After a beloved video game and two average-to-middling movies, Tomb Raider is back as a reboot iteration. It’s part of a adaptation lexicon that churns out embarrassingly bad films based on beloved game characters, and manages to be the best ever. Star Alicia Vikander brings new life to the role, while raising the overall quality…

Midnight Sun is a romantic drama that exemplifies the best qualities of the genre. It’s a humorous, moving and deeply satisfying film — One that takes the characters from the page and turns them into living, breathing people in front of your very eyes. The screen takes great care to focus on and celebrate the…

As queer culture has become more mainstream, steamy gay sex scenes, passionate forbidden affairs and other things that were previously taboo are hitting screens. But not until this thoughtful, beautiful portrait of a young man’s struggle to come out have we seen a truly honest, heartfelt attempt to provide insight into the LGBTQ community. Love,…

Thoroughbreds is the type of film that will ostracize a fair bit of its audience, but those who love it will champion the madcap filmmaking. First-time director Cory Finley takes this pitch-black film and somehow manages to inject it with some unexpected laughs and triumphs. The film explores the friendship between two loner girls, and…

Jennifer Lawrence had made a career out of her bold choice in roles. Though espionage thriller Red Sparrow never quite comes full circle, it’s a hell of a showcase for Hollywood’s ‘it’ girl. Dominika Egorova has her ballet dreams ripped away with one terrible accident, and is left with an impossible choice from her domineering…

The inherent problem with making a sequel is the follow-up won’t only be compared to similar films, but faces the scrutiny of rabid fans of the original. A decade in the making, Strangers 2 might have fared better against backlash regarding the tropes and cliches of horror films if it stood on its own. But…

In his heyday, getting Bruce Willis for your action movie meant everyone was in for a generous helping of genre fare. These days, he’s more hit-and-miss. And yet, when it was announced he’d headline a remake of the 1970’s genre hit Death Wish, originally starring Charles Bronson, I was excited. Could this be a return…

Game Night is the type of film you feel terrible for laughing at, but the dark themes and situational peril are so deftly balanced that you can’t help it. Jason Bateman and Rachel MacAdams star as that annoying couple who have to turn everything into a competition. And yet, we love them, because these are…

To say Marvel’s Black Panther is the best in the comic book film studio’s lexicon doesn’t even begin to describe the great depth at this film’s core. It’s not just a superhero film; it’s a cultural landmark, a showcase of African American pride and tantamount to other genre films that transcend the very confines that…

A film that can tug at your heart and break through without the typical bombast or heavy hand of a studio picture is something to relish. Here, this character study of a 17-year-old and his coming-of-age romance with a 24-year-old manages to burst with affection, sensuous undertones and near-perfect examination of matters of the heart.…