Filmrecensies van Alex Brannan

For all of its conventionality, Special Delivery is nevertheless entertaining. Well-paced and exciting in spurts, it makes good use of reliable tropes for an experience that flies by. And the first extended driving sequence is a wonderfully staged set piece. Recensie

Swallowed blends dialed down body horror into a crime thriller story. Taking place in a handful of spare locations, the film feels adequately claustrophobic as it slowly winds to a dark second half. Recensie

Stafiej has produced a formally dynamic film worth considering. Recensie

The Witch: Part 2 is not as cohesive as one would hope from a sequel to the much loved The Witch. But on a technical level, it surpassed my expectations, leading to some great sequences. Recensie

The problem with Crimes of the Future is not depravity; it is the lack of a cogent follow-through on its shock value. For all of its incisions, it just doesn’t cut very deep. Recensie

It’s all been done before. But it is executed cleanly and convinces you to invest in the characters just as Sugarman invests in Cruz. Recensie

But Maverick cannot carry the film that shares his name on his own. The plot really needs other characters to step into the forefront, and the script calls on two or three to do just that. And it really doesn’t work for me. Recensie

Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a light bit of entertainment with enough clever moments to keep it afloat through a manageable runtime. In other words, it’s harmless fun. Recensie

For all my gripes with Garland’s script, his filmmaking is as effective as ever. The imagery is evocative. The direction within individual scenes makes for thrilling set pieces. The sound design is largely chilling, as well. But I struggle to find substance in this stylish piece of artsy horror. Recensie

So while there may not be three and a half hours of revelatory material in American Dream, there are moments of insight in the doc to justify it to the comedy fan or Carlin enthusiast. Recensie

The narrative is also slightly over-burdened by the weight of its protagonist’s bleak situation, even as it excels with its austere composition and beautiful framing. But Vartolomei gives this material body and life, filling the edges of the frame with pathos. Hers is a transfixing, understated performance which ultimately carries the film. Recensie

This toothless action is to be expected, though. As is the laborious plotting and the uninspired character development. It is to be expected, because anything “new” brought to a Marvel movie must be mitigated by the sameness that populates the rest of the film. Recensie

Heightened, theatrical dialogue pairs with intense sequences of hyper-violence, and that is what you get. If that pairing doesn’t sound like a Pinot with a fine Gruyere, then this movie might not be your bag. Recensie

X is, visually and performatively, engaging and fun. As a genre exercise, I don’t find it particularly compelling. The film has ideas but doesn’t fully know what to do with them, despite all of the pieces put in place for it all to work. Recensie

Deep Water is more dour than it is sexy, more somber than it is thrilling. Its most dangerous and titillating moments are shot rather staid. Recensie

All of this is to say that Kimi works fine as a lean techno-thriller with a great central performance in Kravitz. Recensie

Even if you could say it is good for some gory fun, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a dismal experience. Recensie

Death on the Nile does everything it can to remove the stuffiness from the classical murder mystery format. It isn’t as dynamic or windy as the recent Knives Out... Recensie

It takes the tried-and-true sci-fi question of what would happen if programming approached sentience and clothes it in humanism. The result is extraordinary. Recensie

Bahrani does his best to spin this tangled mess of a tale into something bigger than itself, and the result is fairly muddled. Recensie

Andrew Semans has provided a chilling, tense psychological thriller. But his script leaves me overly cold. Recensie

Watcher struggles to do two things at once. It wants to succeed as both a slow-burn thriller meditating on the plurality of the cinematic gaze and a tense mystery which keeps you guessing as to what is true. The two cannot find a happy medium. Recensie

Emergency is a confident and lively film that aims to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Not every element within entirely coheres, but if one accepts the tonal turbulence, there is a lot of humor and heart (and tension) in this film. Recensie

Scream is witty and exciting. Like any good slasher, it keeps you guessing and makes you wonder just where the killer will pop out next. Recensie