• Bottoms

    Bottoms

    ★★★★½

    Come for Rachel and Ayo in a gay fight club, stay for Seligman's absurdist world-building and non-stop visual gags.

    This generation's Mean Girls, But I'm a Cheerleader, and Scott Pilgrim all rolled into one.

  • They Cloned Tyrone

    They Cloned Tyrone

    ★★★★

    A killer aesthetic that splits the difference between Grungy 70s Exploitation flick and neon-drenched 80s Vaporwave elevates They Cloned Tyrone head and shoulders above other Netflix Original Film releases.

    The central social satire is a little less focused than I would have preferred, and the pacing of the film's middle section could use a bit of a trim, but the terrific trio of lead performances ensure that you will enjoy it the whole way through.

  • Extraction 2

    Extraction 2

    ★★★

    Even more emotionally inert than the first one, but it contains at least one absolutely bonkers action sequence split between a glass rooftop and a weight lifting room that includes some of the most inspired kills I have seen in some time.

    More of that gonzo action, and less digitally stitched oners, please.

  • Blue Beetle

    Blue Beetle

    ★★★

    The charming performance from Xolo Maridueña, endearingly supportive family unit, and cultural grounding in the working-class Mexican-American experience allows Blue Beetle to rise slightly above its low-budget CG effects and network-television-level production design.

    It is certainly not a 'good' film, but I would much rather see more of these than the other dreck DC has put out so far this year.

  • Somewhere in Queens

    Somewhere in Queens

    ★★★

    A slice-of-life, indie cringe comedy that, while inoffensive enough, never particularly justifies its existence.

    Though I do love Ray Romano's middle-late career sad-sack era.

  • The Super Mario Bros. Movie

    The Super Mario Bros. Movie

    ★★★

    More a video game commercial than a movie; cramming as many characters, items, and references from the series as can possibly fit onto the screen in 90 minutes of barely connected plot.

    But Jack Black kills it as Bowser, and nostalgia tells me that I would have been just as obsessed with this as a child as the majority of children viewing it today.

  • Oldboy

    Oldboy

    ★★★★★

    Incredible experience seeing my gateway film to the Korean New Wave in all its bloody, grotesque glory on the big screen!

    The wave of audible gasps that spread across the pretty full theater as first-time viewers realized the twist was truly something special.

  • Orphan

    Orphan

    ★★★★

    A two hour runtime, a cast of seasoned character actors, and a twisty, nasty little story. Can studio horror go back to this please?

  • Red, White & Royal Blue

    Red, White & Royal Blue

    ★★½

    Filmed with all the craft of an early 2000s DCOM, this YA rom-com is devoid of chemistry, hampered by dull dialogue, and padded out to an interminable 2 hour runtime.

    If Amazon was trying to set this up as their answer to Netflix's Heartstopper, then they failed miserably.

  • Shortcomings

    Shortcomings

    ★★★½

    A snarky indie dramedy with an anthropomorphic letterbox account as its main character, failing from one social interaction to the next.

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

    ★★★★½

    An absolute blast that will have you grinning from beginning to end!

    With a vibrant, grungy art style, the ninja turtles are brought to life as a sweetly sincere group of teen boys who, along with their rat-daddy, have never felt more like a true family.

    The incredible animated action sequences are glued together with silly dialogue, great characterization, and an abundance of blink-and-you'll-miss-it visual gags.

    It is truly the golden age of animated action films!

  • Extraction

    Extraction

    ★★★

    One solidly executed single take action scene does not a good film make.

    Hemsworth's inherent charm and charisma are wasted on a no-nonsense character in this bland shoot-em up that is overly long and devoid of heart.

    But sure, that one 17 minute scene is pretty good.