Eighth Grade is a raw and authentic emotional experience that tackles complex, societal struggles on such an intimate, personal level. I’m *technically* on vacation right now, so I don’t have enough time to rave about this film as I would like to. But here’s what I can say thus far:

1. Elsie Fisher is an absolute revelation. She conveys a plethora of emotions with a simple sigh, and the verisimilitude of her performance is beyond compare. She blended perfectly with…

Christopher Robin is a simple-minded yet sweet adventure with an endearing turn from Ewan McGregor as the titular protagonist and some delightful doses of Disney wisdom delivered through the winning voice cast of the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood.

The story of this film is nothing new; it’s a very basic, paint-by-numbers “overworked father alienated family and rediscovers the meaning of life” plot. However, it is elevated by the enchanting nature of the plentiful, stunningly rendered CGI co-stars and…

The Darkest Minds is a dreadfully dull amalgamation of YA movie cliches with a considerable lack of any excitement or substance whatsoever. 

For starters, the screenplay is a scattershot mess. The first third of the film is rushed beyond belief. I legitimately felt like I missed an entire film’s worth of set-up. The “state of the world” and the introduction of this mysterious “disease” are largely brushed over, despite this being necessary information for the plot. Ruby’s escape from her…

Lost in Translation accomplishes a masterful tonal balance between sardonic wit and pensive melancholy as it relays the story of two lost souls who forge a unique connection whilst being stranded in a bright, crowded, continuously bustling city. The contrast between Bob & Charlotte’s feelings of isolation and the constant, upbeat Tokyo atmosphere is incredibly engaging, as is the juxtaposition of Bob’s “mid-life crisis” and Charlotte’s mid-20’s listlistness. It’s a film that manages to be both sweet and sad, and it…

Slender Man should’ve been titled Generic Horror Movie.

This poor excuse of a film takes one of the most legitimately terrifying and intriguing horror myths of the 21st century and absolutely brutalizes it with horrendous, nonsensical plotting, characters that are bland beyond belief, and an indefensibly uninspired and hackneyed screenplay. The dialogue in particular is truly atrocious, even by low-bar horror movie standards.

For a movie with a runtime of a mere 93 minutes, this borefest drags. I probably checked my…

BlacKkKlansman is a riotous, unsettling, and somehow continually hilarious look at the history of racism and bigotry in America, all through the story of one larger than life sting operation.

Spike Lee is never the most subtle filmmaker, but this is by far his strongest and most coherent work in years. Although the movie does fumble a few tonal shifts and could afford to lose a few scenes, for the most part, Lee keeps audiences engaged as the tense narrative…

“I just wanted you to know there will be a piece of you in me always. And I’m grateful for that.”

I don’t think I can heap enough praise onto this tragicomic romantic masterpiece. Spike Jonze is a goddamn mastermind, and he absolutely nails every single tone in the film (from the pervasive melancholy to sumptuous ion to aching isolation to bittersweet acceptance). He tackles a lot of relevant themes here - obsession/addiction to technology, disassociation from the human connection/society…

I went into Dog Days fairly skeptical of how this ensemble romcom would fare, since the promotional materials reeked of Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve vibes. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how winsome and charming this turned out to be! It’s extremely predictable for the most part, and it embraces a variety of cliches from the genre, but everyone seems to be having a lot of fun here, and there are quite a few decent laughs to be…

The Meg is a big, loud, lumbering beast of a movie that certainly lacks in intelligence and novelty, but is able to (mostly) atone for these deficiencies in sheer dumb fun entertainment value.

Although there is an expected lack of character development (aside from a fairly engaging arc for Statham’s protagonist Jonas), most of the actors bring a certain sense of personality to their roles that add to the liveliness of the proceedings. The aforementioned Statham perfectly balances his rugged…

Mom continually lists this as one of her favorite movies, and ever since she heard the reference in Game Night, she’s been dying for a rewatch, so here we are.

Primal Fear is an above average police procedural thriller elevated by intensely committed performances and an absolute sucker punch of an ending. Richard Gere is reliably compelling as our arrogant, yet strong willed protagonist, defense attorney Martin Vail. His emotional connection with the case of Aaron Stampler gradually borders on…