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. 17, 2021
Wide (United States)
Nightmare Alley
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Spider-Man: No Way Home
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Limited (United States)
Last Words
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
The Novice
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: [Fuhrman’s] frustration and determination are scary on their own so coupling her performance with Hadaway’s stylistically sensory choices only makes it more intense.
The Novice
Christopher Reed @ Hammer to Nail
- Excerpt: The film can be read as a universal coming-of-age parable or the unique odyssey of this specific character. Either way, it offers moments filled with uncomfortable truths about the human experience.
Swan Song (2)
Christopher Reed @ Hammer to Nail
- Excerpt: Beautifully shot and edited, Swan Song is full of poignant moments that force us into serious meditations on the nature of existence. It is best not to think too much about the mechanics of the plot, however, lest its weaknesses stand out.
2021 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Annette
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Being the Ricardos
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Benedetta
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Courier
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Eternals
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Hand of God
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
House of Gucci
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Jungle Cruise
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Mass
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Passing
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Pig
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Power of the Dog
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
A Quiet Place: Part II
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Spencer
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
West Side Story
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
American Underdog
Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Excerpt: American Underdog is a rousing drama about sports and family that sends you away feeling cheerful.
Boiling Point
MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: An electrifying work of high-wire cinematic theater, a one-take, one-location wonder. Documentary-esque but even more immediate, simultaneously intimate and explosive. Stephen Graham is glorious.
Don’t Look Up
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: It’s the same bait and switch from the opposite [political] direction. And it’s not saving any lives. It’s dangerously dismissing the problem as farce.
Don’t Look Up
- Excerpt: Adam McKay’s ‘Don’t Look Up’ boasts an outstanding ensemble cast with some of the biggest A-list stars on the planet to build a farcical “the sky is falling” dark comedy. The writer-director’s ambitions can exceed his grasp at times but this no-holds-barred satire still mostly collides as intended.
Don’t Look Up
Diego Salgado @ SoFilm [Spanish]
Fauci
- Excerpt: This film covers Dr. Anthony Fauci’s work not only with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also with the AIDS/HIV epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Humans
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: [Houdyshell’s is] a devastating performance that shows the cost of this family’s dysfunction and the beating heart that wills it to stick together despite its cracks.
Last and First Men
- Excerpt: After his sudden, tragic death in 2018, fellow composer and musician Yair Elazar Glotman completed the project, making Last and First Men Jóhannsson’s first and only feature film as a director. The result is a haunting, philosophical view of the distant future that feels disturbingly prescient in its depiction of humanity’s destruction.
Licorice Pizza
Gregory Carlson @ southpawfilmworks.net
Licorice Pizza
Karl Delossantos @ Smash Cut Reviews
- Excerpt: Licorice Pizza is an irresistably charming comedy romp through the 70s through the eyes of two charismatic young people looking for an outlet for their energy.
The Lost Daughter
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Colman is superb in the lead, a guarded woman running warm and cool, used to keeping her emotions hidden until she recognizes the same marital and maternal discontent she once experienced herself in another.
My Salinger Year
- Excerpt: A semi-autobiographical film based on the non- fiction book by Joanna Smith Rakoff, covering her time in 1996 and 1997 with a New York literary agency who had J. D. Salinger as a client.
Newtok
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: Burton and Smith worked on filming “Newtok” for six years, including filming the community for 300 days to create this haunting documentary about one of the first mainland areas in the world to be claimed by global warming.
Poet
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: “Poet” is an excellent film, one that highlights the fact that Omirbaev is at the top of his art, particularly because he manages to present all his comments through an approach that is intelligent, funny, and rather artful at the same time.
Red Rocket
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: In a midlife star-making turn, Simon Rex pulls off an incredible balancing act, keeping us rooting for him despite his despicable behavior, his Mikey the type of guy who uses everyone but is genuinely distressed at the harm he causes, albeit mostly due to backlash.
Red Rocket
- Excerpt: A Texan ballad of a dirtbag ex-porn star, ‘Red Rocket’ is a sidesplittingly funny and brutally honest character study from writer-director Sean Baker. Its uncomfortable subject matter will be a turn-off for many but Baker’s unblinking commitment to fully unpacking this satirical saga of a guy who’s packing is amongst the best of the year.
Red Rocket
Josh Taylor @ The Forgetful Film Critic
- Excerpt: I’d bet money that in 30 years, people who haven’t been born yet will look at Red Rocket and think, “What were they thinking?”
The Sparks Brothers
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: Wright appears to be their biggest fan with a keen understanding of the Sparks brand and the perfect collaborative spirit to let their eccentric personalities shine.
Swan Song (1)
- Excerpt: In SWAN SONG, Udo Keir is a retired hair dresser asked to do the hair and make-up for a former client with whom he had a falling-out
The Unforgivable
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: If you are looking for Christmas movies, The Unforgivable will not be on your list. However, if you are a Sandra Bullock fan, this grim drama is a must-see offering.
