Author: Al Alexander

I began as a film critic for The Patriot Ledger in suburban Boston in 1988, and became the senior film critic there in 2001. My reviews also appeared in newspapers associated with the nationwide Gannett chain. I' was recently granted membership to the prestigious Southeastern Film Critics Association and I've been a member of the North Carolina Film Critics Association since 2014. I have twice been honored by The New England Associated Press News Executives Association for outstanding feature writing. I transplanted from Boston to Raleigh in 2013 but remained on staff at the Ledger until 2023. I'm now starting out on my own in hopes of drawing attention to autism and putting it in a positive light. I was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum in 2020, and it has given me a whole new perspective on life, as well in how I analyze movies.

The Samurau and the Prisoner

Words mightier than sword in loquasious ‘Samurai’        The most intriguing aspect of “The Samurai and the Prisoner,” Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s first foray into the Japanese tradition of jidaigeki, is the J-horror maven’s celebration of non-violence through violence. I know, not at all what you’d expect from a somewhat factual 16th-century samurai tale whose DNA includes […]

I Want Your Sex (2026)

Sorry Gregg Araki, I don’t want your ‘Sex’        Outrageous for the sake of outrageousness, Gregg Araki’s Sundance darling, “I Want Your Sex,” is an empty vessel masquerading as a satirical slap on the untouched tushes of celibate Zoomers. It’s equally a crude, vulgar homage to Billy Wilder’s classic “Sunset Boulevard,” in which a naive […]

Motor City (2025)

‘Motor City’ sounds off without uttering a peep       We’ve all heard the idiom put up or shut up. And in the case of “Motor City,” the nearly talk-free neo-noir from director Potsy Ponceroli, the ill-fated characters all do the latter. But will audiences put up with the shut up? The answer will surely determine […]

Bad Counselors (2026)

‘Bad Counselors’ flirts with the divine      The summer camp shenanigans in “Bad Counselors” are not without sin, which is somewhat surprising given its faith-based origins. And Chris Dowling’s film is all the better for it. Yes, it’s preachy in places, but by going secular, its themes of atonement, redemption and self-respect go down so […]

Our Hero, Balthazar (2025)

‘Balthazar’ draws a bead on American gun culture      One can legitimately argue that there are two types of people: heroes and victims. And which one you choose to be indicates a lot about how you perceive the world and how it reflects you. It’s all part and parcel of a dichotomous symbiosis in which […]

Horsegirls (2026)

You’ll want to saddle up for ‘Horsegirls’       Cancer and autism are challenges I know a lot about because I continue to live with them both, which – I suppose – offers me a unique perspective on the profound, utterly charming “Horsegirls.” It’s not just an accomplished writing-directing debut by Lauren Meyering; it’s also a […]

The Kidnapping of Arabella (2026)

‘Kidnapping of Arabella’ can’t justify the ransom        The abduction of a child, no matter if it’s done purposely or, in this case, accidentally, is hardly fodder for hilarity. But writer-director Carolina Cavalli obviously didn’t get the memo before concocting the gratingly off-key “The Kidnapping of Arabella,” a farce of a farce that’s more annoying […]

Night Nurse (2026)

‘Night Nurse’ is direly lacking life support       The supposed erotic thriller, “Night Nurse,” is not so much a movie as it is an OnlyFans fantasy involving a twenty-something nurse attempting to boff her septuagenarian patient while the pair conduct a phone scam designed to bilk seniors out of their life savings. Such a turn-on! […]

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (2026)

If ever a wiz there was, it is ‘Sex Pass’     Imagine a motion picture in which mad men Jon Hamm and John Slattery find themselves reunited in a land of Oz, where a plucky young lady from Kansas is assisted by three neurotic losers in her quest to get under the covers with the […]

Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024)

‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ takes Sharia rule to task      The film adaptation of Azar Nafizi’s memoir, “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” unfolds in fits and starts, not unlike Trump’s off-and-on war with Iran. One minute it’s a hot mess and the next, a puttering exchange of empty words and unfulfilled promises.      Its salvation is […]