The History of Concrete (2026)
‘Concrete’ doc suffers from pour quality I’ve never watched John Wilson’s canceled HBO series “How to with John Wilson,” but if it was anything like his first foray into feature filmmaking, “The History of Concrete,” I’m grateful I didn’t squander a second. But I did waste 101 minutes on his maddening documentary, in which […]
Bad Apples (2025)
You’ll want a bite of Ronan’s ‘Bad Apples’ The Osmonds famously sang “One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch, girl.” The makers of the dark comedy “Bad Apples” beg to differ with that grammatically challenged statement, offering a disturbing account of one such worm-filled winesap in 11-year-old school terrorist Danny. Not only is […]
The Weight (2026)
Hawke lends added heft to ‘The Weight’ After his superb, Oscar-nominated performance in “Blue Moon,” the lingering question was what would Ethan Hawke do next. We now have the answer. And it’s proving well worth the wait for “The Weight.” Set in 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, it’s the story […]
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Soggy Bottom (2026)
Ewe won’t want to miss hilarious ‘Beast’ Count on the sharp minds behind “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom” to capture the “shear” fun of Halloween, and do it with keen wit and the utmost affection. It’s the third, and possibly best, entry in the “Shaun” series created by Nick Park of […]
On a String (2025)
Impressive ‘On a String’ is slightly out of tune Stand-up comedian Isabel Hagen is obviously talented. Besides writing and directing her semiautobiographical “On a String,” the Juilliard-trained violist also proves she knows how to fiddle around with toxic relationships, and not just with men. Oh, and she also helped compose and sing her film’s […]
Runner (2026)
Ritchson muscles ‘Runner’ to finish line As Arnold, Sly and Liam age out of their reign as the kings of action flicks, the hulking, charismatic Alan Ritchson stands ready to wrest the throne as heir apparent. In just the past month, he’s staked his claim with the season 4 premiere of his popular Prime […]
The Sun Never Sets (2026)
Blandness eclipses ‘The Sun Never Sets’ The most intriguing aspect of Joe Swanberg’s revisionist rom-com, “The Sun Never Sets,” is its hypothesizing what would happen if a single gal were asked to choose between a couple of narcissistic losers. Would she be better off alone, or do the rules of the genre dictate that […]
Dear You (2026)
Letters of love and money fill charming ‘Dear You’ Normally, I don’t subscribe to the sort of blatant sentimentality pushed by Hongchun Lan in his family drama, “Dear You,” but darned if the co-writer-director didn’t play me like an erhu. Much of that irresistibility must be credited to the intoxicating Sitong Li, a 22-year-old […]
Mayday (2026)
Comical ‘Mayday’ mixes commies and commrades The unlikely pairing of Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh brings the heat to a Cold War comedy that sizzles with excitement in Apple TV+’s highly entertaining “Mayday.” Together, the disparate actors reach an altitude that lofts them into the danger zone as Branagh’s “Top Gun”-obsessed former KGB agent […]
Colony (2026)
Zombie flick, ‘Colony,’ undead on arrival There’s a quarter of a good movie lurking inside the zombie dance recital that is Yeon Sang-ho’s “Colony.” Set in a soulless Seoul, it posits the fascinating idea that a bioengineered mold can both regenerate damaged tissue and open the door for humans to think and behave cooperatively […]