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Alonso Duralde
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Cuckoo (2024) |
That Stevens is hiding a terrible secret is evident from the outset, but the film’s explanation of what’s going on and why is so muddled and baffling. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Aug 07, 2024
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Trap (2024) |
Usually, the architecture of a thriller involves introducing a complicated scenario and then slowly but surely ratcheting up the tension; with Trap, Shyamalan has chosen to set it and forget it. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Aug 02, 2024
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Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) |
While Ryan Reynolds still seems to be having fun playing the cheeky mercenary, both the inside-baseball comedy and the cartoonishly bloody mayhem wear out their welcomes in the film’s final third. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jul 26, 2024
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Twisters (2024) |
Offers upgraded weather-porn effects and a similar commitment to thrills over character, but this sequel comes off as a bit of an improvement, thanks mainly to Chung and screenwriter Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) expressing concern for actual human beings. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jul 16, 2024
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Despicable Me 4 (2024) |
Plays like an assemblage of note cards that have been stapled together in a rough approximation of a screenplay. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) |
What Day One has to offer can be found mainly in the countenance of Lupita Nyong’o, as a survivor who catches on quick that the only way to stay alive is to remain as silent as possible. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jun 27, 2024
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The Bikeriders (2023) |
Takes its inspiration from the book by legendary photographer Danny Lyon, and the result is a film that operates like a perfectly curated gallery exhibit, conveying nearly everything it has to say through images rather than the accompanying text. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jun 21, 2024
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Inside Out 2 (2024) |
Nothing in Inside Out 2 matches the gut-punch of Bing-Bong’s sacrifice in the first movie, although Riley's climactic self-image, a mixture of both Joy and Anxiety’s handiwork, brought my inner Verklempt emotion to the foreground. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) |
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence look like they’d rather be anywhere else, and that feeling is infectious. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jun 04, 2024
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Young Woman and the Sea (2024) |
A biopic with all sharp edges removed, the kind of non-threatening, inspirational Disney movie that teachers screen for fidgety students on the last day of fourth grade. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted May 30, 2024
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IF (2024) |
Simultaneously exploits childhood grief while cloyingly indulging the inner child of grown-ups. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted May 17, 2024
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) |
It’s hard to top perfection; it’s the reason why there’s no Citizen Kane, Too or Still Singin’ in the Rain. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) |
An intermittently entertaining but ultimately fruitless exercise in franchise expansion. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted May 08, 2024
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The Fall Guy (2024) |
Overstays its welcome for a bit, but the stunts, the comedy, and the spark between the film’s dynamic leads make the movie a delectable kick-off to the popcorn pleasures of the summer-movie season. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted May 01, 2024
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Irish Wish (2024) |
You've got a very charming Lohan, some lovely Irish scenery, and a Hallmark plot. And if that's what you're here for, you'll get it. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Apr 24, 2024
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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) |
Fits comfortably within the wheelhouse of Guy Ritchie's favorite tropes: witty, devil-may-care, square-jawed heroes inflicting heavy doses of violence while dressed like they’re on their way to a fashion-mag photo shoot. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Apr 17, 2024
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The People's Joker (2022) |
Unlike any queer film or experimental film I've ever seen. Funny and personal and experimental -- hard to describe, and that's a good thing. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Apr 14, 2024
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Challengers (2024) |
Erotically charged, intricately plotted and breathlessly stylish, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers delivers pleasure at every turn. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Apr 12, 2024
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Civil War (2024) |
If we don’t have at least a vague idea of what each side stands for, or at least a sense of the rhetoric and posturing that has led the country to all-out cataclysm, the film’s message is reduced to “war sure does suck.” - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Apr 11, 2024
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Monkey Man (2024) |
Patel turns each of Monkey Man’s fight sequences into a dazzling blend of choreography, cutting, and swooping camera moves; that’s a combo that, in far too many films, leads to visual chaos, but the team here crafts these moments with assurance. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Apr 05, 2024
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) |
For all its flaws, in fact, GxK is second only to the underappreciated Godzilla: King of the Monsters among the Warner/Legendary reboot of these venerable characters. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Mar 28, 2024
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) |
One could only make the case that Kenan and Reitman are pivoting from comedy to action if either the action or the comedy played more effectively. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Mar 20, 2024
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Bob Marley: One Love (2024) |
This is a real disappointment. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 24, 2024
