The Super Mario Bros. Movie review: This faithful adaptation often feels like a cutscene
Movies and video games have changed a lot since the last time Mario and Luigi were on the big screen. When Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo played the titular roles in 1993’s Super Mario Bros., the concept of adaptation was…
Ghosted review: Ana de Armas and Chris Evans fizzle in lackluster action-comedy
Ghosted, available now on AppleTV+, is an apt name for a film given that it will haunt me forever for the ways in which it wastes its central talent. Directed by Dexter Fletcher (Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman), Ghosted is a fish-out-of-water…
The Little Mermaid review: Halle Bailey swims (and sings) her way to stardom
When it comes to thingamabobs, Disney’s got plenty, but as far as saving graces go, one tale rises to the surface. In 1989, when The Little Mermaid made its initial box office bow, it reinvigorated Disney animation and launched what…
Blue Beetle review: An authentic, funny, sometimes formulaic origin story of resilience
Modern superhero films have kind of mastered a formula: a comfort food of acts and arcs defining who and what makes a hero. Franchises were built across the past couple of decades with select champions saving the world onscreen… again…
Barbie review: Welcome to Greta Gerwig’s fiercely funny, feminist Dreamhouse
When Warner Bros. announced plans to launch a Barbie movie, the entire premise sounded a bit like a game of Hollywood Mad Libs gone wrong: Quick, name a beloved indie director (Greta Gerwig!), an unadapted piece of intellectual property (Barbie…
Anatomy of a Fall review: The Palme d’Or winner is a courtroom drama that relishes ambiguity
Anatomy of a Fall has already earned plenty of praise this film season, snagging the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, back in May. Now, it’s making its way stateside to ensnare audiences in its taut…
Wildcat review: Ethan Hawke’s latest is a muddled mix of Flannery O’Connor biography and adaptation
There’s an entire subset of bookish young women who’ve gone through a Flannery O’Connor phase (it usually comes somewhere right before or after the Sylvia Plath obsession). With Wildcat, Maya Hawke gets to channel that literary phase into a big-screen…
Finally Dawn review: Lily James steals the show in Italian mid-century drama
Lily James was made for fairy tales. The English actress, 34, who gained attention on Downton Abbey and made her first big screen splash in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, channels her charms into a new kind of fairy tale in Finally…
Maestro review: Bradley Cooper’s new film has flashes of genius
There’s an eternal temptation with public figures to convince ourselves that, because we see and hear them so often, we must actually know them. But listening to someone’s musical output for decades, or watching their every TV appearance, doesn’t necessarily…
The Killer review: David Fincher’s latest is as brutal and unfeeling as its central subject
David Fincher has never been one for sentiment. From Se7en to Zodiac to Netflix series Mindhunter, his work is interested in unpacking the darkest parts of our humanity with the cold precision of an ice pick. His latest The Killer,…