Movie reviews of Don Shanahan

If Not Now, When? is an admirable collaboration for this collection of steady TV talents stepping up to a larger canvas. Review

Nearly every artistic element of Pieces of a Woman holds a fixation with its lead Vanessa Kirby and rightfully so. Review

Between a soap opera-level subplot and plenty of ignored physics, oodles of Shadow in the Cloud are as preposterous as the beasties themselves, but that’s the entertaining intention laid on thick. Review

The beauty of the script and King’s direction is creating confines where these legends, and their actors, can behave and orbit as equals. There are no winners or losers, only collective gain for all. Review

Wonder Woman 1984 advances those feats and multiplies those virtues for the main character. That said, the material and surroundings she is given do her very little favors. Review

Soul is a special and valuable session of these observations and it may very well be Pixar’s first truly adult-skewing picture. Review

Together, not only are they talented, they are sexy and expressive in a love story that is right there with The Photograph as the best cinematic romance of the year. Review

The trouble is Greenland still cannot resist overselling the unbelievable side of this whole ordeal. Review

The roles are superlative platforms for their genius. Just as we keep repeating, the music is secondary. Review

Promising Young Woman is an obstacle course of intense allegorical and real vibes designed to provoke those ranges of shocking reactions spelled out at the start. Review

Splintered as Wander Darkly may flow and feel, the flickers of its romantic moments are quite touching and even border on devastating because death is looming overhead as its catalyst. Review

News of the World is truly softer work from Paul Greengrass and that is a welcome addition to his resume. Its unreserved earthiness, outlined by Greengrass and Lion Oscar nominee Luke Davies, matches the book quite suitably as well. Review

Between the mismatched casting, contrived relationship hurdles, and some of the worst attempts at accents ever put on screen, this film is borderline insulting to modern intelligence. Review

Clooney’s combined work on this drama is forthright with its altruism and free of forced villainy. True to the earlier introduction, this experience to be cherished rises to be about character more than crisis, which is where poignant performances take over. Their benevolence is mesmerizing and their endurance beyond is moving. Review

Imagined intrigue feels spliced and not stoked. Are these two imagined scenarios keeper ideas from Allison’s journal for her next movie, or are they two balled-up rejected story starters heading to the cabin trash can before another cold swim in the lake brings forth another? That’s where an audience will feel either engaged or strung along with Black Bear. Review

What folks are going to find with the escalating thriller Wander is a screwy little movie saved by committed performances. Review

The movie lacks a little extra passionate heat, and Meyers and Rosenberg leave more than a few tears on the table from being a full-on duct dumper and tissue box destroyer. Yes, no one roots for a true overwrought crusher, but the greater squeezes do create a better hold. Review

Luxor’s views may be as bright and sunny as a postcard, but its tangible romance is not. Rather, this movie is about the undercurrents within the flow of people, even if they are standing next to a mighty river. This pace and volume of its quiet and meditative drama, granted, are admittedly challenging. Review

Mank is a stylish tribute to courage that came before him. Fincher gets it. Call Mank “balls recognizing balls.”... Review

Scaling her signature fervor way down, Frances McDormand melds into the intensity and fragility of Fern. In her performance, there is a steadiness to bear burdens, give witness, and provide empathy to fill canyons and vistas. Review

The journey to that place here is fraught with passionate fights and haunting hope, a movie experience not soon forgotten. Review

As dippy as all of this in Superintelligence may sound and transpire, there are undeniable streaks of kindness bigger than terabytes. Review

Happiest Season, with its up and down inanity to veer a little Griswold-silly, slips more than stands at times and some of that comes from its safety net. Review

Cinematographer Hillary Spera plays coyly with the angles and perspective limitations of a wheelchair-bound lead to great effect. Composer Torin Borrowdale tunes up a creeper of a score that also shows matching moderation of when to prod and when to percolate. The edge of the atmosphere is all there. Review