Quick Review: Its murky and misty visuals, sleek medieval production design and smooth cinematography are to be admired, indeed, but this metaphorical take on a classic story is a dismal, dreary, lifeless, joyless, and underwhelmingly epicless bore with sluggish pacing, irritating score, and zero entertainment value, that's tedious from start to finish, and too pretentious to be something more than a technically slick piece heavy on artsy-fartsy symbolism, if devoid of heart, soul, and vigor.
Quick Review: Equal parts sweet, humorous, romantic, heart-warming, inspirational and profoundly candid, "CODA" depicts the small-town life of a low-class deaf family and their difficulties with subsistence fishing, in contrast with their only hearing member's singing talent, thirst for independence, and first love, and it's an emotional roller-coaster of a story, in which the silent moments are the most poignant bits, and the dynamics between the characters -- heartfelt and endearing.
Quick Review: Needless, in sense that it spoils the enigma around the main hero, "Snake Eyes" is tonally wrong, overly serious, and failing to work as a 'double' origin story, and find balance, as the film involves too many characters, some of which it wastes, but at least it's capably-shot and visually arresting, thanks to its exotic settings, and tough the action is satisfying, the shaky camerawork lets down some of the fights, which Golding handles just as good, as he does the dramatic parts.
Quick Review: Utilizing hackneyed and familiar 'memory reliving' ideas borrowed from other sci-fi films, and offering a dull mystery that's hard to get intrigued by, and an even duller romance that might leave you cold, "Reminiscence" is a monotonous, bland, and often confusing neo-noir dystopian affair that should benefit from its stellar cast, but since none of them seems invested, the only interesting thing about it is the CGI work on the water-logged Miami the lackluster story is set in.
Quick Review: Contrived, generic, vulgar, and neither genuinely funny, nor particularly fun, as it fully relies on cynical humor instead of wit, and pompous, yet messy and unexciting action sequences, "THWB" benefits visually from the scenic European location, but fails to take advantage of its stellar lead trio due to some crude writing -- Hayek is a loud and irritating Latina, Jackson swears all the f**kin' time, and Reynolds is just too much of a goofball.
Quick Review: A disturbing horror drama about a dysfunctional family and a desperate single mother with unusual locust breeding business, whose determination to provide for her kids turns into a self-destructive obsession, "The Swarm" might have some pacing issues, as it takes a lot of time till it gets into horror territory, but the blood-soaked third act of enraged flesh-eating bugs is worth the wait, if the main strength of this creepy-crawly li'l slow-burner is how credible everything feels.
Quick Review: A loud, messy, and pointless 25-years late sequel which gets a heavily digitized 'update', yet still relies on nostalgia to make it all work, in its first half "A New Legacy" feels like a long WB IP ad, then it clumsily mixes classic Looney Tunes with modern video game graphics, and the result is a visually busy and overcrowded clutter that focuses on a rather silly than poignant dad-son rivalry, failing to display the skills of its alluring star, LeBron.
Quick Review: Over-the-top, zany, inventive, absurd, and pointless all at once, "Jolt" is far from jolting, as it offers mostly cheap thrills and even cheaper sets, but if you don't expect more than watching Kate Beckinsale walking around looking pretty when she's not kicking some butts as the fearless and fierce Lindy, you might enjoy this revenge action comedy / murder mystery thriller for its sheer audaciousness, bonkers style, and electrifying violence, in spite of the predictable twist ending.
Quick Review: Profane, irrelevant, subversive, and with characters as offbeat as its tone, yet as colorful as its vivid visuals, "TSS" embraces its goofiness as a trashy, hyperviolent romp with cartoony CGIs, inventive kill scenes and horror-level of gore, under Gunn's wacky vision and the cast's 'having a blast' approach, but its inane plot is surprisingly generic and actionless, and though the final act is a nutty mayhem, there are no startling set pieces besides Quinn's floralicious escape fight.
Quick Review: The most revealing and unpredictable of all three, the final installment goes medieval and takes us to XVII century to disclose the origin of Sarah Fier then, before transporting us to the '90s again, it throws an unexpected curveball that puts a diabolical spin on the whole story and ties all loose ends, but it's the second half of "1666" that offers the most thrills, gore and suspense, providing a satisfying conclusion to the slickly-crafted trilogy.
Quick Review: Paying homage to '70s/'80s slashers in classic fashion, yet putting its own supernatural twist to shake up the eerie mystery even further, "1978" is creepier, bloodier, and more entertaining than Part 1, and is led by a quirky, yet endearing misfit of protagonist and driven by a fragile-to-strong siblings bond that unfolds alongside the grisly events at the camp, with the underground scenes filled frightful imagery being the scariest bit in Part 2.
Quick Review: Part supernatural horror, part gruesome slasher with some distracting LGBTQ+ romance thrown in between, the first chapter captures the vibe of the decade it's set in, as well as the sense of dread and unease every genre film should have, but what works the most is the dynamics between the teens in their attempt to unveil the eerie mystery behind the gory murders and break the curse at all costs, which makes it vigorous and eventful.
Quick Review: Boldly pairing two seemingly unmatchable actors, who generate strong chemistry, as their contrary characters form an unlikely yet warm and charming friendship, "Here Today"' may concern loss and the struggles of suffering dementia, but instead of being a manipulative tear-jerker about illness, it chooses to be an uplifting, funny, sweet, and often bright dramedy about comedy writing, singing passion, family re- connection, and the heart-warming beauty of true fellowship.
Quick Review: A generic, sluggish, uneventful kidnapping thriller with fabricated suspense and hardly any proper thrills at all, "The Boy Behind the Door" is driven by two innocent, sympathetic characters, but due to a foolish script, those are forced to make irrational decision and take illogical actions that will make you roll your eyes in disbelief through some painfully dragged out scenes which desperately attempt to create tension, but fail to do so.
