Reviews

January to March is often considered the dumping ground for mediocre to bad new releases at the movies. The box office is low and audiences are recovering from the wave of movies that came out during November and December. 2025’s first quarter has been interesting, with a variety of genre films that bombed at the box office, or superhero movies

Warfare (4 stars out of 4)



The best movies often feel like experiences, and Alex Garland’s “Warfare” is such a film. The only question is whether you feel you can handle the ordeal.



Set in the Battle of Ramadi in 2006 during the Iraq War, “Warfare” was co-written and directed by veteran Ray Mendoza, who was present for the events of the

The Amateur (3 stars out of 4)



Directed by James Hawes, “The Amateur” is a solid spy thriller that crosses elements of the “Bourne” franchise with this year’s “Black Bag” and echoes of Liam Neeson’s “Taken” films.



The story follows a CIA cryptography analyst named Heller (Rami Malek) who takes a dramatic career turn in the wake of a personal tragedy. Brilliant,

Death of a Unicorn (2 ½ stars out of 4)



A movie like “The Room” becomes infamous because it took itself seriously, with disastrous results. It was bad because it couldn’t help itself, and that turned it into a cult classic. A movie like “Sharknado” is a very different animal (pun slightly intended). “Sharknado” wanted to be a cult classic, and

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (3 stars out of 4)



Made in Zambia by director Rungano Nyoni, “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” is a compelling if deceptive exploration of culture and family dynamics.



The film opens late at night as the protagonist, a young woman named Shula (Susan Chardy), is driving home from a costume party. Her absurd dress—similar to the bulbous

Electronic musician Flying Lotus returns to the silver screen with his latest sci-fi-horror film “Ash”. The film made its world premiere at the SXSW film festival and opened wide on March 21.



The film follows Riya as she awakens in her space station on a foreign planet called Ash, and discovers her entire crew has been killed in a brutal

Premise



A young storyteller, Kubo (Art Parkinson), lives the truth of his stories as he must find an ancient suit of armor to fight against the vengeful Moon King (Ralph Fiennes).







A Dying Art




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r01mk6F_Pk
See how stop-motion played a part in creating some of the best made visual effects ever made--the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park (1993)



Stop-motion animation was the original go-to for Visual

Black Bag (3 ½ stars out of 4)



When you break it down, Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” becomes a bizarre recipe of pop culture elements: start with a “Mission: Impossible”-style save the world premise, but set it inside a British Intelligence internal subculture that feels like a more adult version of TV’s “The Office.”



Next, execute the plot like a classic Agatha

With the recent release of Osgood Perkins's horror-comedy The Monkey, another Stephen King story has now been adapted into a film. The Monkey is inspired by a short story of the same title from a short collection called Skeleton Crew. While The Monkey might not be the most unique story from King to be adapted into a film, there is

Premise



Based on the true story of the LeRette family, young Austin (Jacob Laval) navigates life with brittle bone disease and autism, which--try as they may--can't break him down.







Far more than I expected



I was anticipating a cheesy, possibly religious family flick, but I was surprised by the quality and how stylized it was right off the bat. It's fun and