A film that is “Based on a true story” or, as it has been rewritten lately, “Inspired by true events”, can be a dicey prospect
The Quantumania isn’t quite the same as the first two Ant-Man movies, those were heist movies with a superhero size shifting twist.
You People is a comedy that dips into romance, culture clashes, race relations, in-laws angst, podcasting, loneliness and more.
Knock at the Cabin is a psychological thriller that is slightly guilty of repeating the same horror moments over and over but it’s still effective.
It’s not exactly a great or original action movie nor is it a great or original romantic comedy. But it has an endearing madcap energy
In 1830 in New York at West Point Military Academy, a cadet is found hanged and brought in to investigate is retired detective Landor (Christian Bale).
Honourable mentions: Top Gun: Maverick, Prey, Emily the Criminal, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
After more than a decade, the sequel to the highest grossing movie of all time arrives with Avatar: The Way of Water.
Santa Claus (David Harbour) is on his nightly voyage across the world to deliver toys to everyone. Although he has started to become cynical about his job.
Glass Onion has a looping plot structure that wasn’t a huge aspect of the previous film which makes this entry distinct
The technologically advanced nation of Wakanda is under threat as the outside world wishes to possess the valuable material vibranium.
Kat (Lyric Ross) is a young girl sent to a boarding school after the untimely death of her parents, Delroy (Gary Gatewood) and Wilma (Gabrielle Dennis)
Black Adam, the latest DC superhero movie in the DC Extended Universe, is more of Shazam! sequel than the marketing admits.
Four years after Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) went on yet another rampage in the sleepy town of Haddonfield
Hocus Pocus 2, a decades later sequel to the 1993 movie, manages to avoid the pitfalls of many legacy sequels by not being just a thinly skinned remake.
Alithea (Tilda Swinton) is an academic studying stories across humanity, even though she deals with visions that frequently haunt her waking hours.
Operative Serra Six (Ryan Gosling) does black-ops work for the CIA under the command of the nefarious Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page).
With an interestingly loose approach to DC Universe lore, the animated DC League of Super-Pets is a quirky entry in the DC Universe filmography.
The Princess (Joey King) is chained in a high tower, waiting to be married to the evil warlord Julius (Dominic Cooper).
It is legitimately awesome that in the fourth movie about Thor, plus four more Avengers movies, the character and world can still be entertaining.
The most distinctive thing about The Man from Toronto would probably be its unique title as it is ultimately a generic action-comedy flick.
While for other franchises that can seem stagnant, the fact that Beavis and Butt-Head remain exactly the same is part of the gag.
Dinosaurs walk amongst the Earth again after the genetically engineered beats escaped onto the mainland.
The crux of the film is a bit annoying as Maverick is stuck being a flight instructor when he’s the best pilot ever.
Chip ‘n Dale juggles multiple characters from various animation worlds and does it better than Space Jam: A New Legacy
Amleth (Oscar Novak) is a prince living with his mother, Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) and is overjoyed at the return of his father, the Viking King Aurvandill
The film bounces around a bit from crazy action to some chatty lulls and lots of exposition about what reality they’re in.
A James Bond or Jack Bauer adventure this is not. It takes place almost entirely in bars, cars and offices.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is meant to be the third movie in a five-movie prequel to Harry Potter.
Dubbed Apollo 10 ½, the mission will test the moon landing while everyone else thinks that Stanley is away at summer camp.
Billed as an “erotic thriller”, Deep Water can only manage vaguely titillating and mildly disconcerting moments.
Young Adam (Walker Scobell) is 12 years old and living with his mother, Ellie (Jennifer Garner), after the passing of his father, Louis (Mark Ruffalo).
In the magical land of 2002 Toronto, Mei (Rosalie Chiang) is a 13 year old 8th Grader who excels at her studies and is subservient to her mother
More than almost any other Batman movie, Pattinson’s Batman carries the film as he’s in basically every scene.
The King’s Man, a 100 year earlier prequel to the Kingsman movies, is an interesting, if somewhat muddled, divergence for the franchise.
