Alex Brannan

Guy Ritchie is entirely capable of composing quality action sequences. Some of the ones in here are entertaining on that shut-off-the-brain level. But the spectacle sours into tedium as the fascinating real-life story is consistently replaced with monotonous violence.

Late Night with the Devil is a bit of light horror entertainment (it’s less scary and more spooky). What it lacks in narrative, thematic, and emotional depth it makes up for in clever spectacle.

What makes it easy to forgive these minor issues is the film’s cast. Zendaya, Faist, and O’Connor give the best performances I’ve seen this year to date.

After we settle on over a dozen principle characters, the plot throws them into a battle against a cruddy CGI ghost demon. A few decent jokes accompany nearly two hours of fluff.

Civil War looks good in a trailer. It looks politically potent on a poster, with that title plastered over a symbol of American liberty. Few of its picaresque scenes live up to this provocation in the context of the feature, though.

I.S.S. ultimately wants to be a nail-biting action thriller with serious thematic material about how we are-slash-are-not tied down to our societal affiliations. Unfortunately, it is neither thrilling enough to be nail-biting nor developed enough to be weighty in its themes.

There are clever moments, both visually and narratively, especially considering this is Johnson’s directorial debut, but Self Reliance is a few pieces shy of being a cohesive comedy.

What the film has is personality and a strong sense of humor, but this gets drowned out by wishy-washy meditations on good will and the human spirit, with the tone alternating awkwardly between comedy and drama.

The Delinquents is one of the more intriguing films of 2023. Some will balk at its runtime, understandably so, but the film arguably requires its length to get its point across.

The Taste of Things is impressive, and, if you afford it some patience, it may wrap you into a warm and melancholy embrace. Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel are also phenomenal.

Durkin’s film is narratively heart-breaking, visually stunning, and approaches a world of professional wrestling that rarely gets the big screen treatment.

The film is highly watchable, even if certain moments do not share the intensity of the style.

Lanthimos delivers his usual brand of idiosyncratic dark comedy filmmaking. Poor Things is visually sumptuous and consistently intriguing.

Rebel Moon is overloaded with stiff backstory and hollow characters.

Haigh shoots it all with gorgeous warmth and deliberation. And the performances carry it all through to the end in spite of the narrative flaws.

It all comes together surprisingly fittingly, so long as one doesn’t search for subtlety in places other than Kamiki’s wonderful performance.

Anatomy of a Fall is packed with emotional density, cutting dialogue, and fantastic performances.

Paul King and his production team also conjure up one or two nicely decorated sets, and the costume design from Lindy Hemming is more colorful than most of what the script can offer. Taken as a whole, though, Wonka is less than remarkable.

The Boy and the Heron is a stunning achievement, both visually and emotionally. It’s one of Miyazaki’s best.

As is usually the case, Fincher crafts an exceedingly watchable film in The Killer.

More than anything else, it acts as a fitting swan song for John Kramer, with Bell giving a lovely, subdued performance that elevates the character beyond what the franchise can ultimately contend with.

Part of the problem here is that the film is more interested in breadth than depth. Still, there is plenty for the NBA fan to to enjoy here.

Although evidently well-meaning, the film never overcomes these cliches, despite evocative performances from Stewart-Jarrett and MacKay.

All of it is standard for the territory. And none of it amounts to anything all that novel or compelling.