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. 3, 2018
Wide (United States)
The Spy Who Dumped Me
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
2018 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Ant-Man and the Wasp
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
53 Wars
Amber Wilkinson @ Eye For Film
- Excerpt: Bukowska makes sure we become as fixated on Anna as she is on Witek, as cinematographer Tomasz Naumiuk’s camera creeps ever closer to her, his stifling approach matched by dislocating sound design and Natalia Fiedorczuk-Cieslak’s score.
Acrimony
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Tyler Perry Risks It All With ‘Acrimony’
Adrift
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Brings nothing new to the table but Shailene Woodley’s superb performance keeps this survival drama afloat – and often emotional.
Animal World
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Rock-Paper-Scissors has never been this confusing.
Anon
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Works like a half-baked ‘Black Mirror’ episode.
The Best Thing You Can Do With Your Life
Amber Wilkinson @ Eye For Film
- Excerpt: Erffa’s willingness to scrutinise her own motivations is what lifts this documentary above the ordinary.
Buffalo Boys
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: ‘Buffalo Boys’ is an ambitious effort that loses out to clumsy script and seriously weak direction.
Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires
- Excerpt: Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires understands its audience well, and wears its own love of genre proudly on its sleeve.
Come Sunday
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Netflix’s ‘Come Sunday’ Will Strike A Chord In Even The Most Reluctant Among Us
The Commuter
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: In the stylish yet tepid transport mystery/thriller The Commuter the concocted suspense is needlessly derailed for yet another exploration into familiar territory that Neeson has woodenly demonstrated before such as working middle-class malaise, familial jeopardy, kidnapping, shadowy baddies and an overactive taste for showy shenanigans in the name of unbridled vengeance.
Crime + Punishment
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Crime + Punishment’ Reveals Devastating Problems With No Easy Answers
Dance Academy
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Leading lady Xenia Goodwin delivers an endearing performance in this lovely ballet film. She projects an ethereal quality when she dances — and even in other scenes.
Dark Crimes
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Dreariness drowns us in this thriller without any thrills.
Dear Dictator
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Michael Caine as a Castro-like dictator? That doesn’t work — and silly scenes overwhelm the story.
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings
Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
- Excerpt: If a decent script ever took his circumstances seriously, it would propel the Detective and the series to a hint of cinematic respect. Instead, Detective Dee must suffer through B-movie CGI, nebulous villains from this year’s political enemy, and a cabinet full of stock character stereotypes. ?
The Equalizer 2
Ruben Peralta Rigaud @ Cocalecas.net [Spanish]
Fifty Shades Freed
Vadim Grigoriev @ kinoblog.com [Ukrainian]
Generation Wealth
Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
- Excerpt: Emitting a somewhat self-congratulatory feel, “I went through so many pictures,” Generation Wealth works when it unsettles us about the country’s moral decay, but staggers lost and aloof when Greenfield puts herself and her family in front of the camera – something she does far too often.
Hale County, This Morning, This Evening
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Hale County This Morning, This Evening’ Is Quiet But Moving
Hereditary
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Bleak, intense, and fucked-up creepy with the year’s most terrifying performance from Toni Collette that slowly crawls underneath your skin.
Incident in a Ghostland
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Pascal Laugier’s latest is no ‘Martyrs’ but still offers a solid and effective torture-porn for the fans.
Incredibles 2
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Fun, adventurous sequel worth waiting 14 years for. A rare sequel that pretty much lives up to everyone’s massive expectations and even crushes some.
Inuyashiki
- Excerpt: Inuyashiki is a marvel of a film, the kind of manga adaptation that anyone, fan or otherwise, can enjoy and experience with all five senses.
Irreplaceable You
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: A tearjerker starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Michiel Huisman, who tug fiercely at our heartstrings with charming portrayals of two people who fell in love as they grew up together.
Jinn
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Identity And The Glory of Girlhood Stand At The Center Of Nijla Mu’min’s ‘Jinn’
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Just like one of its lines, ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’? ? is a “creature of the future made from pieces of the past.”
Laplace’s Witch
- Excerpt: With Laplace’s Witch, Miike takes another step toward mediocrity, and for that I am sad.
