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: Jun. 24, 2022
Wide (United States)
The Black Phone
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Elvis
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Limited (United States)
Apples
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: an absurdist dramedy and psychological mystery that was Greece’s submission for the 2022 International Oscar.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Marcel’s remembrance of Mrs. Kim alone is worth the price of admission, a single sentence that would have had me blowing milk out of my nose had I been drinking any at the time.
2022 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
The Bad Guys
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Cha Cha Real Smooth
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Everything Everywhere All at Once
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Jurassic World: Dominion
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Lightyear
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Memory
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Abandoned
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Rather than read the supernatural elements as postpartum, we have no choice but to equate postpartum with the heinous crimes inspiring those elements. [It’s] a means to an end that unfortunately cannot shake the damage of those means.
Attachment
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Gislason isn’t wielding gimmicks as much as slowly peeling back the layers he’s built upon an ancient truth those involved were too scared to confront head-on. This film grounds itself as far as how dybbuks and the like would appear in our reality.
Bitterbrush
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: We watch these women do their thing with full confidence and expertise to keep it light and entertaining. Maybe that won’t be enough for some, but it’s definitely enough for the work to be a success.
Brian and Charles
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: It’s a rousing bit of “love conquers all” machinations as Brian realizes what matters most to him and how providing happiness to another is one of the best ways to find happiness himself.
Broker
Bavner Donaldo @ Cinejour [Indonesian]
Cocoon
- Excerpt: As our heroine discovers her sexuality and herself in the heat of one particularly hot Berlin summer, she metamorphoses from shy teenage girl to confident young woman, much like the caterpillars she keeps in her room and watches transform into butterflies.
Coffined at 15
Bavner Donaldo @ Cinejour [Indonesian]
Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: Fans of vintage arty European horror movies are likely to be sucked in, although it is not the simple homage it appears to be at first. If the viewer can make it through the slow-paced introductory act, the movie starts to open up, introducing more levels that provide a psychological depth to the characters.
God’s Time
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: A low-budget independent production that nevertheless manages to have a tone that oscillates between the eccentric and the dramatic, narrating a surprisingly emotional story with style and tension.
Hidden Letters
Marilyn Ferdinand @ Alliance of Women Film Journalists
- Excerpt: In their very moving documentary, Hidden Letters, directors Violet Du Feng and Qing Zhao show how generations of Chinese women found cracks in their oppressive, patriarchal society and created a way to find a small ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak existence, through nushu, a private language they invented to write letters to each other to share their pain and gain comfort in communion.
Hit the Road
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Panahi’s gradual disclosure of just why this family is on the road works alongside his measured tone, one which leans on familial dynamics ranging from humor to fear, with sprinklings of sentiment, resentment and everything in between
Huesera
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Huesera is a psychological thriller dealing more with the myriad uncertainties that have ravaged Valeria’s life. Cervera and co-writer Abia Castillo are breaking Valeria down to build her back up.
Hustle
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Adam Sandler gives a warm and engaging performance in this amiable basketball drama.
Lost Illusions
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: : an over reliance on narration holds the film back from achieving true greatness. That is not to say this isn’t a film to luxuriate in…like a lush visualization of a well structured audiobook.
Lux Æterna
Lynch/Oz
Gregory Carlson @ southpawfilmworks.net
McEnroe
Marilyn Ferdinand @ Alliance of Women Film Journalists
- Excerpt: McEnroe is the kind of complete documentary anyone interested in a seminal figure in history wants to see.
Mid-Century
Allen Almachar @ The MacGuffin
- Excerpt: I walked away not feeling excited, scared, entertained, or provoked. In fact, I felt nothing at all.
Mr. Malcolm’s List
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: while I strained to resist the story’s predictability, it was impossible not to be won over by the cast.
My Love Affair with Marriage
Marilyn Ferdinand @ Alliance of Women Film Journalists
- Excerpt: Latvian animator and director Signe Baumane offers a loosely autobiographical accounting of the life and loves of Zelma (voice of Dagmara Dominczyk), a Latvian artist who finds that her romantic programming and the biochemical workings of her body conspire against her long-term marital happiness.
Official Competition
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: I haven’t laughed out loud so much in ages. Whoever chose Penélope Cruz’s explosion of a frizzy, red wig deserves a trophy for that one contribution to this film alone.
Poser
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: Despite knowing the fantasy must come to an end eventually, credit the filmmakers for adhering to the reality that there’s sometimes no turning back.
Spiderhead
Allen Almachar @ The MacGuffin
- Excerpt: As sci-fi, [the film] operates as time filler, utilizing somewhat interesting ideas but doing nothing interesting with them. As a thriller, it’s even worse.
Spiderhead
Derek Deskins @ Edge Media Network
- Excerpt: Spiderhead is proof that a good concept does not necessarily make for a great film, and that sometimes more is actually less.
Spiderhead
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Hemsworth and Teller do their best. But plotline should be put to rest.
Three Headed Beast
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: A story that unfolds in a very visual way, taking advantage of the expressions of its talented protagonists, their body language, and of course, the numerous —but never gratuitous or too explicit— sex scenes.
Wes Schlagenhauf Is Dying
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: It’s that closeness — and the down-to-earth portrayal of three young, creative, and at times incredibly selfish guys — that turns the film into light-hearted yet curiously relevant (and not too problematic) entertainment.
The Wild One
Marilyn Ferdinand @ Alliance of Women Film Journalists
- Excerpt: I was thrilled to learn so much about the complicated life and artistic integrity of Jack Garfein, a man to whom all lovers of film and theatre owe a debt of gratitude.
A Wounded Fawn
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Stevens intentionally uses our expectations to surprise us with subversive twists when it comes to genre conventions.
2021 Films
Mummering Legends
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: The folk horror spirit is alive in GRIND MIND’s film. The story might not capture all that makes Newfoundland mummering so specifically unique to the province, but it still uses Newfoundland history and culture in a way that hasn’t been seen on film before.
Till Death
Marcio Sallem @ Cinema com Critica [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: O pior de Até a Morte é o subtítulo nacional Sobreviver é a Melhor Vingança, já que o thriller estrelado por Megan Fox é revigorante. Escrito por Jason Carvey, cujo crédito mais recente é de 2006 (!), o roteiro apresenta Emma no fim do relacionamento extraconjugal com Tom (Aml Ameen), que descobriremos à frente trabalhar com o marido dela, o possessivo Mark (Eoin Macken). Um sujeito doente para, após um jantar romântico e uma noite de sexo em uma cabana no meio do nada coberto de neve, puxar a arma e se suicidar na frente de Emma. Atordoada, a recém viúva descobre que está algemada ao cadáver do marido, que tomou o cuidado de descartar tudo aquilo que Emma poderia utilizar para escapar. Celular? Jogado dentro do jarro de água. A arma? Só tem um projétil. Facas? Não. Carro? Sem gasolina.
2020 Films
Royalty Free: The Music of Kevin MacLeod
Sebastian Zavala @ Ventana Indiscreta [Spanish]
- Excerpt: It’s a study of a human being who, being incredibly humble, has ended up helping many creative people to achieve their goals.
