Intriguing Mercy ultimately falters Smacking of Steven Spielberg’s overlooked masterpiece Minority Report, Timur Bekmambetov’s Mercy also features a law enforcement officer trapped in a legal system he helped create, trying desperately to prove his innocence. At the heart of the Tom Cruise feature were questions of free will and predetermination. Here, the script from writer […]
Film
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Bloody Bone Temple saved by graceful moments, Choral scattered but salvageable
Humanity emerges through Temple’s bloody surface Nia Da Costa’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is two movies in one which, unfortunately, vary drastically in quality. This middle chapter in a new trilogy of the Danny Boyle franchise is a frustrating exercise, one that in moments soars with innovation and daring, and at others, wallows […]
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Best films of 2025
The major film studios are in a desperate spot, still not having recovered from the mass exodus to home viewing that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Getting enough viewers to theaters to justify the huge budgets for tentpole movies has proven difficult. Once sure things, such as Marvel films or big-budget action movies, are no […]
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The 10 best scenes of 2025
Movies are about moments – big moments that erase our cynicism about cinema and remind us of its capacity to dazzle as well as touch us. This happens in a way only possible with a medium that seamlessly combines so many other art forms. These are instances that prompt us to consider things in a […]
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Song Sung Blue an inspiring tale, Marty Supreme grows taxing
Blue a Song of Inspiration Craig Brewer managed to change my mind about two things with his surprising Song Sung Blue. I was wrong about the purpose of musical tribute acts and Kate Hudson. As for the latter, based on her past output, she always struck me an actress of limited means. After seeing her […]
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Fire and Ash stunning but too long, Ella McKay loses its focus
Visually stunning Fire and Ash undone by length When L’Arrivee d’un train a La Ciotat (Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat) was shown at the Lumiere Brothers studio in 1896, viewers apparently recoiled as they saw the locomotive pull in, certain that the engine coming toward them would do them harm. While that may […]
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Wake Up Dead Man captivates while Merv fails to inspire
Johnson, Craig continue to delight with Dead Man One of the aspects in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out movies that elevates them above other films of that ilk is the social commentary he manages to weave into them. The first entry was a sharp examination of class in America, xenophobia and the predatory attitudes the haves […]
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Jay Kelly provides reminder, Fackham Hall casts wide net to get laughs
Jay Kelly: Portrait of an empty man Jay Kelly is very good at being Jay Kelly, that is Jay Kelly the international film star who’s been gracing audiences with his presence on the world’s movie screens for 35 years. It’s a role he can play in his sleep. But the other Jay Kelly, the eager, […]
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Zootopia 2 for kids and adults, Eternity an intriguing premise
Timely Zootopia 2 a vibrant, entertaining fable Adhering to the maxim that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Disney’s Zootopia 2 follows much the same template as the original. Writer/directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard, who were also behind the 2016 hit, once more weave timely, vital social commentary into this kid-friendly animated feature, […]
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Train Dreams is touching and powerful, Wicked: For Good stumbles
Bentley’s Dreams examines a quiet life bravely lived In adapting Denis Johnson’s novella Train Dreams, director Clint Bentley has pulled off a small miracle. This quiet, touching film runs counter to so many accepted notions of what makes up a movie. The plot, such as it is, is rather bare, the incidents that propel it […]
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New Predator film full of twists, Son addresses issues of faith
Badlands features a more human predator A savage, alien hunter with daddy issues? A sci-fi adventure with shades of Don Quixote? Believe or not, that’s what you get with Predator: Badlands, the seventh entry in the surprisingly resilient franchise that contains one pleasant surprise after another. Credit must be given to writer/director Dan Trachtenberg who […]
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Frankenstein a masterpiece, Nuremberg serves as cautionary tale
Del Toro cobbles together ambitious, magnificent Frankenstein Referred to as “my Everest,” director Guillermo del Toro has longed to put his distinctive stamp on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Stating recently that each movie he’s made has been in preparation for this undertaking, he was able to secure a $120 million budget and a generous six-month shooting […]
