Movie reviews of Alex Brannan

Scream VI has a duo of intense and well-staged set pieces. Review

For all of its fast-talking plotiness and attempts at witty humor, Operation Fortune lacks the vim and vigor of a grand-scale action comedy. Review

For what its worth, there are shots in here that look fantastic and the visual effects are sufficient for what the film needs of them. As far as bears and cocaine go, though, that combination alone is not enough to hang your would-be cult film on. Especially if you are in on the joke and it’s the only cohesive joke you have. Review

Act of Violence is a very talky movie, and much of that talking is banal and takes place in real time. Review

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the low point in the trilogy. It lacks the characters and relatively-speaking tighter story structure of Magic Mike and the picaresque ode to pleasure of Magic Mike XXL. Review

On a final note, the film is shot really well. Shyamalan puts more personality into his camerawork than he does into his characters. Review

Infinity Pool is by no means mainstream viewing, and even those who appreciated Possessor may walk out of this new film from Cronenberg feeling cold. Review

It’s no horror film, but it tightly captures a specific feeling, a fear of the unknown that is mostly absent in Sick. In Sick, the unknown is a plot device. And the fear, if it exists at all, is in the framing. Review

The narrative is well structured and rarely feels its length. It is the type of feel-good (after a few scenes of feel-not-so-good) film that will delight some and, for the rest, mercifully doesn’t overstay its welcome. Review

As with Cooper's other films, though, The Pale Blue Eye is material that is missing something — some intangible piece of the puzzle that would render it remarkable. Review

If your expectations for M3GAN are calibrated just right, then this will be a light and fun experience. Review

The Whale is a tonal misfire. It goes for haunting and grotesque in moments where it would be better served going for compassion, and it goes for compassion far too late (and with far too much fervor) to make up for it. Review

Triangle of Sadness ultimately stumbles to bring its triptych structure together into a cohesive whole. It’s all good fun, but I strain to thread together a meaningful takeaway beyond the obvious. Review

Birdemic 3 isn’t even a Birdemic movie until the final 20 minutes. Review

Mister Organ, a spiritual sequel of sorts to Tickled, will provide similar discomfiting and intriguing entertainment. Both films are imperfect pieces of creative journalism, and both are necessarily self-reflexive to a fault. Just don’t expect a resolution to the initially wild story, nor the same degree of twisting and turning as with Tickled. Review

On the whole, though, Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. is an emotionally knotty tragicomedy with performers who shine. Come for the satire; stay for the performances. Review

Sonically, the film is slick. The performances are adept. But I didn’t find a lot of there there with Bodies Bodies Bodies. The humor works on occasion. The murder thriller aspect is toothless. And it all comes off a bit superficial. Review

Next Sohee takes this callousness to task through simple, elegant expressions of humanity. It is this balance between cold- and warm-hearted moments that make the film powerful. Review

Incredible But True is a humorous exercise in absurd vanity, but the ramifications of characters’ vane actions lead to a somewhat sobering result. Review

I rode this film’s wavelength gently through its stream of grotesque tales of the human condition. And I came out the other side impressed less by mattress fungus and more by the occasionally poignant conversation about what it means to exist in a world of (tenuous) connections. Review

I found the interminably bleak and interminably gray film to be something of a slog. For what it’s worth, Eline Shumacher’s performance in the lead is impressive. Review

The tension and squirm-inducing scenarios director Christian Tafdrup is able to squeeze out of this premise is impressive. Review

While I could see this film being less effective upon second viewing, the mood piece that is Skinamarink is designed to get under your skin. It got deep under mine — etched its way below the surface and then started scratching. Review

The hokey hard-boiled dialogue. The lack of a compelling story line. The belabored final set piece, burdened by a flashback structure that reveals an inconsequential and uninteresting twist. Review