The Super Mario Bros. Movie

• Director: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
• Writer: Matt Fogel
• Starring: Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Keegan Michael-Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen

Grade: B

Mario has traveled to all sorts of worlds since his introduction in 1985; from the Mushroom Kingdom to the race track to the tennis courts to the Olympic Games, he’s as malleable as any pop culture protagonist. Then again, when your original adventure consists of little more than a side-scrolling series of jumps and sewer pipes, your storytelling options are basically limitless.

Tetris

• Director: Jon S. Baird
• Writers: Noah Pink
• Starring: Taron Edgerton, Nikita Efremov, Sofia Lebedeva, Anthony Boyle, Toby Jones

Grade: B-

“A movie about Tetris” feels a bit like an indication of the empty-headed nature of the Hollywood ecosystem. What could possibly be compelling about a bunch of colorful falling blocks, a game defined by how much of a waste of time it was? Lest we forget, six Transformers movies and The Emoji Movie exist.

Smoking Causes Coughing

• Director: Quentin Dupieux
• Writers: Quentin Dupieux
• Starring:

Grade: C

French absurdist filmmaker Quentin Dupieux knows how to craft a bizarre story with utmost sincerity. His 2020 film Deerskin was the tale of a man going through the most extreme midlife crisis ever by murdering everyone at the command of a jacket. 2021’s Mandibles was about two lovable dopes trying to find fame and fortune by training a dog-sized fly. His latest, Smoking Causes Coughing – which he wrote, directed, shot, and edited himself – sees him essentially throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks, for better and worse.

Return to Seoul

• Director: Davy Chou
• Writers: Davy Chou
• Starring: Park Ji-Min , Oh Kwang-rok, Guka Han, Kim Sun-Young

Grade: A-

Where are you from?

It’s an innocent, innocuous question most of the time, but in Return to Seoul, it contains layers of complicated emotions. The film deals with issues of identity (both personal and national) and self-acceptance, and it’s buoyed by a magnificent performance from Ji-Min Park in her first on-screen role. It’s also a kind of cinematic memoir (don’t roll your eyes yet) for writer and director Davy Chou, who gives the film a nuanced look at dual citizenship from the perspective of someone that’s actually experienced the unique phenomenon firsthand.