Little Woods
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: In Nia DaCosta’s Tessa Thompson-Starrer ‘Little Woods,’ Women Save Themselves
Loi Bao
- Excerpt: Lôi Báo is good fun and hopefully a harbinger of a new Vietnamese action renaissance that will bring back the spirit of the films from a decade ago.
Lost Gully Road
- Excerpt: Donna McRae’s Lost Gully Road is a gothic Australian thriller with a sting in its tail.
Louder! Can’t Hear What You’re Singin’, Wimp!
- Excerpt: Louder! Can’t Hear What You’re Singin’ Wimp! one of the early contenders for film with the most heart of 2018.
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot
- Excerpt: [W]hat starts out as an interesting attempt to take on aging and the regrets we gather as we move toward our twilight years ends up… a cheap imitation of better films with a dash of gore thrown in to placate the genre film fanatics.
Midnighters
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: A thriller ride of surprises that don’t seem to stop, most of which involve the root of all evil: MONEY.
Museum
Amber Wilkinson @ Eye For Film
- Excerpt: The director has an aptitude for taking a dash of the familiar and giving it an individual twist.
Nightmare Cinema
Ocean’s 8
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway and Co.’s delightful performances cannot make up for Gary Ross’ super dull direction.
The Outsider
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Jared Leto steals this Japanese gangland thriller with his chillingly hypnotic performance — one that keeps us guessing what his character will do next.
Parallel
- Excerpt: I liked Parallel quite a bit, but it definitely feels like Ezban has a ways to go before he finally makes his masterpiece.
Phantom Cowboys
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Phantom Cowboys’ Beautifully Twists and Bends The Coming-Of-Age Genre
The Post
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: This splendid drama helps us understand how important it is to check the facts and to have journalists with integrity who are willing to write the truth, even if it concerns powerful individuals.
A Punk Daydream
Amber Wilkinson @ Eye For Film
- Excerpt: Although lacking polish and sometimes frustrating in its refusal to volunteer more historical context, either of the country as a whole or the Dayak, this remains an intriguing snapshot.”
Putin’s Witnesses
Amber Wilkinson @ Eye For Film
- Excerpt: Mansky’s bigger picture about the manipulation of a nation is crystal clear.
Puzzle
- Excerpt: Sometimes in life and often in movies, one object, one moment, one connection can make all the difference and take a character on a journey of purpose and self-discovery.
The Row
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: “The Row” would like to draw us in. Too bad it’s clear who did the sin.
Sanju
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: The excellent Ranbir Kapoor breathes life into this not-so-honest biopic about the controversial Sanjay Dutt.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: An interesting and occasionally-thrilling follow-up to its predecessor but ultimately being let down by its often-lousy screenplay.
Skyscraper
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Sure it is just another typical Dwayne-Johnson-being-Dwayne-Johnson action movie but gotta admit it has its seriously thrilling/gripping moments. And Neve Campbell! Hollywood… take her for more rounds, please!
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ is a too-predictable, beatless ‘Star Wars’ movie.
Sorry To Bother You
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Though your reality might be tested, “Sorry to Bother You” is a film you’ll feel deep down in your soul.
Submergence
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander manage to stay afloat but Wim Wenders’ ‘Submergence’ is an over-stuffed mess.
Train to Zakopané
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: This fine Henry Jaglom movie about bigotry is heartbreaking but a must-see.
Tully
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis shine in Jason Reitman’s smart and bleakly hilarious comedy about motherhood.
Violence Voyager
- Excerpt: Violence Voyager is an unforgettable experience both in terms of the insanity happening on screen, and the fascinating technical construction of the film.
Volcano
Amber Wilkinson @ Eye For Film
- Excerpt: Bondarchuk’s more absurdist moments are matched by the film’s more graceful contemplative elements.
Whitney
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Whitney is sobering but lacks a fresh perspective.
Whitney, The King, and Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda
Glenn Dunks @ The Film Experience
- Excerpt: Three recent musical documentaries about Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley, and Academy Award-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
The Wife
- Excerpt: Glenn Close is an island of genius amid this otherwise mediocre affair…
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion
- Excerpt: The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion is a hell of a lot of fun and will both satisfy Korean action fans looking for something different, and leave them desperate for more.
