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: Jan. 5, 2024
2024 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
A Storm Foretold
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Even more disturbing is how entertaining all this can be, Stone often appearing humorously genial…The film is unsettling in more ways than one.
2023 Films
All of Us Strangers
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
American Fiction
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Anatomy of a Fall
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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Boy and the Heron
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Boys in the Boat
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The Color Purple
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Godzilla Minus One
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The Holdovers
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The Iron Claw
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Maestro
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May December
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Napoleon
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Nyad
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Poor Things
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Taste of Things
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Wonka
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The Zone of Interest
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20 Days in Mariupol
Bavner Donaldo @ Cinejour [Indonesian]
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: A documentary guaranteed to make you laugh about one of the greatest comedians of our time.
Anselm
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: the camerawork, which not only defines space but the textural quality of the artist’s work, is augmented by an intriguing sound design as well, one consisting of whispers, song and recitations. “Anselm” is the cinematic equivalent of a multi media artwork.
The Caine Mutiny Court Martial
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: A courtroom drama about proper and improper conduct that has contemporary relevance.
Earth Mama
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: Touching story of a single mother who is trying to reshape her life to regain custody of her small children.
Fallen Leaves
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: A heartfelt romantic drama about two lonely people with the courage to fall in love.
Ferrari
Sarah Gopaul @ Digital Journal
- Excerpt: The film rests on Driver’s shoulders and he lights up when he’s discussing cars and racing, but the more intimate interactions suffer in comparison, creating an uneven performance that unbalances the film.
Freud’s Last Session
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: An imagined conversation between the renowned psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the Christian apologist C. S. Lewis.
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: Despite solid performances and an entertaining script built upon flashbacks that show Freud and Lewis’s own flaws and hypocrisies, the film mostly just moves in circles.
Memory
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Chastain is excellent as a paranoid but empathetic abuse victim, displaying the edginess that comes of having one’s reality questioned.
- Excerpt: Memory is a poignant exploration of identity and relationships, anchored by mesmerizing performances from Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard.
Menus-plaisirs – Les Troisgros
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: I do not see the appeal to ever eat at an establishment like this, but I do totally respect the Troisgros clan as artists and their restaurants as their gallery.
The Monk and the Gun
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: An insightful film about how Bhutanese villagers respond to changes coming through the influence of the West.
Origin
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: The origin story of how and why author Isabel Wilkinson researched her book Caste.
Perfect Days
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: It’s a quietly sweet look at a person unbeholden to the constraints of an ever-evolving society’s demands—a man who knows himself and is comfortable living within the meager means of that identity.
Piaffe
Gregory Carlson @ southpawfilmworks.net
The Promised Land
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: While that is what the plot provides for a majority of the runtime, the narrative proves so much bigger. Not in external scope, but in the internal growth of a man beholden to unjust rules.
Rose
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: A road trip during which we meet a schizophrenic character and learn to see beyond stigma.
Rustin
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: An inspiring biopicture of the civil rights leader who organized the March on Washington.
She Came to Me
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Say hello to the most unappreciated film of 2023.
Society of the Snow
- Excerpt: One of the most unbelievable, harrowing survival stories ever recreated, brought to life by a truly remarkable ensemble cast, breathtaking cinematography that captures the awe-inspiring yet treacherous landscapes, a deeply stirring score that tugs at the heartstrings, and a plane crash sequence like you’ve never seen before.
Static Codes
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Has a good heart.
A Still Small Voice
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: A portrait of radical empathy practiced by chaplains in the pastoral care department of a New York hospital.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: An extraordinarily intimate portrait of the actor who used a diagnosis of Parkinson’s to discover he is really was and what he could do for the world.
The Teachers’ Lounge
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: It’s a tense and heartbreaking journey as the ripple effects of what occurs threatens to destroy futures. And, to make matters more complex, truth should become secondary to the most important aspect of the whole: the safety of children.
They Shot the Piano Player
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: The animation is great. The music is better. And the story is fascinating if only to ensure this revered yet unknown artist outside of the memories of legends doesn’t become completely lost to time.
Upon Entry
Bavner Donaldo @ Cinejour [Indonesian]
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: A creative portrait of a lover of Mystery.