Dec 8, 2018

0/4

Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights (2002)

There aren't enough creative Yiddish insults in the world to adequately express how much I hate Adam Sandler's "Eight Crazy Nights."

Posted Dec 1, 2018

2.5/4

Creed II (2018)

There was a great movie in "Creed II," one that peeked out every now and then beneath the suffocating blanket of clichés.

Posted Nov 23, 2018

3.5/4

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

I am happy to say that the misogynists' worst fears were realized. This is very much a movie whose female characters are equal to their male counterparts...

Posted Nov 22, 2018

3.5/4

The Front Runner (2018)

"The Front Runner" comes along at a particularly relevant time in American political history.

Posted Nov 8, 2018

Mid90s (2018)

Eileen G'Sell

If Superbad launched an entire subgenre that mocks male insecurity, Mid90s reveals, almost tenderly, the devastation of trying to hide it.

Posted Nov 5, 2018

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Erin Keane

Ideally, a film like this would attempt to add to, or to contextualize, a legacy. Instead, "Bohemian Rhapsody" tries to sanctify it, pack it in bubble wrap to protect it from causing, or being caught in, any friction.

Posted Nov 3, 2018

The Greasy Strangler (2016)

Erin Keane

The series promises to be a fitting showcase for Shipka's considerable talent...

Posted Oct 22, 2018

3.5/4

Halloween (2018)

In other words, like [Brad] Jones, I agree that this is the best Michael Myers-based "Halloween" movie since 1981's "Halloween II."

Posted Oct 19, 2018

3.5/4

CinemAbility (2018)

"CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion" tells a Hollywood story that has long been overlooked.

Posted Oct 15, 2018

A Star Is Born (2018)

The problem is whenever Cooper turns the film away from his best asset (Gaga) and into a vanity production.

Posted Oct 8, 2018

3/4

Venom (2018)

Certainly I'm in a minority when it comes to my fellow critics, but I liked "Venom." Hell, if it wasn't for the sloppy and formulaic script, I might have even loved it.

Posted Oct 5, 2018

Aliens (1986)

Beyond dispute, however, is the film's timeless worth as a cathartic work, especially in terms of its accidentally commentary on the sexism of the corporate structure.

Posted Oct 4, 2018

2/4

The Nun (2018)

By overly relying on jump scares, "The Nun" uses a mechanical approach toward instilling fear rather than a more profound understanding of terror.

Posted Sep 22, 2018

0.5/4

Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil (2006)

It's still reasonably entertaining if efficiently made action films are your bag, though.

Posted Sep 18, 2018

Eldorado (2018)

Superb... [A] potent, heartfelt film.

Posted Sep 16, 2018

Cold War (Zimna wojna) (2018)

Luminously shot in black and white, with every frame artfully composed, Pawel Pawlikowski's powerful "Cold War"....casts a spell over audiences.

Posted Sep 16, 2018

Dogman (2019)

Matteo Garrone's unflinching character study... has a strong chance at the Oscars because of Fonte's expressive performance

Posted Sep 16, 2018

Birds of Passage (Pájaros de verano) (2019)

Outstanding.... "Birds of Passage" is closer in tone to "Narcos" than any telenovela.... Gallego and Guerra keep the story consistently absorbing as the action plays out and the bodies pile up.

Posted Sep 16, 2018

Girl (2018)

Dhost's nonjudgmental film doesn't traverse new territory for a trans film, and it features too much dancing, but it benefits from its authenticity.

Posted Sep 16, 2018

Border (Gräns) (2018)

This supernatural romantic thriller constantly shifts genres, but its slow burn approach keeps things intriguing. Abbasi establishes and maintains an unusual, internal logic that will satisfy viewers who go along with every strange twist.

Posted Sep 16, 2018

2.5/4

The Predator (2018)

Amid this cavalcade of slightly-above-mediocrity, there is the issue I mentioned earlier: The film's, um, interesting ideas about autism. (Full disclosure: I am autistic myself.)

Posted Sep 14, 2018

Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018)

Sophia McClennen

Moore's most powerful movie yet.

Posted Sep 7, 2018

RBG (2018)

At the same time, although West and Cohen get around to the version of Ginsburg that has become a meme for Millennials and a symbol of resistance, the greater part of the film celebrates her tireless determination.

Posted Sep 4, 2018

August 28th: A Day in the Life of a People (2018)

A shining miracle.

Posted Aug 27, 2018

2/4

The Happytime Murders (2018)

I've been on "Sesame Street." I know Elmo. Cookie Monster is a friend of mine. "Happytime Murders," you're no "Sesame Street" . . . and you're not "Avenue Q" either.

Posted Aug 24, 2018

Reunification (2015)

Arthur Chu

It's a documentary unlike any I've seen--a film very clearly put together to say things through the language of film that the filmmaker is uncomfortable saying any other way.

Posted Aug 8, 2018

3/4

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Say what you will about "Avengers: Infinity War," but at least its story took risks. "Fallout" offers a highly predictable form of fun -- although it's still fun.

Posted Jul 27, 2018

2/4

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

"Star Wars" is not "Breaking Bad," and the same narrative tricks that worked for the latter feel jarringly out of place in the former.

Posted Jul 27, 2018

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

It should throw the viewer for a loop, because it's a reflection of the insane times we live in.

Posted Jul 20, 2018

2.5/4

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)