U.S. Release Date: 2021-03-05
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Animated/Fantasy
Director: Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada
Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Izaac Wang, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong
"Raya" offers a screenplay and story geared primarily toward younger audiences and lacks the magic necessary to command long-term adulation.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-04-30
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Stefano Sollima
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jamie Bell, Guy Pearce, Lauren London
For something based on a Clancy novel, it’s disappointingly lacking in the author’s trademark complexity and detail. This is pure disposable entertainment – nothing more, nothing less.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-05-12
MPAA Rating: "NR" (Profanity, Mature Themes)
Genre: Science Fiction/Thriller
Director: Alexandre Aja
Cast: Melanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric
The bad aftertaste from the contrived conclusion diminishes the experience but doesn’t undo the prior 90 minutes of mystery and tension.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-05-14
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Aidan Gillen, Nicholas Hoult, Jon Bernthal, Medina Senghore, Jake Weber
Fundamentally, this is about the hunters and the hunted and, if you don’t look too deeply into the backstory, it works on that level.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-05-14
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Fred Hechinger, Wyatt Russell, Bryan Tyree Henry, Jeanine Serralles, Anthony Mackie, Mariah Bozeman
An example of something that can work well on the written page but loses a lot when condensed and brought to the screen.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-05-21
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Gore, Profanity, Nudity)
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Omari Hardwick, Matthias Schweighofer, Tig Notaro, Raul Castillo, Samantha Win, Theo Rossi, Garret Dillahunt, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada
Snyder takes some chances, doesn’t skimp on the gore, and offers a shock or two.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-05-28
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Adult Themes)
Genre: Adventure/Comedy
Director: Craig Gillespie
Cast: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, John McCrea, Emily Beecham, Mark Strong, Kayvan Novak, Kirby Howell-Baptiste
If one puts aside the film’s antecedents, what’s left is an unremarkable family film that lacks a compelling reason to exist.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-06-04
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Disturbing Images)
Genre: Horror
Director: Michael Chaves
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, Julian Hilliard, John Noble, Eugenie Bondurant, Shannon Kook
The magic previously enjoyed by "The Conjuring" movies has failed to materialize for this journey into the supernatural.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-06-18
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Animated
Director: Enrico Casarosa
Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Marco Barricelli, Saverino Raimondo, Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan
The message is laudable and Luca’s heart is in the right place but its sledgehammer tactics make parts of the movie feel more like a homily than summer entertainment.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-07-02
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Director: Everardo Gout
Cast: Ana de la Reguera, Tenoch Huerta, Josh Lucas, Leven Rambin, Cassidy Freeman, Alejandro Edda, Will Patton
Adept at providing the violence fans expect from an exploitation flick and, despite its pretense of offering political commentary, that’s really all this movie is.