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: Aug. 16, 2024
Wide (United States)
Alien: Romulus
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
My Penguin Friend
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Skincare
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Limited (United States)
Close to You
- Excerpt: Show them your trust, not your anxiety
Red Island
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: It is easier to admire “Red Island” than to connect with it, but that, happily, does not mean that it makes sense to disparage it or minimize its considerable strengths.
2024 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
The Bikeriders
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Cuckoo
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Hit Man
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
It Ends with Us
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Longlegs
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Black Eyed Susan
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: McCrae is pushing boundaries with BLACK EYED SUSAN. He’s forcing us to confront the limitations of our humanity through the unlimited potential of invention.
Borderlands
Allen Almachar @ The MacGuffin
- Excerpt: A generic, half-baked sci-fi adventure that feels like it is simply painting by numbers.
David “DC” Bolling @ DC’s Take
- Excerpt: It’s one of the most uninspired and messiest video game movies in recent memory, with little to redeem its action or world-building. Even fans of the game will find little enjoyment here.
Andrea Chase @ KillerMovieReviews.com
- Excerpt: There are some sins that are simply unforgivable, and wasting Cate Blanchett is one of them.
- Excerpt: Eli Roth’s haphazard direction, terrible script and truly disastrous ending turns a nondescript sci-fi adventure into a truly awful Borderlands movie.
Caligula – Ultimate Cut
- Excerpt: So little has changed
Daughters
- Excerpt: There are dozens of carefully observed and touching moments in “Daughters,” which won both the Documentary Audience Award and the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance. Watching the fathers change out of their orange prison uniforms into jackets and ties is extremely powerful.
Didi
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Features a cast of primarily first-time actors from the Bay Area who bring these personalities to life with such truth.
Free LSD
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: …when [musicians] try their hands at this new medium, we hope for something that departs from the usual, but expect something that isn’t overly polished: something raw and ragged and maybe not wholly coherent that nonetheless sustains a level of exotic interest for adventurous viewers. That is exactly what we get with ‘Free LSD’.
Ganymede
- Excerpt: Stereotypes ‘R’ Us
Heart of an Oak
- Excerpt: …you’re getting not just some random encounters of woodland creatures that happened to be captured on film, but the Platonic ideal of those encounters, perfectly photographed and edited for your viewing pleasure.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: It manages to mix black humour with some violence and a lot of teenage drama, to give us a very different experience from what we usually have with other horror or suspense productions.
I Used to Be Funny
Sebastian Zavala @ Ventana Indiscreta [Spanish]
- Excerpt: An emotionally powerful experience that tells us a lot about the nature of comedy, interpersonal relationships, post-traumatic stress, the difficulties of the transition from childhood to adolescence, and even sexual harassment.
The Instigators
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: It’s all about a heist, but the biggest thing they stole was my time.
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: No one will be saying it’s good, but THE INSTIGATORS is fun if you think what it delivers is fun. Would I watch it again? Probably not. But I don’t regret watching it the first time.
Kneecap
Chris Feil @ The Daily Beast
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: Yes, the history of KNEECAP is entertaining, but it’s also important in the context of its power—intentional or not—to give voice to the voiceless.
Last Summer
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Catherine Breillat’s (“Fat Girl,” “The Last Mistress”) first film in ten years is a remake of the Danish submission for the 2020 International Oscar, “Queen of Hearts,” and yet is in keeping with her predilection for pushing beyond sexual norms.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: An action thriller supposedly based on true events, which makes up for most of its shortcomings with plenty of style, clever dialogue, and extremely talented actors who are clearly having fun.
Moving
- Excerpt: The culmination of a singular career, Moving is an epitaph not just for a broken family but also for Somai, who passed away in 2001 at the age of only 53. Fortunately, he lives on through his work and the vibrant way in which it portrays all of the ups and downs of life.
Music
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: …Schanelec’s mostly dialogue free film is simply too nebulous to get a narrative grip on, instead a series of long, slow takes with very somber people where very little happens.
Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba
Kathy Gibson @ Access Bollywood
Row To Rob A Bank
Dennis Schwartz @ dennisschwartzreviews
- Excerpt: One of the better true story bank robbery films.
Trap
Rick Aragon @ Rick’s Texan Reviews
- Excerpt: Trap strikes me as a good idea for a film that stretched itself out longer than it should have.
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: A series of wildly bewildering developments… Early on, I stopped scrutinizing the story’s flaws and embraced it for the future camp classic that it is.
Sebastian Zavala @ MeGustaElCine.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: “Trap” feels 100% like a Shyamalan Movie (™), for better and worse. Some will be able to accept what is offered, and others surely will not believe anything they see on screen.
2023 Films
The Beautiful Summer
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: It focuses on the (self)discovery of its protagonist, a girl becoming aware of her sexuality, in a time when her feelings and sensations were not well-regarded. It’s not very original, but it’s sufficiently well-developed here.
Daredevil Musthafa
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: In the end, and although some more restraint would definitely benefit it, “Daredevil Musthafa” emerges as a competent film that offers entertainment and food for thought aplenty, with its acting, direction and production values definitely raising it above its issues.
Queen of Knives
Sebastian Zavala @ Ventana Indiscreta [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Blending comedy with interesting discussions about gender and sexuality, and the construction of a dysfunctional family, ‘Queen of Knives’ is an entertaining, well-paced, and easy-to-appreciate indie experience.
Violett
Sebastian Zavala @ Ventana Indiscreta [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Steven Mihaljevich’s film builds a story that establishes a thin line between reality and hallucinations that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t.
