Here are some reviews of films coming out at the theater this week as well as others that may be in theaters or newly on home video.
Opening: Apr. 10, 2020
Wide (United States)
None.
2020 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Beyond the Horizon
Alan Mattli @ Maximum Cinema [German]
- Excerpt: Winner of the 2020 Best Swiss Film award, “Beyond the Horizon” is an uneven but emotionally satisfying coming-of-age drama.
Big Time Adolescence
- Excerpt: Unfairly, Big Time Adolescence suffers from the standard formula of routine coming-of-age comedies that follow the predictable pattern of snarky amusement and surfacing angst.
Butt Boy
Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
- Excerpt: For what wants to be farce and satire, the filmmaking is earnest, the characters have depth and emotional conflicts, but you know, there is only so much one can do to avoid the hole…you know, the plot hole. What did you think I meant?
Corpus Christi
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Shooting in beautifully composed 2.39 : 1 widescreen, director of photography Piotr Sobocinski Jr. favors the greens of rebirth accented by Madonna hued blues…Bielenia is perfectly cast, his cinematic face capable of appearing both demonic and angelic, the actor intensely committed.
Human Nature
- Excerpt: In a time when scientific expertise is regularly denigrated (witness the bungled American response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the disrespect meted out to people who actually know what they’re talking about in this regard), Human Nature explains why the work of science is important, and how our lives are better for it.
James vs. His Future Self
The Other Lamb
- Excerpt: A smart, provocative chiller with a strong perspective.
The Other Lamb
Sea Fever
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: a taut little thriller which, while very reminiscent of “Alien,” is steeped in its own world aboard a small trawler. It also couldn’t be more timely, its themes of sacrifice for the common good especially resonant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sea Fever
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: The film doesn’t explore a ton of new territory when it comes to stories about monsters, parasitic infections, and mysteries of the unknown, but it still does a solid job at creating tension and thrills with a sense of warmth for the characters.
Slay the Dragon
- Excerpt: If a time traveler from the past wanted to learn how to subvert democracy for a few million bucks, gerrymandering documentary Slay the Dragon would be a superb guide.
Slay the Dragon
- Excerpt: If you care about fair voting, you probably won’t see a more vital documentary this year, regardless of your political affiliation.
Slay the Dragon
- Excerpt: No fairy tale prince ever took on a more terrifying monster than the “dragon” in this documentary about the massive Republican redistricting following Barack Obama’s first Presidential election and the 2010 census.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
Glenn Dunks @ The Film Experience
- Excerpt: Scratch beneath the veneer of its sneering Christopher-Guest-goes-to-the-trailer-park milieu and Tiger King proves to be lazy at best, morally corrupt at worst.
Trolls: World Tour
MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: As pastel and glittery as its predecessor, with a silliness more glorious and less forced. Sweet, smart, sincere… but it doesn’t deserve to be carrying the future of movies on its little shoulders.
We Summon the Darkness
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: A perfectly serviceable genre exercise that I wish went deeper into some of its ideas. The energy that Alexandra Daddario and Maddie Hasson bring to the film is infectious.
We Summon the Darkness
Brent McKnight @ The Last Thing I See
The Whistlers
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: It’s style is minimal, but clear and effective. And while I didn’t love it, it was an engaging watch.
Why Don’t You Just Die!
Brent McKnight @ The Last Thing I See
- Excerpt: Mean, nasty, bloody, violent, funny, vicious, unexpected, twisted, vengeful…I don’t know, I’m trying to collect words that will make you want to watch the crazy new Russian action film Why Don’t You Just Die!. That’s my goal here, to get you to watch this damn movie.
2019 Films
Atlantics
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Clemency
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The Farewell
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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Celebration
Bev Questad @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: The camera basically records tailors frantically working to perfect the visions of a reclusive dress designer and emaciated, expressionless models parading that vision to the maker. The caveat is that “Celebration” offers a glimpse of the history, evolution, and mystique of Parisian haute couture.
The Etruscan Smile
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: The marvelous performance by Brian Cox is what puts a Bonnie proper kilt on the dull narrative and at least makes it bearable.
What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?
Bev Questad @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: This is what a French/Italian collaboration reveals when exposing the American South.
2018 Films
Leaf Blower Massacre 2
Mark Harris @ Black Horror Movies
London Fields
Dragan Antulov @ [Croatian]
