Old West outlaws riddle each other with bullets, beatdowns, and snappy one-liners in a highly stylized Afrocentric actioner. The Harder They Fall is a bloody revenge western with a star-studded cast of Hollywood’s elite black actors. The film gives every character a chance to shine, but comes up short in establishing a substantive narrative. The

Ludwig Dieter, the hilariously peculiar German safecracker from Army of the Dead, gets a winning origin story in the nascent stage of the zombie apocalypse. Army of Thieves is a heist themed prequel that’s thankfully more action-comedy than blood and guts. Where a gang of intrepid criminals recruit a talented novice for a near impossible

The Marvel Cinematic Universe wades chin deep into a soap opera river of melodramatic tears. Eternals has a “family” of superheroes torn between love, loyalty, and duty in the latest save the world scenario. Oscar winning director Chloé Zhao treads sappy with a convoluted and drawn out exploration of relationships. She does deliver a few

Antlers is a deeply atmospheric monster film that fails at the most important tenet of the horror genre. It’s not scary at all. Every fright is broadcast from a mile away. The characters behave irrationally in dangerous situations. There’s never a doubt about the outcome. It follows the standard tropes audiences have seen a million

Wes Anderson continues to delight with brilliantly artistic and eccentric filmmaking. The French Dispatch is a cinematic valentine to journalism, French culture, and the eloquent sophistication of The New Yorker magazine. Anderson returns an elite ensemble cast of supporting players with venerated new additions taking the lead roles. His ultra-stylized approach veers into indulgence. Which

From National Geographic, Becoming Cousteau is a documentary that explores the life of French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, who invented diving and scuba devices, including the Aqualung breathing device. He is perhaps best remembered for his TV series Underwater World of Jacque Cousteau, which was the inspiration for the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1954 Disney

It’s no more mister nice guy as the Man of Steel drops the kid gloves and unleashes his wrath on Earth’s evil-doers. Injustice is an animated adaptation of the wildly popular, cross-platform video game fighting series. The plot takes place in an alternate reality where the heinous Joker (Kevin Pollak) pushes Superman (Justin Hartley) to

Frank Herbert’s science fiction opus gets a stellar adaptation worthy of the big screen. Dune is not a pop cinema spectacle that sacrifices storytelling for bloated CGI effects. French Canadian auteur Denis Villeneuve takes the time to weave a complex mythological narrative of classic archetypes. Where houses of royalty in a distant future battle for

Jodie Comer emerges as an early Oscar frontrunner in Ridley Scott’s bloody medieval epic, The Last Duel. Adapted from the book by Eric Jagger, the film recounts the historical events leading up to a trial by combat between French knight Jean de Carrouges and squire Jacques Le Gris. Who was accused of rape by Marguerite

Venom: Let There Be Carnage suffers from the same split personality that bedevils the lead characters. It’s a riotous CGI spectacle with superb action scenes and wicked humor. But the plot is razor thin and basic. It feels like director Andy Serkis is racing to kick you out of the theater. The film whizzes by