A Wrinkle in Time
Aramide Tinubu @ Shadow and Act
- Excerpt: Ava DuVernay’s ‘A Wrinkle In Time’ Is A Whimsical Ride, Made For A Special Audience (Review)
2017 Films
Battle of the Sexes
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: Marital mates and co-directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (the film-making duo behind the wonderfully quirky and oddly poignant “Little Miss Sunshine”) with the infectiously offbeat and provocative Battle of the Sexes, delve into the eyebrow-raising, public and private goings-on of the famed exhibition match…served up with fine energetic performances from Steve Carell and last year’s Oscar-winning darling Emma Stone
Downsizing
Vadim Grigoriev @ kinoblog [Ukrainian]
Father Figures
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: Despite the noteworthy names attached to this toothless tease, Sher and screenwriter Justin Malen (“Office Christmas Party”) patch together a piffle of a movie project that has all the inspired appeal of a repetitive “Maury Povich Show” paternity test segment.
The Foreigner
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: Fans of Chan will embrace the virulent change of pace in seeing their high-energy hero take a break from his usual campy-minded confines (but not his animated, trademark choreographed martial-artistry) even though this potboiler wipes very little dust off of the run-of-the-mill cloak-and-dagger dramatics and rapid-fire bolt-action template that’s been used since time immemorial.
Golden Years
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: A provocative period drama inspired by a true story.
Home Again
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: Surprisingly again, Reese Witherspoon has settled for signing on the dotted line to partake in a woefully rudimentary romantic comedy. Witherspoon is curiously reduced to playing what amounts to a walking sleeping pill in first time writer-director Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s mawkish, contrived comedy Home Again.
Hostiles
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
I Called Him Morgan
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: There has not been a penetrating and provocative documentary in my recent memory that chronicles with such curiosity, the insight and intimacy into the musical process and romantic partnership disillusionment than Swedish director-writer-producer Kasper Collin’s compelling and resonating true crime documentary, I Called Him Morgan.
I, Tonya
Vadim Grigoriev @ kinoblog.com [Ukrainian]
I, Tonya
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: Now, with Craig Gillespie’s strangely gripping, touching and absurdist biopic I, Tonya, the beleaguered and brash blue-collar ice princess and her motley crew of clumsy-minded undesirables get their day in the sun.
Molly’s Game
Vadim Grigoriev @ kinoblog.com [Ukrainian]
Pearl Jam: Let’s Play Two
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: Again, although its feel-good moments, Pearl Jam: Let’s Play Two will bring nothing exploratory or particularly fresh within the realm of concert film documentaries to indifferent outsiders that do not harbor any allegiance to either Pearl Jam or The Chicago Cubs.
Pitch Perfect 3
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: After two heralded breezy and finger-snapping editions, the sassy songbirds of the Barden Bellas are back for a supposedly final installment, and sad to say it is not a charm the third time around in the lame, toe-tapping Pitch Perfect 3.
Searching For Fortune
Amber Wilkinson @ Eye For Film
- Excerpt: There’s a warm honesty at the heart of this indie drama, which takes roads less travelled in Colorado.
The Shape of Water
Vadim Grigoriev @ kinoblog.com [Ukrainian]
Shot
Frank Ochieng @ The Critical Movie Critics
- Excerpt: The vicious circle of emotional/psychological/mental malaise through marital discontentment or relentless school-ground bullying is engrossing and sympathetically realized. However, Shot needed to embrace the gun control pulpit more fully than only scratching its surface and playing it sentimentally safe.
Zombiellenium
Amber Wilkinson @ Eye For Film
- Excerpt: Arthur de Pins, adapting his graphic novel, alongside co-director Alexis Ducord gets caught between the adult ideas of protest and class war, and the more kid-friendly adventures.
2016 Films
Afterimage
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: A brilliant, straightforward and passionate homage biopic from one dissident Polish artist to another.
The Automatic Hate
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Beauty and the Beast
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Demon
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Hyena Road
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Into the Forest
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Jack of the Red Hearts
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Julieta
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
A Monster Calls
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Phantom Halo
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Regression
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
River
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
