The Monkey King

• Director: Anthony Stacchi
• Writer: Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman
• Starring: Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, BD Wong, Ron Yuan

Grade: C–

I have no problem whatsoever with a film moving at a quick pace. It happens especially often with children’s entertainment, an unfortunate byproduct from filmmakers who play into a kid’s supposedly short attention span. There’s certainly nothing wrong with a film targeted to younger audiences that chooses to value action over character building, but there is a way to do both, by building character through action. Netflix’s newest animated film The Monkey King tries to achieve this, but fails to provide any characters worth rooting for. The film moves at such a breakneck speed that, for anyone that’s not giving their full attention (this is a Netflix film after all), it can be jarring to lose focus even for a minute.

Heart of Stone

• Director: Tom Harper
• Writer: Greg Rucka, Allison Schroeder
• Starring: Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Sophie Okonedo

Grade: C

Every film critic worth a grain of salt tries to go into every film as a blank slate, whether it be the latest PVOD horror shlock, or the newest Paul Thomas Anderson film, and everything in-between. This goes for Netflix’s, and every other streaming service’s, ever-expanding library of films that barely register past their release dates. Sure, we have our expectations and pre-conceived notions, but we don’t let that stop us from giving the film a fair shake. So when pressing play on Heart of Stone, the newest Netflix action/spy thriller with a generic premise starring Gal Gadot with little-to-no fanfare – much as you can have right now, given the labor strikes – I still went into it with an open mind, hoping for an unexpected gem.

Oppenheimer

• Director: Christopher Nolan
• Writer: Christopher Nolan
• Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Casey Affleck, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, David Krumholtz, Kenneth Branagh

Grade: A

For all the myriad ways that films and television have explored the Second World War, very few have been concerned with the man who helped put an end to it. Christopher Nolan may not initially seem like the ideal fit for a biopic of anyone, less a notable historical figure – though he did give his own spin on WWII with Dunkirk – but he’s made one of his best films with Oppenheimer. Indeed, Nolan made a splash throughout his career with his Dark Knight trilogy, plus blockbuster original sci-fi films like Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet, so for the venerated director to choose a grounded subject matter came as a bit of a surprise when it was first announced.

No Hard Feelings

• Director: Gene Stupnitsky
• Writers: Gene Stupnitsky, John Phillips
• Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Natalie Morales, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, Kyle Mooney, Hasan Minhaj, Scott MacArthur

Grade: B

You’ve seen a movie like No Hard Feelings many times before, give or take a few details here and there. The film harkens back to the heydays of 90s and early 2000’s romantic comedies where the plot rarely changes but the jokes and the performances from its leads carry it across the finish line. It’s the kind of film that Hollywood has all but stopped releasing theatrically today, a raunchy R-rated comedy that plays much better in a packed room full of strangers than at home on a streaming service.

Past Lives

• Director: Celine Song
• Writer: Celine Song
• Starring: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro

Grade: A-

Fate. Love. Identity. Regret. Longing. All of these ideas are familiar devices in films when filtered through certain genres. Some of the best romances, like In the Mood for Love and the Before trilogy, deal with a number of those themes while creating memorable moments and dialogue. But those films came from celebrated, seasoned veterans who had years of experience under their belts. For writer/director Celine Song, she tackles these ideas in her searing debut Past Lives, and makes it look easy. The result is one of the best films of the year so far.

Elemental

• Director: Peter Sohn
• Writers: John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, Brenda Hsueh
• Starring: Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendy McClendon-Covey, Catherine O’Hara

Grade: B

Pixar’s best films, like Ratatouille, Up, Finding Nemo, or Inside Out, have the ability to transport audiences to new worlds, and explore thought-provoking ideas that appeal to moviegoers young and old alike. Though the venerated studio has struggled to measure up to its glory days in recent years, there have been bright spots, like Turning Red or Luca. Its newest release, Elemental, attempts a four-quadrant film by crafting an adult-minded story while filling it with bright, beautifully realized characters, but ultimately falls short in some crucial areas.

Flamin’ Hot

• Director: Eva Longoria
• Writers: Lewis Colick, Linda Yvette Chavez
• Starring: Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub, Emilio Rivera, Matt Walsh

Grade: B-

2022 was the year of the miniseries and television show centered on infamous real-life grifters, ranging from the enjoyable to the forgettable. Whether it was exploring Elizabeth Holmes (The Dropout) or Anna Delvy (Inventing Anna) or Anna and Rebekah Neumann (WeCrashed) – plus an extra few that I’m likely forgetting – something compelled the television gods into telling these stories all at the same time. Now, in 2023, the focus has shifted to the true stories behind some of our most iconic brands and products. First it was Nike with Air, then Nintendo and Tetris, then BlackBerry. Naturally, the next in line would be the true story of *checks notes* the creation of the “Flamin’ Hot” varietal of Cheetos with Flamin’ Hot.

BlackBerry

• Director: Matt Johnson
• Writers: Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller
• Starring: Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson, Rich Sommer, Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, SungWon Cho, Michelle Giroux

Grade: B+

Director, co-writer, and star Matt Johnson does something simple but effective in the early-goings of his newest film BlackBerry: he shows the titular device’s first prototype literally being put together. With most films in its genre, the product is shown as almost perfect from the beginning, as if it was destined to be great from conception. Johnson portrays the painstaking and frantic process of its creator Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) Frankenstein-ing the BlackBerry prototype together from various electronics in the waning hours before its first sales pitch. The rest of the film doesn’t necessarily revolutionize similar films based on fictionalized retellings of corporate disruption, but it’s a small indication that Johnson is dedicated to what really matters within the story.

Peter Pan & Wendy

• Director: David Lowery
• Writers: David Lowery and Toby Halbrooks
• Starring: Jude Law, Ever Anderson, Alexander Molony, Yara Shahidi, Joshua Pickering, Jim Gaffigan

Grade: B

Disney’s live-action remakes of their classic films have largely been an exercise in futility. From the forgettably bland (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King) to the simply forgettable (Mulan, Aladdin) to the creatively bankrupt (Pinocchio), the projects mostly fail to justify their own existence. They almost exclusively copy the plot of the original films beat for beat, with maybe an extra song thrown in, and utilize shoddy visual effects for the more fantastical elements. So why remake Peter Pan, when countless iterations already exist? Perhaps it was always meant to happen – I imagine that somewhere in the Disney offices lies a deck of cards, and Peter Pan’s was the next one drawn – but there’s an outside chance it’s because director and co-writer David Lowery had something unique to bring to the material.