Filmrecensies van Hope Madden

The FX are bad. The Raiders of the Lost Ark moment is silly. But in terms of reconsidering exorcism tropes, Shadow of God has some big ideas. They don’t entirely work, but at least it’s novel. Recensie

It’s scary. It’s sexy. The action slaps. It’s funny when it needs to be, sad just as often. It looks and sounds incredible. And there’s a cameo from Buddy F. Guy, in case you needed a little authenticity. Recensie

Filmmaker and cast investment pays off. Dead Mail is clever, intriguing and wholly satisfying little thriller. Recensie

Yang struggles with the dramatic needs of his character while Tran has trouble with the comedic, but there’s charm in the mess. Ahn conjures a bubbly, romantic confection and maybe that’s needed right now. Recensie

The Amateur is no masterpiece. But it is a nice change of pace. Recensie

Drop exceeds low expectations mainly on the charisma of the cast and two universal fears: technology and first dates. Recensie

It’s probably not the worst movie Cage has made, but lord, it is not good. Recensie

Not everything works, but every performance is remarkable and there is bravery and power behind the message that life and death are messy things. Recensie

The plot itself could have used a few more solid surprises. Hell of a Summer does not set out to reinvent the wheel, and even commits to one of the genre’s most tiresome new stereotypes. Still, it’s fun while it lasts. And Fred Hechinger is a treasure. Recensie

The movie plays like a rehearsal that could have turned into something fun with a couple more rounds of script revisions. Recensie

It’s a fascinating performance and fearless in many ways. The film around her is no masterpiece, but it is a solid piece of genre filmmaking enlivened by bright performances and dark, nasty shadows. Recensie

The three leads shine, none of them blameless and yet all forgivable. Recensie

It’s a capably made, solid movie but there’s not much to distinguish it from a lot of other gangster pictures except that you get two times the star power from the actor who continues to prove he’s America’s greatest onscreen gangster. Recensie

There are unexplored ideas and mixed messages that keep Hood Witch from becoming a great film, but it’s an angry, observant thriller and solid reflection of the time. Recensie

The kills (and near kills) are often clever and the characterizations are funny. The film’s mythology gets mushy and the story comes to a close with more of a nod to horror tropes than an acknowledgment of the internal conflicts and genuine emotion the story built, but it’s still fun. Recensie

Directors Ben Berkand and Robert Olsen invest in the comedic possibilities of every action set up without overpowering the action itself. Car chases, fisticuffs, shoot outs and more are choreographed for thrill, performed for laughs. It’s a delightful mix. Recensie

It all becomes muddy, no specific layer of the film ever entirely satisfying, all of it obscured by a metaphor that doesn’t quite fit. Recensie

It gets weird, this one. But when the chips are down and the gum zombies are chewin’, these two will rise to the occasion. Recensie

Weaving sensibilities and ideas present in Snowpiercer, Okja, The Host as well as any number of clone movies, Mickey 17 could feel borrowed. It doesn’t. Like the best science fiction, it feels close enough to reality to be a bit nightmarish. Recensie

Lithgow’s a maniac, making the most of his substantial physical presence among the fragile patients and delivering the most unseemly moments with relish. And Rush is his absolute equal. The veteran broadcasts pomposity with rigid authenticity that only lends power to the judge’s most helpless moments. Recensie

While My Dead Friend Zoe’s delightful and moving buddy picture vibe carves a different direction than the others took, the message is even more urgent. Recensie

The Unbreakable Boy is more evenhanded than most of Gunn’s movies, although subtle it’s not. It’s tidy and predictable and suffers under the weight of sentimentality. But it’s undeniably sweet, and if an inspirational film appeals to you, you could do worse than to let Jacob Laval charm you for 90 minutes. Recensie

There’s something here, something unseemly and a little tragic. If the filmmaker could have trimmed the fat, Little Bites might have been a pretty tasty horror. Recensie

You’ll forget Old Guy the minute those catchy looking credits stop rolling, but sometimes a brain needs to turn off and wallow in three solid performers having fun and making the most of a bad situation. Recensie