|
6/10
|
Deadpool & Wolverine
(2024)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
"Deadpool and Wolverine' seems to exist only as Kevin Feige’s desperate attempt to clutch some much needed “we’re so back” from the jaws of “it’s so over” defeat.
Posted Jul 23, 2024
|
|
8/10
|
Dune: Part Two
(2024)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Villenueve has put forth considerable effort to mitigate potential issues with the novel's 'white savior' material, but in the end, has made a movie that is entirely too rad and 'dudes rock' for those efforts to matter or be particularly effective.
Posted Feb 22, 2024
|
|
6/10
|
The Marvels
(2023)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
The Marvels feels like two distinct films conjoined together. One, a heartwarming, charming picture that takes some light risks and succeeds on the strength of its three leads considerable chemistry. The other, a barely functional actioner.
Posted Nov 08, 2023
|
|
9/10
|
Killers of the Flower Moon
(2023)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Dramatizes the horrors and the graft and the hatred at the heart of the American experiment in a way that is truly damning.
Posted Oct 19, 2023
|
|
7/10
|
Blue Beetle
(2023)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
It's a minor miracle that this film survived the leap from "throwaway streaming vehicle" to "bonafide blockbuster release."
Posted Aug 16, 2023
|
|
9/10
|
Oppenheimer
(2023)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Nolan returns to his roots but keeps the scale he's been working at for a decade, forging a new chapter in his oeuvre. Murphy is astonishing. A biopic for people who hate biopics.
Posted Jul 19, 2023
|
|
7.5/10
|
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
(2023)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
An ambitious and sumptuous sequel that bites off a little more than it can chew.
Posted May 31, 2023
|
|
7.99/10
|
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
(2023)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
The first time a saga has come to a genuine, satisfying and earned conclusion in the history of the MCU.
Posted Apr 28, 2023
|
|
10/10
|
M3GAN
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
The first new release of 2023 may also be the best new release of 2023. Destined to make Universal Pictures more money than Oppenheimer.
Posted Jan 05, 2023
|
|
9/10
|
Confess, Fletch
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
As Twitter user Dave Kehr said, Confess Fletch is a nice little movie. This is the highest possible praise to give something like this. I would like ten more, as soon as they can make them.
Posted Sep 28, 2022
|
|
5/10
|
Clerks III
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A movie that is not without its moving moments, but too drowned out by self referential malaise and unfunny comedy to prove truly effective.
Posted Sep 21, 2022
|
|
7.5/10
|
Prey
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A very necessary back to basics take on a franchise that had lost its way.
Posted Aug 05, 2022
|
|
5/10
|
Bullet Train
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A promising actioner with a delightful cast and solid direction undone by bloated, faux-clever screenwriting and an insistence on retreading every other movie about assassins ever made.
Posted Aug 02, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
Nope
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Jordan Peele returns with his most visually ambitious film yet, a summer blockbuster that stands out from the rest of the pack with stirring cinematography and a real dedication to genuine, believable thrills.
Posted Jul 20, 2022
|
|
4/10
|
The Gray Man
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
An incredible cast and a simple enough premise completely undone by the Russo brothers' inconsistent visual language and overall shoddy filmmaking technique. In someone else's hands, with a less frenetic script, this could have been an easy layup.
Posted Jul 14, 2022
|
|
4/10
|
Thor: Love and Thunder
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
An initially promising MCU outing that can't effectively synthesize either of its source material's themes into something coherent, but less affecting. A comedic Thor was necessary after The Dark World's failure, but its time for another change of pace.
Posted Jul 05, 2022
|
|
6/10
|
Elvis
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A loud, bombastic biopic that sidesteps most of the difficult questions surrounding Elvis' life to instead focus on the graft at the core of popular music's enduring spectacle.
Posted Jun 24, 2022
|
|
4/10
|
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
The blockbuster movie equivalent to reading a trade paperback collection of single issue comics where a beloved superstar artist is repeatedly replaced by a lackluster fill-in dragging the rest of the work down. Frustratingly inconsistent.
Posted May 03, 2022
|
|
8.5/10
|
The Batman
(2022)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Matt Reeves has outdone Christopher Nolan in presenting a realistic take on the source material without appearing ashamed of its comic book origins. It is the most like a "real movie" any comic book adaptation has felt in ages.
Posted Feb 28, 2022
|
|
8/10
|
The Matrix Resurrections
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Spider-Man: No Way Home may be the blockbuster the industry needs to survive the pandemic, but this is the blockbuster WE need to nourish our souls and remind us what movies can truly be.
Posted Dec 22, 2021
|
|
8/10
|
Nightmare Alley
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A breath of fresh air for Guillermo del Toro, a longtime lover of film noir getting to stretch his legs in the genre without his usual creature feature security blanket.
Posted Dec 15, 2021
|
|
6/10
|
Spider-Man: No Way Home
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A largely fun movie the pandemic box office desperately needs to survive, but it's a fleeting, hollow exercise that puts fan service above genuine storytelling.
Posted Dec 14, 2021
|
|
8/10
|
Red Rocket
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
For the love of God, give Simon Rex an Oscar.
Posted Dec 13, 2021
|
|
4/10
|
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A movie sure to be loved by everyone who hated the all-gal reboot from some years ago, even if this outing misses the point of the original in nearly the exact same way.
