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All in Reviews
Review: The Secret Life of Pets
Very little lies beneath the surface here, which is a shame because there was definite potential for more.
Review: The Fits
Told through a lens of competition and desire, this experience is singular--you will not see anything else quite like The Fits for a very long time.
Review: The Purge: Election Year
If you know you are stupid and own it, stupid can be good. And like the hard driving prosecutor with a mean streak, this series has learned to channel what would otherwise be a flaw.
Review: Weiner
In some ways, Weiner succeeds whether it is an accurate portrayal of the former New York Congressman or not. If it is all a façade, then that almost tells us more about the man than if he had let us in. As is, there is no way to really know, but Weiner entertains regardless.
Review: The Neon Demon
What happens when your mockery of something is as empty, shallow and vapid as the subject?
Review: The Shallows
On the surface, The Shallows is a thoroughly competent thriller that extends the lineage of Jaws. However, if you dip a metaphorical toe beneath the surface, there are definite problems here, no matter how tightly the story is told.
Review: Finding Dory
The film offers a thoughtful examination of the concepts of family and home, but it could have taken an all of the above strategy and given audiences a less conventional narrative.
Review: X-Men: Apocalypse
There is a lot to like here, even if it sometimes can't help but feed the CGI fueled, product-placement machine that is the genre at large. Overall, it works, but it is hard to say much more than that.
Review: The Conjuring 2
Beautifully shot, beautifully rendered and fully imagined, it earns its 134-minute runtime by filling the experience with unnerving terror.
Review: Popstar: Never Stop Stopping
Popstar is a refreshingly self-aware, timely and thoughtful mockumentary with a clear point of view. It is also just funny, which makes it hard not to enjoy.
Review: Presenting Princess Shaw
The movie doesn't blaze any new trails from a filmmaking standpoint, and its story is fairly simplistic, but there is something so wholesome about it that I can't help but be happy it exists.
Review: The Nice Guys
Shane Black's script is beautifully crafted, genuinely funny and surprisingly deep. It won't be for everyone, but those with an open mind will be thoroughly entertained.
Review: The Lobster
Is it reasonable to base a relationship on trivial commonalities like nosebleeds and limps? If not, is it really any less legitimate than the things you think love should be based on?
Review: Money Monster
The film's tagline--Not every conspiracy is a theory--is exposed as nothing more than a tagline by the end of this so-so experience.
Review: Captain America: Civil War
I can imagine that for many, just seeing this number of characters fighting is going to be exhilarating. But was there more here for those who might not be hardcore fans?
Review: Keanu
Comedy is pretty much entirely subjective. It is certainly possible you will find this movie truly funny. I just didn't.
SFIFF Review: Southside With You
That the characters are completely oblivious to how historically important they and this day are, gives the movie an indescribable charm that forces you to view it as a love story before seeing it as a biopic.
SFIFF Review: Maggie's Plan
Watching Maggie's "plan" go from having a baby on her own to getting her husband to go back to his ex-wife is a delight. In the end, the movie laughs at our conceit in thinking we get to make plans and have them work out.
Review: Green Room
Something more than violent drama, but not quite horror either, Green Room occupies it's own sort of gritty space. It's unflinchingly brutal and rife with dark tension.