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: May 23, 2025
Wide (United States)
Lilo & Stitch
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Expanding (United States)
Friendship
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
2025 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Final Destination: Bloodlines
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Legend of Ochi
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Sinners
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Ada: My Mother the Architect
- Excerpt: When Yael asks Ada about architecture, her mother is spellbindingly eloquent, even poetic.
Bonjour Tristesse
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: The only thing that prevents it from being a resounding success is its unconvincing ending. Still, it doesn’t ruin the entire experience, especially if you’re looking for a lighthearted, well-acted, and visually appealing drama.
Bring Her Back
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Artfully crafted and impeccably acted—especially by Sally Hawkins—but so unrelenting in its depiction of child suffering that it may test even the most hardened horror fans.
Caught By the Tides
- Excerpt: Jia’s latest, Caught by the Tides, feels like the culmination of all his previous attempts to convey the wear and tear wrought on people and places by the passage of time.
The Cinema Within
- Excerpt: A continuously-recording camera has its limitations in terms of storytelling, but you have to find a way to use cuts so the audience can understand the story being told.
The Damned
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: Documentarian Roberto Minervini steps into the fictional narrative sector with Civil War drama The Damned by pretty much setting up an historical reenactment and shooting it like a documentary.
Dangerous Animals
Fear Below
Dennis Schwartz @ dennisschwartzreviews.
- Excerpt: The characterizations were spot-on.
Hurry Up Tomorrow
Andrea Chase @ KillerMovieReviews.com
- Excerpt: Why @hurryuptomorrowmovie is painfully self-indulgent as it tests our patience and rips off #Misery.
Karate Kid: Legends
Sebastian Zavala @ MeGustaElCine.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: A merely okay sequel that does nothing very original on a narrative level, and that, despite including impressive fight choreography, never manages to create a high level of tension due to some confusing directorial decisions.
The Kiss
- Excerpt: The setting is more than a century ago, but the longing for love and the struggle for intimacy are universally human.
Loveyapa
Kathy Gibson @ Access Bollywood
The New Boy
Sebastian Zavala @ [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy is not a movie interested in telling a conventional narrative, but in building tone and developing themes through potent imagery and interesting characterisation.
A Nice Indian Boy
Kathy Gibson @ Access Bollywood
The Old Woman with the Knife
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: Those intricate connections are what makes Min’s film great. It’s not action loosely tied together by a generic plot. It’s a captivating narrative augmented by its action.
Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse
Sebastian Zavala @ MeGustaElCine.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: It fails to gel or feel completely rounded, failing to develop a strong emotional connection with the viewer. Something that should feel special ends up being perceived as an interesting and different, but uneven, film.
Sister Midnight
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: The back half unfolds at a fast pace—perhaps too fast. I think that’s kind of the point as Kandhari is all about idiosyncratic juxtapositions with his soundtrack choices, use of animation, and dry humor in traditionally dark, dramatic scenarios.
The Trouble with Jessica
MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: The pleasures of this black comedy about London real estate and the hypocrisies of posh professionals lie in the terrific cast, especially Shirley Henderson, embodying entertainingly horrible people.
We Were Dangerous
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: We revel in [the leads’] spirit and autonomy; their awareness of just how messed up the situation is. By never shying away from those horrors, watching this trio consistently rebel only amplifies the potency of their inspirational battle cry.
2023 Films
The Kiss
Sebastian Zavala @ Loud and Clear Reviews [Spanish]
- Excerpt: The titular kiss might arrive a bit too late, but that doesn’t mean everything surrounding it isn’t worth experiencing.
Vera and the Pleasure of Others
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: It doesn’t do anything revolutionary when it comes to portraying teenage sexual curiosity, but in an age where younger generations seem to be regressing to a repressed mindset, the fact that this film exists should be celebrated.
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