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. 5, 2024
Wide (United States)
The First Omen
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Limited (United States)
Coup de Chance
Chris Barsanti @ Slant Magazine
- Excerpt: The film is at once among Allen’s most economical works and one of his most free-spirited.
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Allen’s economical direction and puckish screenplay work in tandem and he leaves us with a great big ironic laugh of an ending.
The People’s Joker
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: “The People’s Joker’s” relentless assault begins to wear a bit in its last act, but Vera Drew’s feature debut is a surefire restorative for Superhero fatigue. All hail irreverent originality.
- Excerpt: A feat of parody so outrageous that its legend (and strongly worded letter from corporate) precedes it, The People’s Joker is an endlessly amusing, deeply personal, wildly inventive collision of genres all bent to the will of filmmaker Vera Drew.
2024 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
2023 Oscar Nominated Shorts
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Dune: Part Two
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
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Immaculate
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Love Lies Bleeding
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Madame Web
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
One Life
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The Beautiful Game
Christopher Reed @ Film Festival Today
- Excerpt: It’s a movie that displays incredible generosity towards its characters, even when they misbehave. That’s the score, and it’s hard to beat.
Cabrini
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: It’s better than I anticipated even if it also proves to be exactly what I thought it would be from its trailer and pedigree.
Carol Doda Topless at the Condor
Christopher Reed @ Hammer to Nail
- Excerpt: The net result nevertheless holds our interest, and the information sticks. These bare truths very much still resonate today.
La Chimera
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: It is, to a large extent, a meditation on death; with tomb-raiding as a plot point, it would have to be… Arthur struggles with a death wish, which is something of an addiction for him, so perhaps it’s an ersatz cinematic take on Keats: ‘Ode on an Etruscan Urn.’
Civil War
Dennis Schwartz @ dennisschwartzreviews.com
- Excerpt: Questions what would happen to democracy if its safety net doesn’t work.
Crew
Dogman
- Excerpt: Awash in a sea of superficiality barely holding it together, Dogman flounders, kept afloat by a magnetic performance by Caleb Landry Jones.
The Goat Life
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
David “DC” Bolling @ DC’s Take
- Excerpt: Is it great? Nope. Is it bad? Not really? This blockbuster will satisfy the hardcore monster fans, but it doesn’t necessarily stack up to the previous film.
Andrea Chase @ KillerMovieReviews.com
- Excerpt: Where Godzille Minus One made the kaiju a metaphor that was arch and moving, thereby raising the emotional stakes as Tokyo crumbles, for GODZILLA X KONG, that mayhem is the point, and the story just so much filling (made with artificial color and flavorings) to hold it together.
Sarah Gopaul @ Digital Journal
- Excerpt: The film has a major issue with scale. These monsters are supposed to be hundreds of stories tall, but in many of the scenes it’s difficult to determine how big they really are.
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Fans of monster mayhem will rejoice in the explosive clashes, but those expecting dramatic substance should look elsewhere.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners
Andrea Chase @ KillerMovieReviews.com
- Excerpt: Features a performance by Liam Neeson that is considered, measured, and infinitely eloquent in a story that eschews politics as it finely observes the consequences of choices, good and bad. But Kerry Condon will haunt your nightmares.
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: The result is thus much quieter than you might have been told by the marketing. Don’t therefore be surprised to find IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS at its best in its character-driven moments.
Kim’s Video
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: While the true story about the Kim’s Video collection is both weird and distressing, it could have been told a lot more effectively as a straightforward short…there is a whole lot of manufactured drama going on as the film progresses
Kung Fu Panda 4
Luiz Santiago @ [Portuguese]
Ladies Coffee
Panos Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: “Ladies Coffee” is an intriguing short that presents its comments in intricate fashion. The horror part, though, could have been handled better, in a short that would definitely benefit from some additional duration.
