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: Dec. 9, 2022
Expanding (United States)
Spoiler Alert
Travis Burgess @ The Sacred Wall
- Excerpt: The simple and beautiful ‘Spoiler Alert’ is the surprise great weepy rom-com of the holiday season
Limited (United States)
Empire of Light
Travis Burgess @ The Sacred Wall
- Excerpt: Olivia Colman gives an all-time great performance in ‘Empire of Light.’ Too bad the rest of it is unwatchable
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: the central relationship [Mendes] hangs it all on is misguided, leaning into the Magical Negro trope with Stephen’s all-too-perfect treatment of the damaged, fragile Hilary a sentimental fantasy symbolized by his care of a pigeon with a broken wing.
The Whale
Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Excerpt: Not much is particularly new or dazzling, although the fairly standard story is executed with enough skill to remain engrossing.
2022 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Barbarian
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Black Adam
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Bones and All
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Cow
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Till
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Violent Night
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
A Christmas Story Christmas
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: A warm update for people who have seen the 1983 classic many, many times.
Christmas with the Campbells
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: Leave it to Vince Vaughn to take the well-worn tropes of your usual Hallmark Christmas movie and drag them through the sex-crazed innuendo of a horny teenager growing up in the 1990s.
Devotion
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: The drama can get pretty heavy-handed and expose just how sanitized and corny Hollywood productions are compared to grittier indies, but the emotional impact at its back is undeniable.
The Eternal Daughter
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: “The Eternal Daughter’s” climactic twist may not be all that surprising, but Hogg’s film haunts in all kinds of unexpected ways.
- Excerpt: Joanna Hogg has long mined her own life for her semi-autobiographical, deeply personal films, most notably in her two-part opus chronicling a young filmmaker’s coming of age, The Souvenir. Her latest, The Eternal Daughter, is both a continuation and a departure from this practice, channeling Hogg’s memories of her mother through the medium of a ghost story that bears the influence of Lewis Allen’s The Uninvited and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.
From the Hood to the Holler
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: In “From the Hood to the Holler,” Pat McGee captures a new political presence, similar to Martin Luther King, who may just have what it takes to change Kentucky, if not America.
Good Night Oppy
Mark Leeper @ Mark Leeper’s Reviews
- Excerpt: GOOD NIGHT OPPY is a documentary about the Martian rover Opportunity, from the original concept through its landing on Mars on January 25, 2004, its activities on Mars, an up to its final shut-down (or death, as many of the support team thought of it) on June 10, 2018, 5111 sols later. This is a very different style of documentary than the documentaries made by NASA (though it uses archival footage from NASA and JPL).
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: It’s a solid documentary that bridges education with entertainment without really concerning itself with trying to do anything extra for success.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: The director’s adaptation is an innovative and mesmerizing take on the quintessential tale.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Travis Burgess @ The Sacred Wall
- Excerpt: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ is one of the most dazzling feats of animation in years
The Harbinger
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: Someone has finally made a pandemic film that both taps into the universal fear of the moment and the unshakeable sense of futility felt by those of us who have yet to accept the lie that it’s over.
Hold Your Fire
Mark Leeper @ Mark Leeper’s Reviews
- Excerpt: HOLD YOUR FIRE is a documentary about a 1973 robbery/hostage situation in Brooklyn that began the process of using “hostage negotiation” rather than brute force to resolve these sorts of incidents.
I Heard the Bells
Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Excerpt: An elegantly-mounted production with significant appeal for people seeking an inspirational story of faith this, or any, holiday season.
Is That Black Enough for You?!?
Josh Taylor @ The Forgetful Film Critic
- Excerpt: What Questlove did last year for a single music festival with his documentary Summer of Soul, film and cultural critic Elvis Mitchell has done for an entire decade of cinema and beyond with Is That Black Enough for You?!?, the first-time director’s new Netflix documentary.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
Allen Almachar @ The MacGuffin
- Excerpt: This is a story of people giving into their desires regardless of wealth or privilege, but it never goes beyond its physical manifestations. Sure, things get hot and steamy, but is anything there beyond that?
Leonor Will Never Die
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: : that doesn’t mean Leonor’s script is very good and despite Francisco’s charm, the film is an exercise in tedium which devolves into a meaningless meta musical number as it completely runs out of gas.
Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: The film enriches that which we know in generic terms with the specificity only lived-in experience can provide.
Medusa
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: Medusa’ has a great look and sound, a few memorable scenes, and a fine central performance by Mariana Oliveira to ground the chaos, but the whole feels less than the parts.
Memories of My Father
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: The 1983 ‘present day’ is presented in black and white and, in addition to introducing the film, provides its last act, but it is the burnished gold memories beginning in 1971 that give the film its heart and are the most pleasurable aspect of the film.
Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: a fascinating wartime tale…Arthur Harari’s classical filmmaking style brings us back to the war epics of the 50’s and 60’s and his narrative, with a run time of 167 minutes, certainly qualifies as epic.
Qala
Kathy Gibson @ Access Bollywood
Sam & Kate
Beverly Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: The fact that we are seeing the actual son and daughter of acclaimed Academy Award and Golden Globe winners in a low-key narrative brought bursting to life by their parents’ brilliant talent is a feat. But the love from the younger generation that comes across for their parents is powerful and offers a fourth reason to see this lovely little film.
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
- Excerpt: Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is as if someone made a bet that one of the most enduringly beloved works of literature—adapted with great success innumerable times featuring everyone from Mickey Mouse to the Muppets to Mister Magoo to classically trained British actors to Jim Carrey, to Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell just a couple of weeks ago—could be remade so poorly that it was close to unwatchable.
Smyrna
Beverly Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: This epic story of the majestic cosmopolis of Smyrna starring Mimi Denissi, Greek actress, writer, director and producer extraordinaire, will have a one-day-only showing in the US and Canada on Dec. 8, 2022.
Spirited
David “DC” Bolling @ DC’s Take
- Excerpt: It can overstay its welcome and the cool plot can be messy from time to time, but thanks to the relationship between Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds and some catchy songs, there’s some charm to be had.
Sr.
- Excerpt: Chris Smith’s latest doc is an incredibly sweet look into a father-son relationship, filmmaking, and the inextricable connection between the two.
Three Wishes for Cinderella
Beverly Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: I see the Norwegians wanted to create a stronger female prototype and be more inclusive in male stereotyping, but for my best friend, the film was just too much Norwegian imposition on a romance of magic that at its original core was kindness – kindness to all creatures.
Troll
- Excerpt: Entertaining and scary too, this Norwegian film should please you.
A Wounded Fawn
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: If you like your horror on the surreal side, ‘A Wounded Fawn’ is sure to scratch your festering itch.
