A tight close-up of a menacing sloth's face and claws, from SLOTHERHOUSE
FILM REVIEWS

SLOTHERHOUSE (2023)

Godard said all you need for a movie is a girl and a gun, but did he ever really consider the cinematic possibilities of a sloth with a sword? The minds behind the horror-comedy Slotherhouse did, and we thank them for it.

Helen Mirren as GOLDA (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

GOLDA (2023)

As Golda Meir, Helen Mirren gives a showy but shallow impersonation, in a disappointing historical biopic more emotional than illuminating.

Academy Award statues standing in front of posters for the Best Picture nominees (American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest))

2024 OSCAR PICKS & PREDICTIONS

My choices for who will win, who should win, and who must not be allowed to win at the 96th Annual Academy Awards.

Denzel Washington breaks a guys arm in THE EQUALIZER 3
FILM REVIEWS

THE EQUALIZER 3 (2023)

Denzel Washington eats, prays, loves, maims, mutilates, and murders in Anton Fuqua's The Equalizer 3 (2023), a dumb and dour action thriller that is both unpleasant to watch and bad for the world.

OTHER RECENT POSTS

Sean Saifa Wall in EVERY BODY.
FILM REVIEWS

EVERY BODY (2023)

Julie Cohen's excellent new intersex documentary Every Body is informative and infuriating, but also empowering, entertaining, and surprisingly joyful.

RUBY GILLMAN - TEENAGE KRAKEN (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN (2023)

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is a thing that exists. Of all the animated movies available this summer, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is inarguably…one of them.

Aubrey "Po" Powell in Squaring the Circle - The Story of Hipgnosis (2022)
FILM REVIEWS

SQUARING THE CIRCLE (THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS) (2022)

Anton Corbjin's documentary is more than the story of the design firm behind some of music's most iconic album covers. It's also a funny and moving tribute to people, arts, and times now lost.

Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman in NO HARD FEELINGS
FILM REVIEWS

NO HARD FEELINGS (2023)

Jennifer Lawrence's attempt at an '80s-style sex comedy is slightly subversive, better than expected, and nowhere near as good as it might have been.

Greg LeMond celebrates his Tour de France victory in THE LAST RIDER
FILM REVIEWS

THE LAST RIDER (2022)

The real-life facts of cyclist Greg LeMond's story are dramatic enough, but the film about him could stand a little more Hollywood fakery.

ASTEROID CITY (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

ASTEROID CITY (2023)

What happens when you recognize a filmmaker as great, but still don't like their movies? With Asteroid City, I'm finally forced to work through my Wes Anderson issues.

Ember and Wade in ELEMENTAL
FILM REVIEWS

ELEMENTAL (2023)

Pixar used to be perfectionists about their stories. Based on the underbaked and underwhelming Elemental, they should go back to that philosophy.

Melvin Gregg, Grace Byers, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jermaine Fowler, Dewayne Perkins, and Xochitl Mayo in The Blackening.
FILM REVIEWS

THE BLACKENING (2023)

Every national holiday needs its movies. Smart, funny, and socially-pointed, The Blackening is America's first great Juneteenth comedy.

Teo Yoo and Greta Lee in PAST LIVES.
FILM REVIEWS

PAST LIVES (2023)

Arriving in theaters during the popcorn-movie season, Celine Song's delicate, devastating debut feature is the kind of art that lasts.

Ezra Miller, Ezra Miller, and Sasha Calle in THE FLASH
FILM REVIEWS

THE FLASH (2023)

A very troubled young person with extraordinary talents makes terrible decisions and causes a lot of damage. That's the story of The Flash, and it's also the story behind The Flash.

LYNCH/OZ: An image of Sheryl Lee as The Good Witch in David Lynch's WILD AT HEART
FILM REVIEWS

LYNCH/OZ (2023)

Alexandre O. Philippe’s new documentary is an entertaining but frustratingly limited exploration of cinema's "quintessential American dreamland" between The Wizard of Oz and David Lynch's films.

Aline Küppenheim & Nicolás Sepúlveda IN CHILE '76
FILM REVIEWS

CHILE '76 (2022)

A strong lead performance is squandered in a frustratingly sparse, emotionally empty political thriller set in the Pinochet dictatorship.

Optimus Primal (a big robot gorilla) in TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS
FILM REVIEWS

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (2023)

The new Transformers movie is slightly better than the last one, which is sort of like having a slightly better case of the clap. It's an improvement, to be sure, but still best avoided altogether.

An image from SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE shows Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy sitting upside down on a ledge looking over the city.
FILM REVIEWS

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (2023)

Across the Spider-Verse is a masterpiece: nearly overwhelming in its creative stimulation of the senses, but with a real emotional and narrative method to the madness.

Sophie Thatcher as Sadie in THE BOOGEYMAN
FILM REVIEWS

THE BOOGEYMAN (2023)

My Summer of Summer Movies gets underway with a derivative (but reasonably effective) monster-under-the-bed movie from director Rob Savage.

Posters for upcoming movies arranged in a grid.
BLOG

MY SUMMER OF SUMMER MOVIES, 2023

After a long sabbatical, I'm returning with a vengeance, and an insane plan to see and review every movie released between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in TITANIC
THE UNENTHUSIASTIC CRITIC

TITANIC (1997)

On the 25th anniversary of James Cameron's record-breaking blockbuster, The Unenthusiastic Critic is going down with the ship.

Chris Cooper as Sheriff Sam Deeds in LONE STAR
THE UNENTHUSIASTIC CRITIC

LONE STAR (1996)

In celebration of #Noirvember, we're watching John Sayles' underrated masterpiece about murder and lies in a Texas border town.

BARBARIAN (2022)
THE UNENTHUSIASTIC CRITIC

BARBARIAN (2022)

By popular demand, The Unenthusiastic Critic concludes this year's Halloween marathon with an absolutely bonkers new horror classic.

Emily Perkins and Katherine Isabelle in GINGER SNAPS (2000)
THE UNENTHUSIASTIC CRITIC

GINGER SNAPS (2000)

The Unenthusiastic Critic's annual October marathon reaches "that time of the month," as we watch John Fawcett's hormone-fueled horror movie.

Edith Scob in EYES WITHOUT A FACE
THE UNENTHUSIASTIC CRITIC

EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960)

The Unenthusiastic Critic's 2022 horror marathon continues with Georges Franju's poetically creepy classic.

Bub the Zombie (Sherman Howard) in DAY OF THE DEAD (1985)
THE UNENTHUSIASTIC CRITIC

DAY OF THE DEAD (1985)

Our 2022 Halloween marathon continues with the third film from George Romero's genre-defining horror trilogy.