Category: Bite Size Reviews
Our fresh takes on new releases.
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Review: ‘Resident Evil’ is a thrilling 90-minute side quest into survival horror
After two massively influential horror films, Zach Cregger’s video game adaptation is a smart sidestep into more straightforward shocks and thrills.
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Review: ‘The Uprising’ is a shaky-cam slog with a muddy message
Paul Greengrass brings his signature style to a take on the 14th-century English revolt that feels anything but revolutionary.
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Review: ‘Practical Magic 2’ casts a familiar sisterly spell for a new generation
Nearly three decades later, the cult-classic original gets a nostalgic upgrade that also feels cursed with a lack of purpose.
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Review: ‘Ever After’ is a demented fairytale slasher for horror diehards
László Illés’s latest has pacing issues and a bonkers plot, but also a cast of horror icons.
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Review: ‘Onslaught’ is an ’80s-style horror action thriller that doesn’t let up
Adam Wingard’s follow-up to ‘The Guest’ blends pulsating techno synths, action sleaze, and kinky absurdity. I loved every second of it.
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Review: ‘Hope’ is a weirdly flawed yet fascinating creature feature
Korean director Na Hong-jin’s first film in ten years is both deeply compelling and strangely puzzling.
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Review: ‘Mutiny’ is a Jason Statham movie, what can I say
Instead of fighting and action set pieces, Statham runs around a cargo freighter’s corridors, climbs ladders, and goes down exhaust vents. Exciting stuff.
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Review: ‘Insidious: Out of the Further’ feels stuck in franchise purgatory
The sixth flick in the once-fun haunted house series does just enough to be entertaining again while still feeling stuck in place.
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Review: Groundbreaking doc ‘Sherman’s March’ remains vital 40 years later
Rereleased in a 40th anniversary 4K restoration, Ross McElwee’s entertaining 1986 documentary feels as revealing as ever in an age when people film every part of their lives.
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Review: ‘It Ends’ takes Gen Z trauma on a road trip
When future generations ask what the COVID-19 pandemic was like, I’ll put on this directorial debut from Alexander Ullom about four friends trapped on an endless road to nowhere.
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Review: ‘The End of Oak Street’ is a madcap throwback to ’80s summer blockbusters
David Robert Mitchell’s return to directing may just be the most fun movie of the summer, and certainly the most unique.
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Review: ‘Her Private Hell’ pushes Refn’s plotless fever-dream style to the extreme
Two couples walked out of my screening of Her Private Hell. I’m sure Nicolas Winding Refn wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Review: ‘The Samurai and the Prisoner’ is a confounding, intoxicating puzzle
Set in the late 16th century, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest is another example of the fascinating way he adapts a classic genre to his own style.
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Review: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ marks a refreshing reset for the MCU
Who would have thought that the fourth movie in the MCU’s Spider-Man saga would not only be its best, but chart a path forward for the struggling cinematic universe?
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Review: ‘Tony’ serves up a sizzling, cliche-free origin story
Fictionalizing the early chapters of chef Anthony Bourdain’s breakout memoir, Matt Johnson’s biopic understands the genre’s beats while frequently surprising expectations.
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Review: ‘Motor City’ swerves between operatic action and slow-burn gimmick
In Potsy Ponciroli’s revenge story, what starts as a genuinely intriguing little-dialogue conceit gets stale when you realize the film doesn’t have that many twists on the pulpy, grindhouse thrillers it’s deconstructing.
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Review: ‘The Odyssey’ is moviemaking at the highest level
The movie event of the summer is a staggering, impressively crafted epic, eschewing commercial Hollywoodisms for Nolan’s own idiosyncratic vision.
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Review: ‘Maddie’s Secret’ is an indescribable experience for fans of out-there comedy
Written, directed, and starring comedian John Early, Maddie’s Secret isn’t a movie that will have mass appeal by any means, but if your eyes light up at the latest Tim Robinson project then it’s a must-see.