Posted Nov 18, 2021
|
|
7.5/10
|
The Harder They Fall
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A brash, thrilling and much needed exercise in genre that trades in more than the easy exploitation of black pain, but it is not without its foibles.
Posted Nov 10, 2021
|
|
6/10
|
Eternals
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
It's both nowhere near as bad as the Rotten Tomatoes discourse would have you believe and also nowhere near as exemplary as the rabid fan base's dogmatic defenses online may have warranted.
Posted Nov 05, 2021
|
|
6/10
|
Last Night in Soho
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
One of the livelier, more interesting films of the year until it's laughably bad third act drags it beneath the floorboards.
Posted Oct 29, 2021
|
|
8/10
|
The French Dispatch
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Wes Anderson's tenth film sees him further hone his absurdly recognizable style into one of the year's most enjoyable flicks.
Posted Oct 21, 2021
|
|
5/10
|
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A showcase for Tom Hardy's surprising comedic gifts and little else. This is a middling movie made special by its central performance and willingness to be in on the joke.
Posted Sep 30, 2021
|
|
8/10
|
The Card Counter
(2020)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
While this film may not exceed Schrader's last outing First Reformed as a whole product, Oscar Isaac delivers a performance that goes toe to toe with Hawke's in that film.
Posted Sep 10, 2021
|
|
8/10
|
Candyman
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Though the marketing trades on Jordan Peele's name, this is a great arrival for director Nia DaCosta, a lean and sharp horror film updating a franchise without losing its roots.
Posted Aug 25, 2021
|
|
6/10
|
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A killer turn from legend Tony Leung, some impressive action and sporadically moving moments can't help the fact that Simu Liu is one of the most boring MCU leads in the megafranchise's existence.
Posted Aug 23, 2021
|
|
7.5/10
|
The Protégé
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A real meat and potatoes action thriller executed well enough to overcome how boilerplate its premise is. Sometimes a movie like this just really hits the spot.
Posted Aug 19, 2021
|
|
6/10
|
Respect
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Still mired by an overlong runtime and subgenre specific cliches, Respect's strong performances and evocative imagery overpower its worst tendencies.
Posted Aug 15, 2021
|
|
6.5/10
|
Free Guy
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A movie that, from its marketing, appears hollow and cloying, bu has a warm, beating heart at its core. A pleasant summer surprise.
Posted Aug 12, 2021
|
|
5.5/10
|
Annette
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
It's certainly different, but perhaps a little too different for some appetites.
Posted Aug 09, 2021
|
|
7/10
|
The Suicide Squad
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A fun exercise that's a marked improvement on WB's last attempt with this property, but it doesn't feel quite as emotionally resonant or uproariously funny as it seems to think it is.
Posted Aug 05, 2021
|
|
6/10
|
Stillwater
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
More happening under the surface here than the marketing lets on, but the final moments are a real clunker. Not enough to overpower Damon's work, though.
Posted Jul 29, 2021
|
|
8/10
|
Pig
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
It's time for the masses to finally put some respect on Nicolas Cage's name.
Posted Jul 28, 2021
|
|
5.5/10
|
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
An easy recommendation for when it makes its way to Paramount Plus, but a bit of a tougher sell for, y'know, actually leaving the house and going to a theater.
Posted Jul 23, 2021
|
|
3.5/10
|
Gunpowder Milkshake
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
I'm okay with a movie being bad if it's fun. I'm okay with a movie being bad if it touches me emotionally. I'm okay with a movie being bad if it it's got vibes. I'm just not okay with a movie being boring.
Posted Jul 17, 2021
|
|
5/10
|
Space Jam: A New Legacy
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Nowhere near as bad as so many people seem to think. Oh, it's not really GOOD either, but it's fun?
Posted Jul 15, 2021
|
|
8.5/10
|
No Sudden Move
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Steven Soderbergh continues to prove why he's the most consistent filmmaker working today. The entire all-star cast brings their A-game. An early contender for one of the best of 2021.
Posted Jul 03, 2021
|
|
5/10
|
The Tomorrow War
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
An intermittently fun sci-fi actioner that tries to be too many disparate movies at once, and fails at executing each and every one of them. But, a tepidly fun time nonetheless.
Posted Jul 02, 2021
|
|
7.5/10
|
Black Widow
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A far more impressive and enjoyable solo outing than the MCU has produced in recent memory, but it's still mind boggling we didn't get this movie ten years ago.
Posted Jun 29, 2021
|
|
7.5/10
|
Zola
(2020)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
It is both exactly what you would expect from a movie based on a viral Twitter thread and also something more.
Posted Jun 28, 2021
|
|
7.5/10
|
Fatherhood
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
A sweet and entertaining throwback in the vein of John Hughes' work on Mr. Mom that showcases a much needed evolution in Kevin Hart's on-screen persona.
Posted Jun 21, 2021
|
|
5/10
|
Gully
(2019)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Not great, but both its impressive cast and its veteran music video helmer director show real promise, even if the film itself doesn't exactly stick the landing.
Posted Jun 18, 2021
|
|
2.5/10
|
Infinite
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Woefully miscast, too derivative and not nearly exciting enough to overcome its fundamental blandness.
Posted Jun 17, 2021
|
|
6/10
|
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
(2021)
|
Dominic Griffin
|
Better than the second film, but still no match for the first. The third Conjuring outing tries some new things, but not too many. It's still basically The Thin Man for ghost hunters and, honestly, what's so wrong with that?
Posted Jun 05, 2021
|
>