Alci Rengifo
Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts*’ Unites a Pack of Losers for a Winning Adventure Laced With Psychological Depths
Features • Published on May 2025
Losers are irresistible as heroes. They can be so much more grounded and fun to be around than the picture perfect boy and girl scouts. Marvel’s “Thunderbolts*” rekindles some of the studio’s…
Tina Fey’s ‘The Four Seasons’ Laughs at Midlife Crises With Melancholy Heart
Alan Alda • Published on May 2025
Netflix’s “The Four Seasons” once again explores that dread of the midlife crisis through the gaze of privileged Americans. Age is the great enemy in a society that worships mobility and affluence.
‘The Accountant 2’ Makes It Through Another Mission With Entertaining Banter Between Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal
Ben Affleck • Published on April 2025
Nine years after “The Accountant” did decently, primarily as a rental, Artists Equity (the company founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) decided that after all this time we want a sequel. “…
‘The Legend of Ochi’: Isaiah Saxon’s Nostalgic Fantasy Adventure Is a Feast for the Eyes and Heart
Emily Watson • Published on April 2025
One of the secrets to the arthouse success of the studio A24 resides in its roster of millennial directors. Their obsession with childhood memories fuels a brand of filmmaking that attempts to raise…
‘Andor’: Diego Luna Commits to the Resistance in Riveting Second Season of ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff
Andor • Published on April 2025
Out of all the endless “Star Wars” spinoffs Disney has launched since acquiring George Lucas’ classic franchise, “Andor” is the series that has truly stood out. Beyond its narrative setting in a…
Andrew Ahn’s ‘The Wedding Banquet’ Reimagines Ang Lee’s Classic With Refreshed Relevance
Andrew Ahn • Published on April 2025
There is a unique amount of risk in Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet.” The task is to reimagine a story first told by Ang Lee in his classic 1993 original, which became…
Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ Unleashes Bloodthirsty Vampires in a Sweeping American Epic
Features • Published on April 2025
Like many monsters, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” is a hybrid. This sprawling film will instantly be approached by many viewers as first and foremost a vampire movie. In the style of those truly…
‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Keeps Its Human Element Strongest While Fighting the Infected
Bella Ramsey • Published on April 2025
HBO’s “The Last of Us” returns for a second season carrying a lot of weight. Its predecessor was groundbreaking in how it proved that compelling, dramatically admirable television can be adapted from…
‘Your Friends and Neighbors’: Jon Hamm Becomes an Empathetic Portrait of Upper Class Woes
Amanda Peet • Published on April 2025
If you are beginning to feel the pangs of a midlife crisis, Apple TV+ is always here for comfort and understanding. “Your Friends & Neighbors” is the latest wonderfully-cast, gorgeously-shot series from…
‘The Teacher’ Compels as a Portrait of an Occupied Palestine Told Through an Educator’s Trials
Farah Nabulsi • Published on April 2025
Cinema remains the most powerful, universal tool for oppressed peoples to get their stories out. The moving image strikes more immediately than the printed word in our electronic age, even if both mediums…
‘Drop’ Builds Roller Coaster Suspense Out of Classic Paranoia and Meghann Fahy’s Charm
Brandon Sklenar • Published on April 2025
Christopher Landon’s “Drop” feels like the kind of thriller they used to make where the suspense builds out of the presence of its stars, no matter how wacky the premise gets. In…
Alex Garland’s ‘Warfare’ Evokes Every Searing Detail of Ray Mendoza’s War Battle Memories
Alex Garland • Published on April 2025
As a sensory experience, Alex Garland’s “Warfare” is one of the most visceral recent examples of cinema’s capacity to place a viewer within a moment. Garland co-directs and wrote the script with…
‘Black Mirror’ Recovers Its Dark Stride With Compulsively Watchable Seventh Season of Tech Nightmares
Black Mirror • Published on April 2025
Charlie Brooker’s “Black Mirror” has never really been about our current fears regarding the machines taking over. The true effect of this series is in the realization that new technologies won’t change…
‘Hacks’: Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder Brilliantly Feud and Dream in Engrossing Fourth Season
Features • Published on April 2025
With great talent can come great force of will, which is one reason why artist underdogs become such natural heroes in drama or comedy. We want to believe that with enough drive, natural…
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Returns for a Final Season That Never Loses Urgency
Cherry Jones • Published on April 2025
Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” has survived the typical cancelling purges common in streaming thanks to its relevance. The writing may have highs and lows, though Elisabeth Moss’ performance remains strong and consistent,…
‘Dying for Sex’: A Superb Michelle Williams Seeks Sexual Liberation With Emotionally Stirring Gusto
Dying for Sex • Published on April 2025
By now it would seem that sex has been explored from every possible angle in media. Then a show comes along like FX’s “Dying for Sex” that feels new by looking at…
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s ‘Freaky Tales’ Is an Ode to Oakland Full of ‘80s Nostalgia and VHS Dreams
Features • Published on April 2025
We just can’t let go of the past. “Freaky Tales” is another headlong dive into 1980s nostalgia, clearly made by millennials who cherish their childhood memories encased in VHS. Directors Anna Boden…
‘A Minecraft Movie’ Brings Its Block-Shaped World To Life With Colorful Humans and a Colorless Story
A Minecraft Movie • Published on April 2025
All that is greenlit must first be I.P. per current studio dictum, so now we get “A Minecraft Movie.” As the title announces, this is the movie adaptation of the 2011 sandbox…
‘The Bondsman’: Kevin Bacon Is a Perfect Antihero in Gory Demon Hunter Romp
Features • Published on April 2025
Kevin Bacon is the cantankerous heart and soul of Amazon’s “The Bondsman.” He’s one of those actors with the range to be the most likable guy in the room and the most…
Peter Cattaneo’s Delightful ‘The Penguin Lessons’ Confronts Fascism and Classism With Wit and Kindness
Features • Published on March 2025
In “The Penguin Lessons,” Steve Coogan plays a character we seem to instantly recognize. He is a teacher who has become jaded and figures he can coast through a cushy new job,…