Alci Rengifo
Guy Ritchie’s ‘Fountain of Youth’ Revives Old Treasure Hunter Tropes for Some Fleeting Entertainment
Domhnall Gleeson • Published on May 2025
Guy Ritchie sure isn’t taking any breaks. The English director has been constantly putting out new material nearly every year, from large thrillers to historical action adventures, and even a Netflix series. He…
‘Sirens’: Julianne Moore Leads a Cult of Wellness With Dark Charisma in a Getaway of Privileged Dysfunction
Features • Published on May 2025
Another week, another series about the rich bottled up with their own internal problems. Netflix’s “Sirens” is the latest variation of a repeat format in the world of television shows. Call it…
‘The Final Reckoning’ Is a Spectacularly Bloated Culmination to Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible’ Franchise
Features • Published on May 2025
The “Mission: Impossible” movies have truly tested just how long a franchise can last without replacing its main star. Tom Cruise famously embodies the last of a particular brand of Hollywood celebrity. Whatever…
‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Season 2: Nicole Kidman Is the Only Allure in This Empty Retreat of Wounded Elites
Features • Published on May 2025
Even if the source material of a hit series runs out, you must still have a sequel. Such are the rules in streaming and so we are getting a second season of Hulu’s…
Alexander Skarsgård Is a ‘Murderbot’ in Offbeat Sci-Fi Android Parable
Alexander Skarsgård • Published on May 2025
The rapid rise of AI is making android sci-fi even more relevant. In Apple TV+’s “Murderbot,” Alexander Skarsgård gives a performance almost diabolical in its observant coldness. His character is a cyborg…
‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Revives the Franchise With Gory Glee
Bloodlines • Published on May 2025
The revival of any and all hit franchises continues with “Final Destination: Bloodlines.” Horror fans need no introduction. Like its characters, this is a film series constantly defying death. The first movie…
‘Friendship’: Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd Come Together With Masterful Cringe
Andrew DeYoung • Published on May 2025
Craig Waterman is the kind of character you feel for and yet wouldn’t want to have around. As played by Tim Robinson in “Friendship,” he’s a keen portrait of a literal outsider…
‘Poker Face’: Natasha Lyonne’s Great Sleuth Has Grit and Wild Charm in Loaded Second Season
Features • Published on May 2025
Season two of Peacock’s “Poker Face” confirms Natasha Lyonne as one of the great modern TV sleuths. With her combination of grit and zaniness, she keeps together a series that successfully harkens back…
Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts*’ Unites a Pack of Losers for a Winning Adventure Laced With Psychological Depths
Features • Published on May 2025
Losers are irresistible as heroes. They can be so much more grounded and fun to be around than the picture perfect boy and girl scouts. Marvel’s “Thunderbolts*” rekindles some of the studio’s…
‘Rust’: Alec Baldwin Delivers a Performance Weighed by Somberness in a Scattered Western Haunted by Tragedy
Alec Baldwin • Published on May 2025
Few audience members will venture to see “Rust” unaware this film arrives already haunted by tragedy. Some cinephiles might even wonder if it is appropriate to watch the film with the knowledge…
‘The Surfer’: Nicolas Cage Rides a Wave of Madness Through a Surrealist Beach Standoff
Features • Published on May 2025
Lorcan Finnegan’s “The Surfer” is another one of those oddball movies that makes you happy indie cinema is still finding ways to thrive. This film has no ambitions about filling up multiplexes,…
Tina Fey’s ‘The Four Seasons’ Laughs at Midlife Crises With Melancholy Heart
Alan Alda • Published on May 2025
Netflix’s “The Four Seasons” once again explores that dread of the midlife crisis through the gaze of privileged Americans. Age is the great enemy in a society that worships mobility and affluence.
‘Another Simple Favor’: Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively Crackle Under the Capri Sun in Breezy Murder Mystery Sequel
A Simple Favor • Published on May 2025
There is an old-fashioned enjoyment to the silly antics of a dramedy like “Another Simple Favor.” Like some brisk affair you’re supposed to just have fun with it for what it is,…
‘The Accountant 2’ Makes It Through Another Mission With Entertaining Banter Between Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal
Ben Affleck • Published on April 2025
Nine years after “The Accountant” did decently, primarily as a rental, Artists Equity (the company founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) decided that after all this time we want a sequel. “…
‘The Legend of Ochi’: Isaiah Saxon’s Nostalgic Fantasy Adventure Is a Feast for the Eyes and Heart
Emily Watson • Published on April 2025
One of the secrets to the arthouse success of the studio A24 resides in its roster of millennial directors. Their obsession with childhood memories fuels a brand of filmmaking that attempts to raise…
‘Andor’: Diego Luna Commits to the Resistance in Riveting Second Season of ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff
Andor • Published on April 2025
Out of all the endless “Star Wars” spinoffs Disney has launched since acquiring George Lucas’ classic franchise, “Andor” is the series that has truly stood out. Beyond its narrative setting in a…
Andrew Ahn’s ‘The Wedding Banquet’ Reimagines Ang Lee’s Classic With Refreshed Relevance
Andrew Ahn • Published on April 2025
There is a unique amount of risk in Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet.” The task is to reimagine a story first told by Ang Lee in his classic 1993 original, which became…
Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ Unleashes Bloodthirsty Vampires in a Sweeping American Epic
Features • Published on April 2025
Like many monsters, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” is a hybrid. This sprawling film will instantly be approached by many viewers as first and foremost a vampire movie. In the style of those truly…
‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Keeps Its Human Element Strongest While Fighting the Infected
Bella Ramsey • Published on April 2025
HBO’s “The Last of Us” returns for a second season carrying a lot of weight. Its predecessor was groundbreaking in how it proved that compelling, dramatically admirable television can be adapted from…
‘Your Friends and Neighbors’: Jon Hamm Becomes an Empathetic Portrait of Upper Class Woes
Amanda Peet • Published on April 2025
If you are beginning to feel the pangs of a midlife crisis, Apple TV+ is always here for comfort and understanding. “Your Friends & Neighbors” is the latest wonderfully-cast, gorgeously-shot series from…