Critic’s Pick
Monumental cinema.
‘The Brutalist’
Adrien Brody stars as László Tóth, an architect and survivor of the Holocaust who lands in America in this sprawling drama directed by Brady Corbet.
From our review:
“The Brutalist” is a bursting-at-the-seams saga of bold men and their equally outsized visions. Set across several decades in the aftermath of World War II, it is a grave, serious, visually sumptuous movie that puts a great many ideas into play, starting with the tension between art and commerce. It largely focuses on one man in one place, but its concerns are more expansive and touch on everything from utopia to barbarism, desire, death, form, content, immigration, assimilation and the promise and perils of modernity.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Not quite the pride of the land.
‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
This prequel directed by Barry Jenkins follows the story of Mufasa as he goes from orphaned cub (voiced by Braelyn Rankins) to benevolent king (voiced by Aaron Pierre).
From our review:
The overall results are generally pretty, mildly diverting, at times dull and often familiar, despite a few unusually sharp, brief departures from Disney’s pacifying formula. … The introduction of a pride of white marauders — and nod to colonialization — is a welcome jolt of daring into this saga. That’s especially true because, like most big-studio movies out for world domination, this one’s bid at verisimilitude … is in service to a movie that’s been optimized to appeal to everyone.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
Old friends face age-old questions.
‘The Room Next Door’
After Ingrid (Julianne Moore) learns that her old friend Martha (Tilda Swinton) is dealing with terminal cancer, the two reunite and face mortality together in this frank and moving drama directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
From our review:
“The Room Next Door” is remarkably straightforward for an Almodóvar film, without the signature theatrics or sexual pyrotechnics that tend to pop up in the Spanish auteur’s work. Every conversation is blunt, each character plain-spoken and uninterested in subtext. It takes a second to get used to — movies are full of people saying the opposite of what they mean — but it also feels refreshing, and true to these women in particular.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Maximalist mayhem.
‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’
The speedy blue hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz) returns to face off against Shadow (voiced by Keanu Reeves), Robotnik and his grandfather (both voiced by Jim Carrey) in this sequel directed by Jeff Fowler.
From our review:
It’s hard to settle on what’s more bombastic: Carrey’s admittedly virtuoso double act, or the teeming computer graphics gadgetry of death and destruction spilling out of every corner of the screen. However you choose to categorize this movie, you have to admit it’s a lot — up to and including a post-credits tease for the next picture in the franchise.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
An adept adaptation.
‘The Count of Monte Cristo’
This adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s adventure novel follows Edmond Dantès (Pierre Niney), a sailor wrongfully incarcerated for treason, as he takes his revenge and reunites with his lost love.
From our review:
The French filmmakers Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière prove lacking in neither heart nor style: Refusing to pander to restless derrières, they’ve given this big, bounding, beautifully cinematic swashbuckler almost three hours to breathe. Yet their pacing is so frisky — and Celia Lafitedupont’s editing so elegant — your derrière is unlikely to complain.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Giving new meaning to “TV movie.”
‘Homestead’
In an apocalyptic America, Jeff Eriksson (Bailey Chase), a former Green Beret, runs security at a prepper compound owned by a tycoon (Neal McDonough) in this action-drama directed by Ben Smallbone.
From our review:
It’s not often that a feature film ends with a teaser for a series that is already available to stream, but “Homestead,” released by Angel Studios, the distributor of “Sound of Freedom” and various Christian-themed projects, is less a self-contained movie than a pilot for a show that already exists. The quality of the acting can only improve.
In theaters. Read the full review.
This war drama about mail delivers on all fronts.
‘The Six Triple Eight’
In the latest from Tyler Perry, Kerry Washington stars as Maj. Charity Adams, the leader of the only Black, all-female Women’s Army Corps unit serving in Europe during World War II, who were tasked with distributing heaping piles of undelivered mail.
From our review:
The drama lands many of the beats of the Greatest Generation genre and its subgenre: Black service members battling on two fronts. But familiarity doesn’t halt it being illuminating and affecting. What initially strikes Major Adams as a menial assignment at best, and a setup for failure at its bigoted worst, becomes a near-sacred operation. And when it does, the film finds a reach-for-your-Kleenex grace.
Watch on Netflix. Read the full review.
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