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This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (2024) |
I didn't really connect with this material. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 24, 2024
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Drive-Away Dolls (2024) |
One can sense the way in which the scenes are meant to be hitting the marks of neo-screwball crime comedy and then watching in dismay as almost none of them fulfill their ambition. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Feb 21, 2024
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Dune: Part Two (2024) |
After somewhat laboriously placing those chess pieces on the board in the first Dune, Villenueve and co-screenwriter Jon Spaihts send them into strategic alliances and conflicts, and the results are often breathtaking. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Feb 21, 2024
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Hundreds of Beavers (2022) |
Part Guy Maddin, part Chuck Jones -- a constant delight. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 20, 2024
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Madame Web (2024) |
Isn’t going to reverse the ongoing decline of superhero cinema, but unlike some of its notable contemporaries, it’s strong enough to make its intended sequels feel like promises rather than threats. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Feb 13, 2024
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Lisa Frankenstein (2024) |
The smarter, sharper, funnier version of Lisa Frankenstein hovers tantalizingly over this movie without ever coming to fruition. Back to the morgue with it. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Feb 09, 2024
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The Greatest Night in Pop (2024) |
It's really fascinating. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 08, 2024
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Perfect Days (2023) |
This movie is just delightful. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 08, 2024
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Nimona (2023) |
Its message is powerful but subtle, and I like the animation style a lot. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 08, 2024
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Society of the Snow (2023) |
[The characters] didn't pop out to me as individual personalities... but as far as the craft of this movie, it's exceptional. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 02, 2024
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The Sweet East (2023) |
I think there's there's a lot to like here, but it just doesn't quite gel in the way you might hope. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 02, 2024
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Miller's Girl (2024) |
My worst list of 2024 starts right here. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 02, 2024
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The Breaking Ice (2023) |
I think this is really gorgeous, and and I hope it finds an audience here. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Feb 02, 2024
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Argylle (2024) |
The studio has asked critics not to reveal the multiple plot twists. This is unsurprising, since those twists underscore the weakness of the screenplay: It’s constantly pulling the rug out from under viewers, only to reveal no floor underneath. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jan 31, 2024
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Fallen Leaves (2023) |
This is a movie that could be gloomy so easily, but [Kaurismäki] somehow manages to find this level of whimsy and and optimism. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Jan 26, 2024
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Monster (2023) |
It is his really beautiful film about growing up. It goes into some unexpected emotional areas that I was not ready for that that really caught me by surprise and I found very moving. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Jan 26, 2024
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The Book of Clarence (2023) |
Even if [it doesn't] always work... I didn't know where it was going to go from moment to moment, and that in itself is thrilling. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Jan 19, 2024
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Lift (2024) |
It's a bore. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Jan 19, 2024
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The Teachers' Lounge (2023) |
Before I even knew it, I was in its spell. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Jan 19, 2024
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I.S.S. (2023) |
The film doesn’t stop to give the six characters time for major exposition and backstory, which would only get in the way of the film’s B-movie sensibility. Luckily, this is a strong enough ensemble to fill in any blanks along the way. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jan 15, 2024
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Mean Girls (2024) |
The songs are plagued with talking-singing-belting shiny sameness, and it’s up to the performers to make any of them stand out. Luckily for Mean Girls, they’ve got Cravalho and Spivey on hand. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jan 10, 2024
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Night Swim (2024) |
A silly film well-stocked with silly attributes, yes, but it does sell the idea of a man making a Faustian bargain with a swimming pool. - The Film Verdict
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| Posted Jan 04, 2024
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) |
There's a lot that's fun here... but the more you look at the CG, the more it looks like The Polar Express. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Dec 27, 2023
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American Fiction (2023) |
The humor of this is so powerful. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Dec 21, 2023
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Waitress: The Musical (2023) |
!t it is really quite wonderful. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Dec 21, 2023
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The Iron Claw (2023) |
This movie feels really overstuffed; it doesn't slow down enough to really establish that much in terms of character. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Dec 21, 2023
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All of Us Strangers (2023) |
There are so many moments in this movie that are so unforgettable... I'm not completely on board here, but boy, I really love so much of what this movie is doing. - Breakfast All Day
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| Posted Dec 21, 2023
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