Author: Derrick Murray

You have to respect workhorse filmmakers who bang out 3 films a year and rarely miss. It’s a class of veteran savoy that is rare even among the best of them, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa earns his stripes by living behind the camera and delivering one banger after another. “Cloud” is no exception, a haunting pressure cooker comprised of Kurosawa’s incredible patience that is always rewarded in the end. He has a knack for cluing you in on exactly what he wants to say but never giving away too much, keeping an ace or two up his sleeve to keep you…

It is a raw nerve constantly exposed that feels both timely and important but slightly undercooked and incomplete. I guess it’s a testament to how powerful it actually is; “Life After” is a film I struggle to fully embrace and agree with but would also recommend it as a must see.

“Superman” is overly ambitious, overstuffed, and quite messy most of the time. But it’s also consistently entertaining, delivering the kind of hopeful hero we’ve long been waiting to see on the big screen. It’s bursting with hope and humanity, and I can’t think of anything we need more of in the world right now than that.

Everything and everyone in “M3GAN 2.0” is just shooting in the dark, and what should be an upgrade ends up being malware, a virus that corrupts your eyeballs and forces a hard reset of your mind.

When it comes to the summer blockbuster, no one comes to them for the plot. It’s all about thrills and chills, how big can you go and how long you can keep people as entertained as possible. “F1: The Movie” is a frustrating experience because on the entertainment front, it delivers in just about every single way you would want from a “car go fast vroom vroom” racing film. But even for a predictable underdog sports drama, “F1” is a mess. Packed with lackluster characters and a checklist of cliches, it is held together only by its innovative and engrossing…

“28 Years Later” requires some patience and perspective, but if you’re willing to let it take you and not imprint your own experiences of the previous films, you’ll be rewarded with something special.

2025 has been an interesting year for cinema. All throughout the strikes and other extenuating circumstances, the common turn of phrase for almost 2 years was, “survive until 25.” Now that the year is upon us, the lineup has been met with quite a bit of trepidation and middling responses. That’s not to say the films have been bad, but aside from a few surprise standouts there has been very little that feels like the clear frontrunner for best of the year and/or strong awards contenders. It’s still early, and the fall festival season is about to get underway in…

Innovative action, thrilling stunt work, and a backboard shattering performance from De Armas, “Ballerina” is a certified blast sure to satisfy both action and Wick fans alike.

“The Life of Chuck” is an undeniable life affirming experience that celebrates living and wraps you in a warm, comforting blanket of hope. We contain multitudes, indeed.

After 12 films now it’s probably time to definitively decide where you land on Wes Anderson. A singular filmmaker so in tune with his own style it’s basically become a genre unto itself. With that, it means that Anderson isn’t for everyone, and that’s ok. What isn’t is asking a leopard to change its spots, and heading into “The Phoenician Scheme” under the assumption that you’re going to get anything other than what Wes Anderson does is extremely misguided. Asking him to change when he has made it abundantly clear throughout his entire career that he has no intention of…