Movie reviews of Alex Brannan

Lundy-Paine deserves some form of “revelation” title, as their performance reveals so much, and in such dramatic fashion, without ever losing sight of the character’s human characteristics. Review

IF is so concerned with making you feel (anything at all, but mostly melancholy and sad) that it forgets to be fun. The few moments that are dedicated to being joyful and full of life are at such a disconnect from the maudlin attempts to pull at the heartstrings that the whole thing feels off-putting. Review

The cast is all game and give delightful performances across the board. Straddled with the most straight-laced character, Barrera has the least to do. But Kathryn Newton, Dan Stevens, Angus Cloud, and Kevin Durand are perfectly ham-fisted. Review

Individual scenes don’t work enough at establishing a foundation for a new period of Apes films. There is no Caeser here to ground a lengthy epic yarn on, nor a Charlton Heston figure to provide magnetic personality to this environment. Review

Crisp camera movements and a few minorly inventive blocking ideas make for diverse and dynamic sequences that keep the film lively and enjoyable to watch. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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. Review

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

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

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

Rebel Moon is overloaded with stiff backstory and hollow characters. Review

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. Review

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

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

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. Review

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