The Listener
Nadine Whitney @ InSession Film
Murder Mubarak
Kathy Gibson @ Access Bollywood
No Way Up
Sebastian Zavala @ MeGustaElCine.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Most performances are good, the visual effects are surprisingly decent, and the entire experience is digested in just over an hour and a half, which is increasingly rare these days.
Omni Loop
Dennis Schwartz @ dennisschwartzreviews.com
- Excerpt: The pic is more about getting the emotional responses right when facing death than having its time-travel story add up.
Patna Shuklla
Kathy Gibson @ Access Bollywood
Road House
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: In this remake of the 1980s cult classic, Jake Gyllenhaal packs a punch, but the plot falls flat.
The Settlers
Samuel Castro @ El Colombiano [Spanish]
- Excerpt: El chileno Felipe Gálvez firma con “Los colonos”, ganadora del premio de la crítica de la sección “Una cierta mirada” en el Festival de Cannes del año pasado y recién estrenada en MUBI, una película bellísima en lo formal y muy inteligente en su contenido, que usa muchas de las herramientas del western (los encuadres amplios, las conversaciones íntimas y francas entre hombres, la música con sonoridades de guerra y orquestaciones brillantes) para contarnos con los recursos de la ficción, la desgraciada forma en que José Menéndez despojó al pueblo selknam de sus terrenos en la isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, utilizando la crueldad y la matanza, que ejercía a través de las acciones ejecutadas por Alexander MacLennan, su administrador.
The Sin
Panos Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: The truth is that in terms of story, Ha loses his sense of measure somewhat, as too many elements are included in the script which make the whole thing convoluted and far-fetched by its finale. The narrative approach, however, particularly the combination of horror, drama and arthouse, as much as the way the movie was shot are definitely enough to move beyond any shortcomings, with the whole thing working quite well throughout, additionally boasting a very appealing originality.
Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: The whole is still entertaining and informative, though. It delivers enough to be worthwhile even if—like many of Apple’s documentaries—it’s really just a glorified puff piece trying to be as inoffensive and congratulatory as possible.
While You Were Sleeping
Panos Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: “While You Were Sleeping” had the potential of becoming an excellent drama/thriller but some issues with the direction and the script prevented the project from reaching its true potential. It still deserves a watch though, particularly for the twist and Choo Ja-hyun’s presence.
Wicked Little Letters
Christopher Reed @ Film Festival Today
- Excerpt: There is joy in that fun, and even with the parts that don’t work as well, the film is more delight than not.
With Love and a Major Organ
You’ll Never Find Me
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: So, even if the first instance of closure satisfies, it’s not the last. And the more ends we receive, the less impactful the whole becomes.
2023 Films
20 Days in Mariupol
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
All of Us Strangers
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Ferrari
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The Holdovers
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Monster
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Perfect Days
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Robot Dreams
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The Zone of Interest
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Bobi Wine: The People’s President
Luiz Santiago @ [Portuguese]
Cobweb
- Excerpt: Very hot film noir
Disco Boy
- Excerpt: A most unexpected (but understandable) dance of death
Failure to Protect
- Excerpt: “I am not perfect”
First We Bombed New Mexico
- Excerpt: Lipman has cobbled together a compelling condemnation of US “leadership” looking the other way…
Io Capitano
Lie with Me
- Excerpt: Done that, been there
The Smell of Money
- Excerpt: No one is protecting us
The Teachers’ Lounge
Luiz Santiago @ [Portuguese]
To Kill a Tiger
Samuel Castro @ El Colombiano [Spanish]
- Excerpt: La pobreza produce casi siempre las mismas imágenes. Ve uno los primeros minutos de “Matar a un tigre”, documental indio que estuvo nominado este año al Óscar en su categoría y que subieron esta semana a Netflix y piensa de inmediato que esos parajes del nororiente de la India se ven igualitos a los de decenas de pueblos colombianos, con sus casas desvencijadas, sus carreteras polvorientas y sus habitantes de mirada escrutadora.