House of Gucci has a few interesting moments as greed, lust for power and prestige causes a couple to crumble from within.
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild is the 6th installment of the Ice Age franchise, although after 20 years it is starting to show its age
Young JR (Daniel Ranieri) and his mom (Lily Rabe) move into the home of his grandpa (Christopher Lloyd) after the JR’s father (Max Martini) abandons them
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is a high energy franchise entry with funny reactions, outsized animation and random jokes.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City is a reboot of the zombie film franchise of the zombie survival horror game franchise
Honourable mentions: Black Widow, No Sudden Move, Pig, A Quiet Place: Part II, The Green Knight, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Luca, Nobody
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a culmination of not only the Spider-Man story in the Marvel Universe but also a full-on victory lap for the franchise
There’s an interesting narrative trick recalling movies like Rashomon or The Usual Suspects where the same story is seen from different perspectives
Jake (Neil Patrick-Harris) takes his daughter back to his childhood home and dusts off the old Nintendo Entertainment System
At a reported price tag of about 200 million dollars, Red Notice is the most expensive movie Netflix has ever produced
A significant amount of the plot hinges upon the people dismissing the events of the original Ghostbusters, which involved a giant Marshmallow Man
The physicality Courtney brings to the role is nicely intense as Michael moves with single minded determination towards his target.
Reminiscence is a sort of sci-fi, mostly film noir detective story, and a whole lot of meaningless plot twisting.
The 2021 adaptation of Dune is labelled Part 1 as it is only about half of the sci-fi opus, but it’s still a complete epic on its own.
The James Bond series has gone through numerous differences over the decades and, shockingly, No Time to Die delivers what has never happened before
Venom: Let There Be Carnage noticeably improves upon its predecessor by leaning into how ridiculously crazy the concept is.
Vacation Friends is a fun romp that follows the clash between a straight-laced couple and a wild and crazy couple
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings manages to differentiate itself from the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Green Knight is an incredibly weird, horror influenced, visually lush and somewhat ponderous adaptation of the Arthurian legend.
An underground fight club brawler only known as Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) is pining for revenge ever since as a child he witnessed his father’s murder.
F9: The Fast Saga continues the series’ tonal mash up of dopey yet enjoyable car smashing action combined with awkward sentimentality.
James Gunn delved into the Marvel universe with Guardians of the Galaxy and now he crosses the street to the DC Universe with The Suicide Squad
Lilly (Emily Blunt) is on a quest to find a mystical flower that could potentially cure any disease. Dragging along her reluctant brother, MacGregor
LeBron James keeps trying to surpass Michael Jordan’s records so it is not surprising he’s straight up starring in Space Jam: A New Legacy.
On the run from the government after the Avengers Civil War, Natasha aka the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), is lying low until she is attacked
Dan Forester (Chris Pratt) is a former army man when the world is upended by the arrival of a military force from 50 years in the future.
A blistering opening prologue flashes back to the first day that killer sound sensing aliens landed on Earth.
The whole thing is wrapped around two romantic plotlines which has been the basis for most musicals.
There’s a really good twist as to why H is suddenly so great at his job with incredible killer instinct.
The city of Las Vegas has been overrun by a zombie plague and walled off with Sin City about to experience destruction via nuclear blast.
People’s thoughts blurting out randomly in a blue haze and semi-transparent visions is something one can endure or make the experience exceptionally irrita
Without Remorse really excels is in the action which is presented with immediacy by director Stefano Sollima (Sciario: Day of the Soldado).
Cole (Lewis Tan) is a down on his luck fighter trying to provide for his family, until one day he’s attacked by an ice magic ninja
Judas and the Black Messiah certainly has an appropriate title as the two main characters are a traitor and a messianic leader.
Zack Snyder may be credited as the director of 2017’s Justice League but for him that movie remained unfinished. Snyder suffered a personal tragedy
The world of Kaumandra was a place of magical dragons but the scourge of the Druun has wasted the land, turning people into stone.