Denzel Washington leads an all-star cast in The Little Things; a slow burn period crime drama that’s heavy on character development, but struggles to be entertaining. The serial killer storyline becomes muddied by secondary subplots. The mystery at the core of the film is overtaken by complex character exposition. The result is a well-acted ensemble

Justin Timberlake gives the strongest performance of his acting career in Palmer. He plays an ex-con that bonds with a transgender child after returning to his rural Louisiana home. Palmer has an exceedingly predictable narrative, but is powerfully dramatic and incisive. The film confronts multiple difficult themes with a thoughtful, sensitive approach. Palmer doesn’t offer

Road thrillers are a fun subgenre with few misses, and while many favor electrifying action sequences and zany charm in their psychotic assailants, recently-released Alone relies on a remote, woodsy setting and an emotionless feel to pull audiences along a grimmer road to survival. Given we’re still sitting deep in the strictly streaming period of

No Man’s Land is a well-meaning, but inherently flawed western drama. A Texas border rancher’s son flees into Mexico after accidentally killing an immigrant boy. The film attempts to humanize the thorny issue of illegal immigration from multiple points of view. Its goals are admirable, but the narrative succumbs to contrivances and simplistic exposition. The

Strap on your bell-bottoms, spin the disco ball, and grab your nunchucks. The Dark Knight returns in a groovy, karate chopping, seventies retro animated adventure. Batman: Soul of the Dragon is an original story that mixes Bruce Lee inspired action with a James Bond storyline. The Caped Crusader is actually a supporting character to the

Addressing sexual assault and rape in a truly unconventional way, Promising Young Woman is a dark tale of revenge, wickedly comedic at times, that pulls no punches confronting the egregious behavior of predators and their enablers. Carey Mulligan is superb as a woman hellbent on righting a cruel injustice. Her journey is both disturbing and

Liam Neeson returns in The Marksman, a simplistic but watchable low-key actioner. A struggling Arizona rancher defends a Mexican boy being hunted by ruthless drug cartel enforcers. The film focuses on the primary characters’ burgeoning friendship as they escape on a long road trip. The chemistry between the leads carries the straightforward narrative. There are

Wonder Woman 1984 is a cinematic superhero spectacle that will thrill audiences despite several discernible flaws. Director/co-writer Patty Jenkins takes a deep character dive into an immortal heroine’s complex personality. Godlike power is both a gift and a curse. This central theme is energetically carried through a rather simplistic storyline. Terrific supporting performances, a comical

George Clooney pulls double duty as lead actor and director of sci-fi epic, The Midnight Sky. Based on the novel by Lily Brooks-Dalton, the film follows a terminally ill scientist and returning spaceship in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event on Earth. The Midnight Sky has impressive production values, but fails to be compelling despite

Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin race against the apocalypse in the middling disaster thriller, Greenland. The film is loaded with eye candy. Desperate people running for their lives, cities blown to cinders, and the requisite countdown to extinction; ticking away in the background. The elements are there for gritty popcorn cinema. But the narrative is