“Pike River” is less about tragedy than what happens when we stop asking questions
There are true-story dramas that feel engineered for awards season, while others serve as acts of witness. “Pike River,” directed with sober conviction by Robert Sarkies and written by Fiona Samuel, firmly belongs in the latter category—a film more concerned with accountability than with catharsis.
Ric Roman Waugh and Jason Statham settle into cold, familiar action territory with “Shelter”
Legendary tough guy Jason Statham teams up with director Ric Roman Waugh for his annual winter season action flick in “Shelter” from Black Bear. Ward Perry writes the film’s screenplay.
“Wonder Man”: A Marvel series more interested in the actor than the cape
I’ll be upfront: I never had much awareness of Wonder Man before this series. He wasn’t part of my Marvel vocabulary growing up. What drew me to the show was the lead actor, whose work I’ve followed for years, and my interest in him turned out to be well placed.
Sundance 2026 Review: “Prime”
One of the great things about attending a film festival as iconic as Sundance is discovering an emerging voice in the shorts program. I had the privilege of viewing director Megan Coyle’s debut, “Prime,” as part of the Midnight Short Film Program.
“Sirât” is an explosive desert dystopia—cinema balanced on a knife’s edge
As the Oscar Season heats up, I wanted to highlight “Sirât”, Spain’s submission for this year’s Academy Awards. Neon will expand the film out for wide release next month. The film is directed by Oliver Laxe who co-writes the script with Santiago Fillol.
“Atropia” is a disjointed blend of war and romance
After dabbling in directing shorts, actress Hailey Gates makes her feature debut with “Atropia”. Gates also pens the screenplay for the film, which is an adaptation of her 2019 short “Shako Mako”.
“Mercy” is a soulless sci-fi mess
January has been a dumping ground for movies. And “Mercy” the latest film from stylish director Timur Bekmambetov does nothing to change that. The studio behind the film is Amazon/MGM and why they just didn’t dump this on Prime is beyond me.
“All you need is kill” is sci‑fi anime at its most relentless and human
“All You Need Is Kill” doesn’t ease you into its world—it drops you straight into the wreckage and asks you to find your footing while everything is still burning. Set in the near-future year 20XX, the film imagines a Japan struggling to rebuild after the sudden appearance of Darol, a massive alien “flower” that feels less like an invader and more like an omen.
Old‑school justice, new‑school grit: “Oscar Shaw” is Michael Jai White at his best
Something is refreshing about an action film that doesn’t rush to explode everything on screen. Michael Jai White’s latest project, “Oscar Shaw,” quietly arrives on demand and showcases its influences, drawing from the lean, street-level thrillers of the 1970s.
“Anaconda” returns — and it’s way funnier (and smarter) than it has any right to be
Director Tom Gormican, in collaboration with writer Kevin Etten, leans hard into meta-humor, but does so with a light touch. Instead of being a remake or reboot, the story becomes a comedy about fandom, arrested development, and the desperate hope that finishing a long-abandoned dream might somehow straighten out adult life.
“The Housemaid” is sleek, silly, and sharply aware of its own appeal
Paul Feig—whose directing career has oscillated between inspired subversion and crowd-pleasing autopilot—firmly lands in the latter camp here. This film isn’t the sly genre remix of “A Simple Favor,” nor does it aim for Hitchcockian elegance.
Trust is the first casualty in “The Rip”
Set against the backdrop of a Miami Police Tactical Narcotics Team still grappling with the unresolved murder of their captain, the film opens in a state of institutional paralysis. Six weeks of bureaucratic deadlock have left everyone tense, restless, and quietly furious.