U.S. Release Date: 2024-09-13
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Profanity, Implied violence)
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Anand Tucker
Cast: Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Ben Barnes, Lesley Manville, Romola Garai, Alfred Enoch
To the extent that "The Critic" provides entertainment, it’s mostly a result of McKellan’s performance and the wonderful set design.
U.S. Release Date: 2024-09-06
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Gore, Scary Images, Profanity)
Genre: Comedy/Horror
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, Burn Gorman, Arthur Conti
For this much-delayed sequel, director Tim Burton has hewed close to the strengths of the original, repeating them when appropriate and acknowledging them when not.
U.S. Home Release Date: 2024-09-04
MPAA Rating: "PG" (Sexual Content, Profanity, Scary Images)
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Winona Ryder, Robert Goulet, Dick Cavett, Marie Cheatham
Although the sensibilities of director Tim Burton are offbeat and his humor verges on the macabre, there is an oddball charm to the proceedings.
U.S. Release Date: 2024-08-30
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Science Fiction/Thriller
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Cast: Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Tomer Capone, Emily Beecham
The primary narrative is hijacked by a series of too-long flashbacks and a questionable decision to insert a late-in-the-proceedings twist.
U.S. Release Date: 2024-08-23
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Sexual Content, Profanity, Drugs)
Genre: Thriller
Director: JT Mollner
Cast: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr.
Unfortunately, once the “mysteries” have been resolved, "Strange Darling" loses a lot of its energy and the final act devolves into anticlimax.
U.S. Release Date: 2024-08-23
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Gore, Sexual Content, Drugs)
Genre: Action/Horror
Director: Rupert Sanders
Cast: Bill Skarsgard, FKA Twigs, Danny Huston, Josette Simon, Laura Birn, Sami Bouajila
The characters have no humanity, the romance has no sizzle, and the whole thing turns into a slog where style overwhelms substance to such a degree that there’s too little left of the latter to matter.
U.S. Release Date: 2024-08-23
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Sexual Content, Profanity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Zoe Kravitz
Cast: Naomi Ackie, Geena Davis, Trew Mullen, Levon Hawke, Liz Caribel, Haley Joel Osment, Adria Arjona, Simon Rex, Christian Slater, Alia Shawkat, Channing Tatum, Kyle MacLachlan
A collage of Hitchcockian elements baked into a story with a more graphic approach than anything the Master of Suspense ever achieved.
U.S. Release Date: 2024-08-16
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Gore, Profanity)
Genre: Science Fiction/Horror
Director: Fede Alvarez
Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu, Ian Holm
Fede Alvarez, obviously an "Alien" devotee, opts for a “greatest hits” approach replete with Easter Eggs and instances of fan service.
U.S. Release Date: 2024-08-16
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content, Violence)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Austin Peters
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Lewis Pullman, Nathan Fillion, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Erik Palladino, John Billingsley, Luis Gerardo Mendez
Feels like it wants to be a screwball caper movie but the comedy gets lost along the way; the thriller elements are rather pedestrian.
U.S. Home Release Date: 2024-08-14
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Documentary
Director: Sara Dosa
Cast: Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft
Feels like a “greatest hits” album, tracking some of the most important volcanoes that the couple visited/investigated during the quarter century of their partnership.