Three tween boys ditch school and go on an adventure that involves drones, drugs, and a suspicious number of sex toys in Good Boys. 90-second review: If movies like Superbad and Booksmart prove anything, it's that watching uncool teens try to be cool is a comedy gold mine. Good Boys mines the same tropes for humor — the entire plot revolves around…
A Simple Favor is a darkly funny and campy mystery thriller anchored by stellar performances by Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. 30-second review: So much of the plot of a simple favor is melodramatic and ironically plays off like an episode of a CW primetime soap opera. But it works. That's thanks to director Paul Feig's…
Under the Silver Lake follows an aimless slacker as he unravels a mystery following the disappearance of his neighbor. 90-second review: Under the Silver Lake alternates between being incredibly compelling and frustratingly confused. It misses the assuredness of director David Robert Mitchell's masterpiece film debut It Follows, because he has to spend so much time…
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a bright and bold loving critique of the superhero genre and a much needed hard reset. 30-second review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is so keenly aware of what it wants to be even though what it wants to be has never existed before. It's a bright and bold loving critique of the…
Spider-Man: Far From Home finds Peter Parker at a crossroads following the fallout of Avengers: Endgame 30-second review: Spider-Man: Far From Home has the same quirkiness that made Homecoming so successful, but a predictable plot and poor pacing keep it from reaching its predecessor's heights. However, it also gives us the best interpretation of the "with great power…
Unicorn Store marks the directorial debut of Oscar-winner Brie Larson, who also stars in the Netflix Original. 30-second review: Unicorn Store has so much going for it — an original premise, terrific cast, directorial debut of one of the best actors working today — but the magic falls flat. That's no fault of Brie Larson, whose endearing…
The Kid Who Would Be King delivers as a family-friendly fantasy-adventure based on the King Arthur legend and an allegory for Brexit. The Kid Who Would Be King tells the classic story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table via Brexit era Britain. As Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson truly chewing the scenery) — the…
Velvet Buzzsaw has trouble balancing its satirical and horror elements, which results in an interesting, but unsatisfying Netflix original. Velvet Buzzsaw doesn’t become the movie we want it to be until the last 30 minutes. That’s when it starts working effectively as an art-world satire and horror-thriller. The rest, though, has a hard time striking a…
Dumplin’ is the cinematic equivalent of comfort food. It’s warm, filling, satisfying, and exactly what you’d expect, but that’s why it works. Dumplin’ fills a feel-good movie shaped void in 2018. And while it doesn’t completely subvert the formula it applies it incredibly well to this touching coming-of-age story of self-love directed by Anne Fletcher—best…
Thoroughbreds is a twisted and darkly funny coming-of-age debut film about what it means to be evil Thoroughbreds is about evil. What makes someone evil? However, it begs that question in two ways. What makes someone evil—meaning what action or actions that a person takes that makes them considered evil—and what makes someone evil—in that what…
