Directed by Benny and Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems is undoubtedly one of the finest films I've seen this year, though I hated nearly every second of it; that's the point. It is little more than two hours of the habits of unscrupulous jeweller Howard Ratner catching up with him when his ambition finally exceeds the tolerance of those he's more than happy to take advantage of, a slideshow of the different habits of a man of corrupt, caricatured character. This movie is one nerve-wra

Teen fiction often finds itself caught between the rock of being too grown-up for children who need a light pat on the head and the hard place of being too immature for adults who desire truly challenging media. Sometimes, movies such as these are sophisticated enough to reach the lower bounds of PG-13, but the ways in which they pull their punches tend to be hard to miss. Their observable desire to be more grown-up than their target audience will allow them to be isn't a new

One big and ultimately irrelevant question I have about Matt Reeves's cult classic found-footage monster movie Cloverfield is, how in the world did these people not drop their camera while filming the unceremonious destruction of New York? I hope my other questions and observations ring more true and appropriate than that, but it's hard not to notice the cameraman's iron grip. This is a movie less about something that happens and more about one person's lived experience of it

Darren Aronofsky's Caught Stealing is a movie about a bartender living in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, a bartender named Hank with a past that comes back to torture him when he falls asleep. If only I hadn't been drinking that night. If only my then-uninjured had gone on to play baseball. If only my friend hadn't died in that car crash of my making. Hank's life situation can be pretty dour, but don't let that fool you into thinking this movie isn't at all fun. Shot by ci

It's the same story we've heard over and over again. First, a filmmaker looking to make movies gets connected with a company looking to make money, then the filmmaker delivers a film that makes a lot of it, thirdly, the company asks him to do it again, and lastly, the filmmaker creates a sequel so indistinguishable from the first that it seems like getting his tongue stuck on a popsicle is a greater concern than whether or not the sequel will actually make money. The Bad Guys

I think the trickiest thing about critiquing themes and ideas in movies is the fact that they're, for the most part, inherently subjective. What's more, you can dig as deep as you want into talking about them without actually doing very much, spinning the wheels of your brain while those who are none the wiser look on, drooling at your perceived intellect. I also think that criticism of themes has today been turned into something it was never meant to be: a graceless politica

We live in an age of movies trying too hard to be funny, so arguably the best thing about Nobody 2 is its subtle wit. We know how these movies work, and Nobody 2 knows that we know. We know how the violence and the humor and the family drama work, and there's a distinct satisfaction to be had in what's essentially barely nostalgic cinematic comfort food. There's no two ways to cut the cake; Nobody 2 is a fun movie. Nevertheless, it's not hard to see that something is missing

Cassandra Kulukundis. Remember the name, because she's the woman who assembled probably the most impressive cast I've seen in a movie this year. This is a double-edged sword, because all of these AAA actors that Cassandra rounded up cost Warner Bros a fortune, a fortune that lost them around $100 million by the time One Battle After Another finished its theatrical run. In many ways, I can understand why this movie was a flop. It's a large-scale and obviously political thrille

For a film critic, the only thing more disappointing than a bad movie is a bad movie that should have been a very good one. The novelty of a football-themed horror movie is unmistakable, and while I understand that he didn't write or direct it, having a name as proven as Jordan Peele attached to your project should be enough to indicate to me that a movie will be, you know, good. I had every expectation that this would be a great movie, perhaps even a genre trailblazer of som

I'm a big proponent of comeback stories. If you happen to be a fan of the Final Destination franchise who has also read my reviews of the earlier movies, then I can imagine that I'm probably not your favorite person. I don't have a history of being very nice to Final Destination; what I was instead was matter-of-fact and maybe a little bit clinical. Quality-wise, this series has one of the worst track records I've ever seen for a major IP, though the reason I started watching

Final Destination 5 is a movie that, while unremarkable when compared to other, unrelated titles, is also part of a media franchise so starved for basic competencies that it can't help but stand out from its predecessors. It may be more or less the same thing as before, just kick-started by a wrongful escape from a pivotal bridge collapse instead of a doomed airplane flight or a fateful roller coaster accident. Still, it does everything its predecessors do, and it does it a p

One of the downsides of a cult following is their tendency to defend even the worst elements of the franchise that commands their affections. Very often, this creates something of a feedback loop, allowing undesirable flaws in a movie to persist and be loudly repeated in sequels. Having seen four of these things by now and taken even a cursory glance at many of the forums dedicated to the IP, I might even consider Final Destination and its fanbase the trendsetter for this rul

One of the biggest strengths of the anthology series format is its potential to explore new territory while remaining familiar, and working at the level he did with Wake Up Dead Man, Rian Johnson could make a dozen more Knives Out movies, and I would wait in line for them all. I ended up rewatching the first Knives Out before writing this review, which refreshed in my mind all the things I already knew about this franchise. This newest entry is both a celebration of everythin

Knives Out, Rian Johnson's brilliant riff on the classic murder mystery, is the type of movie that improves with each viewing. I'll admit that this movie was far smarter than I was when I first watched it a few years ago, and while I can't say with all honesty that I'm there yet, I'd like to think I'm improving. What was a great movie to me before is today a near-perfect tapestry of deceit and misdirection that ties up all of the loose ends surrounding the mysterious and poss

At one point in Final Destination 3 , the male lead, Kevin Fischer, says that he wishes he knew why any of this was happening. You and me both, Kevin. You probably know the drill of the famous or infamous Final Destination series by now, so I'll spare you the semantics. Yes, someone has a vision of some terrible freak accident in the not-too-distant future, and chooses to play it safe while their friends go on to suffer a bizarre fate. Allow me to be frank - this is getting o

Functioning in this strange role in-between a spinoff and a sequel, Final Destination 2 is a little bit better, a little bit worse, and entirely too familiar to the merit-bankrupt movie preceding it. If you loved the first Final Destination for whatever reason, you'll love this one too. If not, buckle up for a long cinematic prison sentence with me, because we've got four more of these things to review. I won't lie, the idea of a race against the clock to uncover the cause o

I'm not one to glibly dismiss an entire genre or subcategory, but I can't recall with complete honesty the last time I saw a truly great teen movie. I know, I know, Final Destination is rated R, but it has all the personality of a Boy Meets World fan club that might meet at your local Burger King. All of the problem-solving skills, too. It certainly has no problem crafting far-fetched, gruesome, and unfortunate deaths for almost every teenager involved, but it has a hard time

I was born roughly a year after 9/11, so for me, seeing the twin towers grace the Manhattan skyline was perhaps the most unsettling thing about John Carpenter's Escape From New York. Close behind that was all the murder, crime, and depravity you see in it, but honestly, it's close. This is an inescapably strange little B-movie, a circus show of dystopian pulp and sleaze served up with all the expected gung-ho muscle and masculinity of a well-toned army commando from the 80s,

In my original review for the Coen Brothers' legendary film adaptation of No Country for Old Men, I subtracted one point out of ten for what I once saw as a hasty conclusion to this movie. Nevertheless, I realized while rewatching it with my brother that an ending as jarring and abrupt as this had done nothing wrong outside of being more intelligent than I was. No Country patiently and subtly finds more meaning in meaninglessness than any other contemporary movie I've ever se

When watching an animated movie, it's never hard for me to tell whether the animators were working for the love of it or only for a paycheck. Flashback to 2009, and the extremely well-known Up has beaten out the significantly less recognizable The Secret of Kells to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. One movie went on to become legendary; the other was unfairly forgotten. I had never even heard of it before I walked into the classroom for another session of a fi