M3GAN 2.0
2025 | Dir. Gerard Johnstone | 120 Minutes
3 out of 5
Wholesale swapping out horror for action, this homicidal robot sequel is far less engaging than its predecessor despite featuring more rampaging android brutality. The self-aware humor is amusing, but the plot twists are incredibly tedious and the human story suffers without a strong emotional core. At best, it's mindless violent fun between scenes of plodding exposition, but it's a mediocre picture that a big swing and miss on its potential overall.
28 YEARS LATER
2025 | Dir. Danny Boyle | 116 Minutes
4 out of 5
Less a direct sequel to the previous films in the series and more the fascinating start of a new saga centered on preserving humanity against infectious rage run amok, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland present a trippy and thrilling post-apocalyptic coming of age story while also delivering a moving meditation on mortality. The horror action is quite inventive and incredibly suspenseful as the ultra stylish picture mutates the nasty virus first established in 28 Days Later in intriguing ways (though that one and 28 Weeks Later are not at all required viewing before jumping into this movie). Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes are respectively very good, and Edvin Ryding is incredibly funny, but the very best performance of the feature belongs to young actor Alfie Williams in the lead role. Docking a point only because the final scene, while very entertaining, feels more like the beginning of the next chapter rather than a natural part of this one.
MATERIALISTS
2025 | Dir. Celine Song | 117 Minutes
3 out of 5
A rather clinical deconstruction of rom-com conventions that's light on comedy and heavy on realistic drama. While it thoughtfully parses out the difference between relationships built upon transactional pragmatism and those developed through unquantifiable romantic connection, the dialogue is a bit clunky at points, and the plot could have used a bit more flourish, but leads Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans keep things engaging. Celine Song's sense of pace and ability to deliver emotional resonance are impressive in any case.
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME
2025 | Dir. Wes Anderson | 102 Minutes
4 out of 5
As aesthetically pleasing and humorously dry as Wes Anderson films come, though this one leans far more into the auteur's brand of madcap comedy and, to the picture's disservice, less into the concentrated heartfelt human drama that give his best movies that extra something. Benicio del Toro is an excellent fit as a morally bankrupt businessman in the midst of an existential crisis, and Michael Cera hilariously brings his awkward energy to the role of an unassuming entomologist harboring a crush and a secret, but a grumpy cat-like Mia Threapleton steals the show as a no-nonsense nun reluctantly accompanying her estranged father on an unpredictable adventure.
THE LIFE OF CHUCK
2025 | Dir. Mike Flanagan | 110 Minutes
4 out of 5
Deeply earnest and affecting, Mike Flanagan adapts Stephen King at perhaps his most wistful into a thoughtful and engaging but somewhat meandering film meditating on mortality and the simple joys of human existence, however long it may last for each one of us. The ensemble cast featuring numerous Mike Flanagan regulars is a real pleasure to watch. Also, King's third-person omniscient narration sounds straight-up awesome when performed by Nick Offerman, that's just fact.
