Movie reviews of George Wolf

Would Glass have worked better if we hadn’t been standing around staring all this time? Probably. but Shyamalan got us here with skill, and he gets us out with a film that’s easy to respect, but hard to cheer for.

Everything is painted with the broadest brush available.

Rests as a film always competent and sincere, but seldom revealing.

Disturbed only momentarily, the spell cast by the memorable family in Shoplifters is still sturdy, and one not that easily broken.

The story bursts to vibrant life. The dazzling animation gives a big soul kiss to comic books and pushes nearly every frame to its action-following limit.

Amid heavy dialog that’s fast and free-flowing with an improvisational feel, the crowded mountain home becomes a nerve-wracking metaphor for the state of race relations.

But beyond all the button pushing, sentiment and nostalgia are characters, and this all falls like a tomato can in the fist round if we don’t have reason to care about them. We still do.

The dialogue is fast and smart, often evoking a more easily digestible Aaron Sorkin. Salient points are made and then rebutted through the precise timing and intricate blocking of an outstanding ensemble...

Always more fuzzy than consistently funny, Instant Family offers plenty of good feels backed up with some lived-in comfortability.

It is precisely this intimacy that fuels the film’s resonance, as one family’s story becomes a vessel for greater understanding. That’s no small achievement, and Boy Erased is no small triumph.

Always watchable, and engaging enough to keep you invested. But Lisbeth became memorable by being uniquely compelling, not merely satisfactory.

The Grinch is nearly as empty as Cindy Lou’s living room on Christmas morn.

Factual liberties are taken, timelines are sometimes carelessly misrepresented, and there’s a totally needless gag from Mike Myers, but whenever Bohemian Rhapsody is most unsteady, Queen’s music is there for a bailout.

Through first-hand insight and two towering performances, it finds a thread of hope in the ashes of a family’s nightmare.

It cements a vision of Suspiria that’s as ambitious and it is uncompromising, one that explores different definitions of horror while ultimately delivering more outright shocks and shivers than Argento ever attempted.

An often funny, sometimes startling and endlessly human film, Mid90s is a blast from the past that points to a bright filmmaking future for Jonah Hill.

But in contrasting glorious human achievement with acceptable sacrifice, Free Solo becomes nearly unforgettable.

In trusting that YA audience with some bitter pills, The Hate U Give becomes a required dose for the rest of us.

Has style, a winning cast, and winking nods to horror classics such as IT and Frankenstein.

Can’t completely deliver on its promise, it offers a gorgeous blast of color, sound and plot twists that are pretty fun to watch unravel.

The few moments where the film’s uncertainty breeds heavy-handedness can’t diminish her exciting potential as a writer and director.

The story is light and whimsical, but thanks to the veteran actors and the slyly understated direction, it’s got a frisky heart that won’t quit.

This film has talent everywhere, but it also has stirring things to say about love and sacrifice, about art and commerce, ambition and fame.

Settles into a pleasantly entertaining mix of messages, music, and Looney Tunes-worthy pratfalls.