Kristy Puchko

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is extraordinary because – like its fluffy-haired heroines – it makes no apologies for what it is. Mumolo and Wiig have created a story that is proudly deranged, setups that are savagely silly, and centered all that around two delightfully daffy caricatures of middle-aged women that feel fresh yet familiar.

A Glitch In The Matrix is a solid sibling to Room 237 and The Nightmare. Once more, Ascher offers an empathetic space to conspiracy theorists and dreamers, creating a superb setting for honesty, earnestness, and vulnerability. Employing keen editing, he illustrates their arguments with pop culture references and panache. However, he also offers the shadow of a doubt, allowing the viewer a safe space to question.

All in all, Finding 'Ohana is a superb entry into the annals of kid-fronted adventure. The familiarity of concept and character welcomes you into the cozy romp of it all but provides surprises and spectacle unique to its Hawaiian environment. There are laughs and thrills aplenty, spiked with a bit of pathos, but not so much to derail the fun.

Fennell's film is a reflection of its antiheroine, a live-wire, exciting, dazzling, and dangerous. Fennell coats this heady blend of humor and horror in candy-colored palette of pinks dusted with pop music perfection and enriched by performances from a crackling ensemble cast.

Rebellious game developer Midway's rise and fall gets a surprisingly tame retelling in the doc Insert Coin.

Ultimately, it's bland, not bold, and achingly absent of enchantment.

The performances range from wooden Moussi to full-on Cage, so it's tonally all over the place. As a whole, it's an absolute mess, which makes it kind of perfect for 2020. Still, within this swamp of style, wildness, and TOO too much, there are some truly exhilarating treasures, chief among them Cage. In short, it's not good, but maybe being a lot just enough.

I absolutely love the first half of this film. Lister-Jones recaptures the magic of the original by welcoming the audience into a cool coven with warmth and radiant leads. It's a pleasure to tag along with this dynamic squad, whether they're dabbling in telekinesis, flirting with a crush, or taking on the forces of evil and misogyny. Slow-motion of moments awkward, lusty, and celebratory envelop us in the overwhelming emotions of the heady time that is teendom. Sadly, this spirited and powerful path is abandoned to lay the groundwork for a sequel that is -- as far we know -- not a certainty. Such plotting bogs down the rich and rewarding story of friendship, self-acceptance, and growth. Still, that franchise-forward choice aside, this sequel is wickedly fun and bewitching.

Saint Maud is an impeccably crafted, deeply unsettling, and wickedly engrossing religious horror film.

This journey from sun-soaked beaches to chilly English country, from heart-racing flirtation to soul-shattering stress, from new love to old regrets, feels dry and flaccid. Much like Mrs. de Winter, the long shadow of Hitchcock's Rebecca proves just too powerful to ignore.

Even with some questions left dangling, The Show offers a supremely intoxicating adventure, ripe with imagination, rank with decadence, and rabid with more, more Moore.

Nomadland is a radiant celebration of humanity and community.

Kemp Powers' thoughtful script gives us an insight into what might have been going on behind the sports and entertainment performances that awed us, and in doing so urges us to look at what's still going on now. Director Regina King's cast delivers some of the best performances of the year, unveiling the hidden pain of public figures. Through a keen focus and confident flow, she unfurls their struggles in a poignant display to show how they live on today.

Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill, is a toothless Fleabag with Sherlock coating.

All in all, An American Pickle is a solidly entertaining comedy. Its oddball conceit dares audiences to take the plunge, and Seth Rogen rewards them with Herschel, who is bold, thrilling, and a little bit bonkers.

Hamilton the stage musical may be a 10/10. But this filmed version falls short by repeatedly reminding the audience of what we missed by not being there.

There's a throbbing theme at You Should Have Left's core about what it means to be a man. But if subtext isn't your jam, you can kick back, switch off, and enjoy the eerie thrills and jolting scares of this satisfying horror-thriller.

The King of Staten Island lumbers from one thread to another, seemingly uncertain over what it's about.

Michael Showalter and company aren't reinventing the wheel here, but it's a solidly made wheel. Following in the footsteps of similar comedies, The Lovebirds offers a wild ride with outlandish action, plenty of popping punch lines, and a romance you can really root for.

It's for kids and it's cute. It's also an absolute eyesore, crassly overstuffed with retina-scorching color combinations and explosions of glitter. Frankly, it's disappointing that an animated movie with so much talent attached didn’t strive to be more than just "cute for kids." But hey, at least you can dance to it.

Bloodshot is unapologetically a popcorn movie of the switch-off-your-brain-and-kick-back variety. Diesel and company soldier through a wonky plot to deliver glowers, superhero poses, and loads of action. Director Wilson brings the heat with solid visual effects and a relentless pace. But keen-eyed viewers will notice the telltale signs of "fix it in post" fiddling.

All told, it's a terrifically entertaining tale filled with humor, heart, and allusions that are sure to delight fantasy fans.

The talents of Robert Downey Jr. and the all-star voice cast are wasted in the disastrous mess that is Dolittle.

There’s nothing fresh, exciting, or particularly unique about Nicolas Pesce’s take on The Grudge. His passion for character-focused drama fails to spark in a barrage of scenes that feel like tedious outtakes from Lifetime movies.

Charlize Theron's eerie turn as Megyn Kelly aside, Bombshell doesn't do justice to the subject matter it explores.

The Aeronauts is a film flawed from its first concept. By blending fact and fiction so freely, Thorne and Harper turned a story of scientific discovery into a muddling romantic adventure that crashes and burns.

While the destination is too easy to determine, this ride-along is solidly thrilling.